Defending My New Babies

[joshk-k]

So, as of two days ago, I am a poppa for the first time... of two baby chicks, girls that are currently six days old. I love them so much and am totally excited about experiencing some sense of fatherhood for the first time.

They will live inside, under a heat lamp for the next 6-8 weeks, until their adult feathers come in and they can regular their own temperature (and probably defend themselves a bit more). So I have six weeks to build them a coop, enclosure, etc. I live in an urban setting and have about a 50' by 60' yard they will occupy, probably with an additional sturdy wire enclosure inside the waist-high fence around the yard.

My question is about defending them if I ever see them attacked by something like a coon or cat. For all sorts of reasons, including safety, overkill(?), possible legal ramifications, etc. I think I'd be more likely to ever use a BB gun instead of, say, a .22.

The question is this: If you had a pair of pet hens that you valued as much for companionship as for eggs, and you were alerted by their ruckus to an attack upon them, what would you do? I think that grabbing a BB gun and heading to the yard seems like a good plan. I think that my arrival might scare off many attackers, but I'd certainly feel reasonable about shooting at one. Would you shoot to kill or to scare off? Would it make a difference if it was a cat instead of a coon? What would you do?

I think I'm probably going to be a bit overprotective of these chicks. Maybe it'll get some of the "over-" part out of my system before I have kids of my own.

Josh

 

[Oleg Volk]

What if the intruders are human or canine? BB gun would not be adequate -- nor would you want to exposure yourself to opponents whose vision adapted to low light.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I think your best bet would be to build a good pen with fencing on all four sides and a fencing roof with possibly a shelter at one end with solid walls and roof. That would probably be the best protection.

You need to be cautious about "BB" guns. Do you live inside city limits? Many cities consider BB guns and especially pellet guns to be firearms as far as discharging them. Modern pellet guns are equivelant to .22 performance.

For me, if I am going to shoot at anything living, I am going to shoot to kill it. Intentionally wounding an animal is inhumane. You also have to think about, OK now I have a dead racoon, now what am I going to do with it?

For me, the best alternative would be a safe, as near varmit proof enclosure as you can make for them and if you want them to run around they can do that only when supervised. I don't think any standard varmits will come around with you present, but you might want to have a good pellet gun capable of killing anything that is dumb or diseased enough to bother you.

Also, as a thought, you could put motion activated lights outside the enclosure, but they would have to be pretty sensitive for a small varmit to set them off.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

build uber pen. needs a top as well as a system to deter digging under. i use mesh 2 feet falt on ground tied in to vertical wire. electric fence on the outside now since we had a bear in the yard

 

[tinygnat219]

What kind of chicks are you raising? What are you feeding them?

I am curious because I would like to know how they taste when you do eat them.

 

[Darthbauer]

....ah nvm

 

[magiccarpetrides]

I agree, bury the fence outside the enclosure deep enough where a dog couldnt dig under it. I would probably have a closeable roof with an actual lock on it so raccoons cant get to them. Wire mesh behind solid type bars would be good to keep animals paws out (cats, racoons, etc...) so they cant reach in to grab the chicks. GL!

We are talking about actual chickens right?

 

[Mad Chemist]

BB's don't work on raccoons, unless it's a high-powered air rifle. They barely even notice shots from a BB pistol. They do work on cats without injuring them (the low-powered pistols). Shoot them in the arse once and they won't come back.

If you build a good hen house you won't need to worry predators.

 

[MarcusWendt]

They will live inside, under a heat lamp for the next 6-8 weeks, until their adult feathers come in

As I began reading I thought you were talking about two daughters. Then I got to this part.... LOL!!!!

Congrats on the Mcnuggets.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

i ca testify that coons can go through a small hole mbest thing i had was a pony lost 0 hens with her here. gotta get another pony or maybe a mule.
all time i intervene i use 12 guage and thats no good in city

 

[Grizzly Adams]

A donkey or jackass will keep wild dogs, coyotes, coons, or just about anything else away from other farm animals.

 

[joshk-k]

Again, I live within city limits, so the suggestions of guard donkeys, and probably the use of actual firearms is a no go.

Tinygnat: I am raising an Ameracauna and a Golden Campine, neither of which make good eating chickens. They are both great layers (the Ameracaunas lay green and blue eggs!), and I will value them for that and for companionship. Right now, I am feeding them chick feed with antibiotics in it.

