┌ Home
├ About Me
├ Upcoming Events
└ Chickens
├ Why?
├ Diet
├ Housing
├ Breeds
├ Hens
│└ Broodiness
├ Roosters
├ Security
├ Gardening
└ Resources
├ Regulations
├ Directory
└ Recipes


\n"; for ($i = 0; $i < count($arr_xml['URL']); $i++) { if( isset($arr_xml['PostID'][$i]) && $arr_xml['PostID'][$i] > 0 ) continue; echo "
  • ".$arr_xml['BeforeText'][$i]." ".$arr_xml['Text'][$i]." ".$arr_xml['AfterText'][$i]."
    • \n"; } echo ""; } } function tla_updateLocalXML($url, $file, $time_out) { if($handle = fopen($file, "a")){ fwrite($handle, "\n"); fclose($handle); } if($xml = file_get_contents_tla($url, $time_out)) { $xml = substr($xml, strpos($xml, '(.*?)', '"'); $n = 0; while (isset($out[$n])) { $retarr[$out[$n][1]][] = str_replace($search_ar, $replace_ar,html_entity_decode(strip_tags($out[$n][0]))); $n++; } return $retarr; } tla_ads(); ?>

    "An ounce of prevention
    is worth a pound of cure." -Traditional

    An upsetting reality of keeping animals is that you have forces working against your efforts. You will be amazed by the successes you will have with a few preventative measures.

    A good lock and latch should deter most human threats that may be present. Animals are trickier. I am actually amazed at how the predators come out of the woodwork when you keep poultry. My only casualty has been to a hungry raccoon, in Downtown Minneapolis, mind you! Other Minneapolis coop owners and I have had hawks dive at our birds.

    • A strong fence will deter roaming dogs. Dig a trench along the perimeter of your run and sink a foot of chicken wire angled outward will deter any predator that would dig its way in to your enclosure.

    • Light orchard netting (used to keep berry-fruit eating birds off of trees and bushes) stretched over your run will block a raptors dive.

    • Supervise your birds as best you can when they are about the garden.

    • Lock up your birds at night, as that is when most carnivores will strike, when your birds are inactive.

    • Consider keeping a Guinea hen. They house well with chickens and are celebrated for their alarm qualities when predators are around.

    • Employ screens of heavy hardware cloth over you windows to keep raccoons from entering. They will rip or tear through regular mesh window screens.

    • Do not employ rat poisons around your flock. They will harm your birds and render their eggs inedible, sticky traps are much safer.

    • A coop built with an air space between the ground discourages pests from building homes and makes it easier to eradicate them. I leave enough room for my cats to hunt underneath the henhouse.

    • Pine tar or kerosene painted in the cracks and holes in the coop will deter mites and other insects.

    Peter J. Willcütt
    urbanagrarian.com@gmail.com
    612.719.1988