Hawks are hungry and employ stealth from above, especially in the morning. I've seen it happen to the nearby free-rangers. Raccoons have dragged hens away, and coyotes leave nothing behind. All this with dogs roaming the ranches. Never underestimate the cunning of a neighbor's loose hunting dog - it happens in an instant.
That said, I like using larger portable bottomless pens which afford access to scratching, and some protection at the same time. My dog is a weimador who protects our six hens and three runner ducks - she's been their mama-dog since they arrived as babies close to a year ago. Kind regards, Barbara
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On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 1:51 PM PDT gardeninggirl wrote:
>I have had a small flock of chickens for the past three years , and do enjoy having chickens. I must say, the past three years have been a challenge keeping the chickens safe from predactors. I have a safe coop , that keeps them secure at night . At the moment , the chickens are contained in a rather large run with a chicken coop. I want to let my chickens become free range ( we have several acres in the country). I gave it a try ,and experienced an ariel attack from large flying prey and a neighborhood loose dog attack and now I am down two birds . I was wondering if anyone has been successful with a life stock guardian breed dog to protect their chickens ( Great Pyrenees , ect) ? Or any suggestion on having free range chickens?
>
>Sandy
>
>Alabama
>
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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