My plan is to build a very vermin-proof coop for them to be shut in at night, complete with a substantial overhang so that, even in the rainy season, they can have a dry area for dust baths. The coop will be inside a substantial chicken-wire enclosure, buried in the ground and with a top of some sort.

My cousin once entered his barn to find his neighbor's dogs half-way through a massacre of his small flock. He ran back to the house, got a rifle, and shot them both. That ignited a big feud, as you might imagine.

Josh

My plan is to

 

[bloodedsky]

Guard donkeys for the McNuggets... Hysterical. Too bad you can't duct tape some sort of tiny knives on their wings for self defense, when they get old enough.

Wait a minute....

 

[Defensory]

Crosman 760 XLS air rifle (BB's and .177 cal pellets):

http://www.crosman.com/site/listing/1327

 

[ColinthePilot]

I never had good luck with BB guns and fending off mini-varmints. I had a lot of trouble with squirrels at my last house. They were dropping nuts and acorns from 30+ feet up and denting my car. I also lived in a fairly urban area (townhouse wiht a postage stamp sized yard) so firearms were out. It commonly took 3-4 BB's to kill them, and pellets were too slow to load. squirrels are easy to miss, especially when shooting through folliage. I would say passive protection is the way to go for you.

 

[Defensory]

You obviously never used a Crosman 760, Colin.

I hunted squirrels as a kid with a 760, and virtually always took them out with one BB shot.

The 760 XLS also has a five-round magazine for .177 cal pellets. All you have to do to reload is work the bolt, like you would on any bolt-action rifle. Nothing slow about that.

 

[scurtis_34471]

In the case of cats, you don't necessarily need to use deadly force. My grandparents have a lot of bird feeders and love to watch the birds. They keep a fairly week CO2 BB pistol around to drive off the neighborhood cats. Its not strong enough to break the skin, but it is strong enough to leave a nice little welt and it seems to get the point across. I'm a cat lover and even I don't have a problem with it.

 

[catfish101]

I raise chickens for eggs and eating, and several other birds also. The best varmint gun I have found would do the job without over kill and the risk of a bullet from getting away is a 410 with 4 shot. I have a Mossberg 500 pump and it does a great job.

I also have a couple strands of electric fence around the pens. I make sure the pen fence has a good ground so it will shock the climbers also.

As far as the dogs roaming around. I don't have a problem with other peoples dogs on my property but when they get into something of mine then it's a different situation.

I have a English Mastiff and he doesn't bother anything of mine. He will let me know if something is on the place that doesn't belong.

 

[Geronimo45]

So, as of two days ago, I am a poppa for the first time... of two baby chicks, girls that are currently six days old.

So... which is it?

 

[CWL]

Um, bought 4-day old chicks 2 days ago?

 

[ridata]

I have raised 2 batches of chicks, and currently have around 20. I live right in town, on main street, so firearms don't quite work. The only problems I've had are with skunks.
I have disposed of 3 with a .22 pellet gun. It takes a few shots(or one well placed on the spine) before they really go down, but the gun is plenty quiet enough to be used in town at 2am.

 

[Geronimo45]

Ah, that explains it - thanks. Fever's gone to the brain. Next thing you know, I'll be typing in Esperanto...

 

[Urbana John]

" defending my new babies"------Hell I thought he got him a couple new guns!!!

UJ

 

[Defensory]

Posted by Oleg Volk:
What if the intruders are human or canine? BB gun would not be adequate -- nor would you want to exposure yourself to opponents whose vision adapted to low light.

He lives in an urban environment. I doubt many city-dwellers would be interested in stealing a couple chickens.

A Crosman 760 XLS air rifle fires BB's at 625 fps and .177 pellets at 600 fps, which is more than adequate to run off most dogs.

Over the years I've had to shoot a few dogs with my Crosman, in order to run them off my property. Just aim at the hind quarters, then listen for the loud yelp and watch 'em run. It won't cause any permanent damage.

 

[MaterDei]

I have a coop with laying hens and the ONLY thing which has protected them from predators is chicken wire around their entire yard. My chickens have a 10X20 foot outdoor enclosure to walk around and a 10X10 indoor coop to roost/lay in.

I have Ameracauna, which I love (Easter Egg Chickens!) and other breeds as well. Chickens are very cool. I can sit in their coop for an hour and just watch them, they are very entertaining.

The eggs you'll be getting in about 5 months are much better than anything you can get at the store, enjoy them.