Common Chicken Predators (and How to Protect Your Flock)

One of the quickest ways to discover you own chickens is to notice that everything else seems to know it too.

The day your hens begin laying eggs, you’ve unintentionally opened a small buffet for every hungry predator in the neighborhood. Some are looking for eggs. Others want chicks. Some are perfectly capable of carrying off a full-grown hen.

It sounds intimidating, but it shouldn’t discourage anyone from keeping chickens.

Predators are simply part of raising livestock. They aren’t being mean or malicious—they’re trying to survive just like everything else in nature. Your job isn’t to eliminate predators. Your job is to make your flock difficult enough to reach that they decide an easier meal can be found somewhere else.

That’s why a well-built coop is one of the best investments you’ll ever make. Prevention is almost always less expensive—and far less heartbreaking—than replacing birds after an attack.

Depending on where you live, you may never encounter some of the predators on this list while dealing with others on a regular basis. Learning which predators are common in your area helps you focus your time and money where they’ll make the biggest difference.

Before we look at each predator individually, here’s a quick overview of the ones backyard chicken keepers are most likely to encounter. Knowing when they’re active and what they typically target can help you identify weak points in your flock’s protection.

At-a-Glance: Common Chicken Predators

Predator	Most Active	Most Common Target	Best Defense
Raccoons	Night	Adult chickens, eggs	Secure complex latches, hardware cloth
Foxes	Dawn & Dusk	Adult chickens	Sturdy fencing, supervised free-ranging
Coyotes	Dawn, Dusk & Night	Adult chickens	Tall fencing, hardware cloth digging apron
Hawks	Day	Chicks and smaller hens	Covered runs, overhead shelter, bushes
Owls	Night	Chicks and smaller hens	Secure flock inside coop before dark
Weasels & Minks	Night	Entire flock (any size)	Sealing every gap larger than a quarter
Snakes	Day & Night	Eggs, young chicks	Regular egg collection, tight mesh, rodent control
Opossums	Night	Eggs, young chicks	Secure coop, clean up leftover feed
Neighborhood Dogs	Anytime	Adult chickens	Strong, heavy-duty fencing

You’ll notice one material appears over and over throughout this article: hardware cloth. Unlike traditional chicken wire, hardware cloth is welded steel mesh designed to resist chewing, pulling, and reaching paws. It costs more upfront, but it’s one of the smartest investments you can make when protecting a flock.

The good news is that one well-built coop protects your flock from most of these predators at the same time. You don’t need a different solution for every animal. You simply need to eliminate the easy opportunities that invite trouble.

Let’s look at the most common predators backyard chicken keepers encounter and what you can do to protect your flock.

1. Raccoons

If chickens have a professional criminal in the predator world, it’s the raccoon.

They’re remarkably intelligent, have surprisingly nimble hands, and can easily open simple latches or lift lightweight lids. Just as importantly, they’ll reach right through wide fencing to grab a bird. If a raccoon can fit its paws through your wire, it can—and often will—seriously injure or kill a chicken from outside the run.