Hen Haven Tonight!

- November 16, 2021

Just stained the 2 additional new roosting bars added to the inside of the chicken coop, and one outside the hen condo! Had to wait until the hens were inside the hen condo for the night so they wouldn’t mess with them until they dried and get stain all over themselves too! Will definitely be dry by tomorrow morning when they get up for the day! Will apply a second and final coat tomorrow evening after they go into the hen condo for the night.

Inside the chicken coop, in the main area leading to the nesting box, which is to the left:

And in the additional area, which is across from the main area, above, to the right:

The hens typically enjoy the little chicken coop during the day for brief naps here and there, and prefer the larger hen condo at night, where there’s plenty of space for a full night of good sleeping!

And the new daytime roosting bar down low on the bottom of the hen condo has been stained too! I wanted it down low so they will want to go to the highest roosting bars at night, which are in the hen condo. I wanted to be sure they would only use this for added comfort during the daytime hours. At night, hens prefer to sleep as high as they can get. And the roosting bars inside the hen condo are the highest. So they all head inside the hen condo every night!

Also checked out all of my solar, motion sensor LED lights. Replaced one broken one the other day. All of them are working well now!

And the side that has the new replacement light; the one on the left side!

These help me see at night when I’m there after dark. And, I truly believe they are a deterrent for predators as well. If anything approaches, whatever side they approach will light up! If they stop and the lights turn off after 30 seconds or so, and decide to proceed, the lights will turn in again. My dogs trigger them if they happen to go near the coop, so I know that they not only trigger if humans approach, but also when animals approach, such as coyotes, bobcats, foxes, fished cats, etc. Very effective for sure!

But even though I have these solar lights, I believe in maximizing protection from predators. So I have my flashing red LED lights; defender lights, made to repel predators from the area.

And all of my defender lights are working well! I initially had 4 that lasted for a few years. Two were no longer working but 2 are still working, so I left them in place. And added a 4-pack of new ones, knowing those last 2 old ones will likeky not last much longer. All 6 are currently working great! Closeup photo of one of the old ones, and of one of the new ones.

New one:

Old one:

Not sure what ultimately keeps predators away. Many of my neighbors also have chickens, as well as ducks, and have lost many to predators over the years. I haven’t lost any of my flock. It’s a combination of things I’ve done to protect my flock.

Another project was when I enclosed run using solid fencing plus added 1/2” hardware mesh (metal) along the entire lower perimeter of the run. I did this because my neighbors who just had standard fence lost chickens and ducks when a predator reached in, grabbed a chicken or duck, hanging around by the fence, by the head, and tried to pull it through the fence. My neighbors have found headless chickens or ducks on many occasions inside their runs near the fence.

I also have the entire top of the run covered. Initially I just had chicken wire, which worked great until we had heavy wet snow. I have since added a huge tarp over the entire run with lots of added supports to keep rain from piling up and sagging the tarp, and it supports at least one foot of heavy snow too! And clearing snow off the tarp verses the chicken wire is much easier! Snow pretty much slides off easily when I use a large broom to clear off the snow.

Anyway, my neighbors have open runs where owls and hawks, for example, swoop down and take their chickens and ducks. Also, predators like fisher cats and foxes can’t climb the fence and get in. Since my run is securely covered, unlike my neighbors runs.

I also put metal hardware mesh at the bottom, all the way around the base of my coop that extends out and is covered with dirt. Any predators that might attempt to dig under the fence are stopped by this extra extension of hardware mesh! One morning I found that something tried to dig to get under the fence. But they didn’t get far! They met up with the hardware mesh and just couldn’t get past it!

Furthermore, my hen condo where they sleep at night is inside my run. So is my tiny chicken house, with the exception of the nesting box that hangs off it outside the fence, as well as my little hen house next to the tiny chicken house. One of my neighbors has his chicken house outside the run area with one side inside the run. He has had raccoons and fisher cats that almost got in during the night. He got woken up by the chickens and ducks making lots of noise and managed to get there in time to get rid of the predator. And had to repair a damaged door, or doors. So, for this reason, I decided to make sure the hen condo especially, is all inside my strong barrier surrounding it!

Thus, between all of the measures I have taken, my hens have remained perfectly safe with no predator issues!

My neighbor once had a bear tear down his fence (also bent a metal fence post in half!) and get his ducks! Fortunately his chickens were inside the coop house, so the bear didn’t know they were there. But the bear saw the ducks that were out in the run and wanted them! I know a bear could likely do the same to mine, as secure as it is! But I think, in my case, the motion sensor LED lights, and possibly the red, flashing LED defender lights, might be the reason a bear has never damaged my coop at night to get my hens!

NIGHT TWO

Finished second coat of paint on the new roosting bars! DONE!