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Read
about Angus Acres in edible San Diego
Magazine
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Chicken Predators |
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Some of the most common predators are coyotes,
foxes, raccoons, possums, and hawks.
COYOTES
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From Central America to the arctic, covering
all of the USA,
Canada and Mexico.
Coyotes are most active at night and during
the early morning and late evening hours.
Coyotes are roughly the same size as a
border collie dog, weighing up to forty
pounds. They resemble a wolf. |
Keep chickens locked indoors overnight and
do not leave food outside. Make sure there
is no access to rubbish or compost heaps.
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RED FOXES
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Seen in North America, North and Middle
Asia, Europe, including the UK and
introduced to Australia. Common in
both rural and urban areas.
It is not uncommon for one fox to wipe out
100 chickens in a night. They pose a disease
risk to your animals as they can carry mange
and rabies, and red foxes can get mange. |
The fox is prone to hunt 2 hours after
sundown and 2 hours before sunup. Foxes take
their prey some distances (miles even) from
the sight of the kill.
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RACCOONS
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Raccoons are seen across the USA, Southern
Canada, Mexico, and as far south as Northern
Argentina. They are seen in both rural and
urban environments, but avoid higher, colder
mountainous regions such as the Rockies.
Raccoons are nocturnal, and also have
opposable thumbs, like we do. This means
that they can get into more complicated
latches, and so a padlock is the best
option. |
Raccoons also pose a health risk to you and
your animals, as they can carry rabies,
distemper, coccidiosis (very nasty for
chickens), trichinosis, tuberculosis, round
worm and infectious enteritis as well as
fleas and ticks.
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OPOSSOMS
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Commonly referred to as 'possums, but not to
be confused with the Australian possum -
spelt without the extra 'O'.
The opossum is found across the eastern USA
except for Maine, west to Colorado and
Texas, north to Minnesota and up into Canada
as far as Toronto, and south right down to
Mexico. It is also found on Pacific coastal
areas and some parts of Arizona and New
Mexico.
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The opossum is a marsupial - the only
marsupial in North America. They are about
the size of a large house cat. They are
nocturnal.
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HAWKS
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The Red-tailed Hawk ranges throughout North
America to the central Alaska and northern
Canada, and south as far as the mountains of
Panama.
The Red-tail is the largest hawk, usually
weighing between 2 and 4 pounds. It hunts
primarily from an elevated perch site,
swooping down from a perch to seize prey,
catching birds while flying, or pursuing
prey on the ground from a low flight. |
The hawk's vision is much better than
humans. They can see spiders and beetles
from afar. Hawks can see a mouse from a
height of one mile.
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