So you’re dealing with a squirrel in your chicken coop? That’s where we’ve all been. You love your chickens and want to keep those chipmunks out of your chicken’s house. Follow our simple guide to keep squirrels out of the chicken coop, and after that, enjoy your time with your chickens.
How to keep squirrels out of chicken coop
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How to Keep Squirrels Out of Chicken Coop the Natural Way
To get rid of squirrels from the chicken coop,you’ll have to use a three-pronged strategy. For the time being, you’ll have to remove their nest, starve them to death, and wage war on any remaining squirrels. First, there are a few methods you can do to make your home uninviting a pair of squirrels wanting to eat, sleep, and mate.
Method 1: Remove them from their residence.
Why would squirrels want to leave a great home to live that you’ve provided?
The first step you should make your home an inhospitable environment for rodents. Even while this won’t get rid of every squirrel, it will get them out of your coop and prevent them from nesting and giving birth to dozens of new chipmunks.
Method 2: Declutter your home
Squirrels like congested environments for nesting and hiding. It’s almost a guarantee that squirrels will take up residence in any area where you have a large collection of tools, bricks, wood, or other household waste materials. Pick up your slack and go to work. Discourage squirrels from creating a home in your house by putting it on shelves or hanging it from the walls. Keep the grass surrounding the coop mowed to prevent critters from finding a hiding place.
Method 3: Make the coop critter-proof.
To begin, let me emphasize how challenging this is. If squirrels want something bad enough, they’ll find a way to get it.
It is probable that if your coop is built of wood or has earth as a floor, squirrels may gnaw or dig their way in at night. If you can, raise the cage at least a foot from the ground to make it more difficult for squirrels to hide and get access to the coop.
Alternatively, you may use poured cement for the floor of your cell. Wood or dirt floors should be covered with hardware cloth, and the corners and edges should be carefully covered. Consider folding the hardware cloth and stapling it into the wall a few inches above where it hits the wall if you can. They enter via the joints where the walls and floor or ceiling meet, common entry points for squirrels. So try to block the entryway for the squirrels so that they have no way to get inside, despite all the struggles.
Method 4: Fill up any voids left by the piercings you
Steel wool and hardware cloth are effective deterrents for squirrels chewing holes in your chicken coop or below it. Squirrels love to burrow around your coop and hide, so make sure there are no holes in the ground surrounding it. Filling gaps should be a top priority; if new ones appear the following day, make sure you fill them in as well.
Be aware that it will take some effort on your part to persuade their little minds that this is not a great location in which to reside.
Method 5: Protect the compost from rodents by installing a squirrel
barrier.
Compost heaps are common among persons who keep hens as pets or for food production. Instead of moving on to the next tip, if you do, you’ll need to put a stop to that growing pile. Compost is a favourite habitat for rodents, including squirrels. It contains everything they need, including cosy bedding, a secure breeding facility, and plenty of food. To keep squirrels out of your compost, you must create an uninhabitable environment for them.
Method 6: Put food waste in a closed bin instead
As an alternative, please place them in a steel trash can that’s been perforated with microscopic holes. This will keep squirrels away from the compost until it’s sufficiently broken down.
There was a lot of information that squirrels would only eat heated food from the compost when they were in trouble. Contrary to popular belief, they will consume everything edible inside if given the opportunity. You’ll be feeding the squirrels if you don’t put all of your food waste in the steel bins.
Leaves, straw, and manure from animals may all be composted in an open pile, but remember that it’s the ideal area for a squirrel to set up shop. Soak the bank periodically with water and move it over every few days with a pitchfork to disturb any potential rodent nests.
Method 7: Make The Squirrels Hungry To Get Out
You have squirrels for the most part because you feed them. I know you’re not standing in the backyard tossing food on the ground and calling all the rodents of the neighbourhood over, but if they’re on your property, it’s because you’ve got the goods, and you’re handing it right to them.
Stopping squirrels’ feeding is the only method to get rid of them permanently. You’ll need to cover all your bases if you want to succeed. If you continue to feed them, they will never, ever depart. Even if you poison and capture thousands of them, they will keep coming back as long as the food is available. If you feed them, they will come. Did I get that point across? Okay, now let’s investigate how you’re feeding the squirrels.
Method 8: Collect Eggs Frequently
Squirrels don’t love raw eggs, they prefer to cook them first, but they will steal and eat them if they have nothing else to eat. Keep up on egg collection and never leave eggs in the coop overnight. A friend of mine wondered why her eggs were disappearing from her nesting boxes every day and were just about to blame the chickens when she dug around in the box and found a whole nest of baby squirrels living there.
Method 9: Keep small chicks inside at night
Desperate squirrels will do anything for food, including killing and eating a baby chick. We’ve had squirrels steal six-week-old chicks right out from under their mom at night, and by the time Momma chick noticed, it was too late. Protect your chicks from squirrels by keeping them in your home at night, when squirrels are most active.
Method 10: Call the professionals
The final step to getting rid of squirrels in the chicken coop is to flat-out go to war on any squirrels that are sticking around after the previous actions. If the squirrels are desperate to live with your chickens, call the squirrel or animal handling professionals. They have squirrel repellents, and by law, they can handle the animals much more effectively and effortlessly.
Final Thoughts
After reading the article, I hope that you have multiple methods to cope with the squirrel. You know how to keep the squirrels out of the chicken coop, either by decreasing their breeding, feeding, and entertaining chances or calling a professional. Whatever you do, make sure that, in the end, no animal group will get hurt physically!
