I have pictures of the run area for the coop that I want. Heavy duty wire, 6 ft high. The fence guy is coming Thursday to give an estimate and I can't find a picture to show him what I mean. The picture I lost showed a draped chicken wire on top (of the side) of the fence, about two ft from the bottom of the fence then it extended down and folded straight out onto the ground 2 ft - - that 2 ft section on the ground was then covered with dirt. It's supposed to keep animals from digging into the chicken run. I'm having a hard time explaining this! Know of any websites that might show this? Do you have any pics or ideas for secure fencing? We have coyotes, coons, hawks, so it has to be safe. Thanks!!
Annie
Fence Question
Annie, most of us know what you are talking about, but those who don't do poultry and the sort would have no idea. The wire you'd be using is called hardware cloth. It runs up the side generally 18 to 24 inches and then L shapes and runs along the ground 18-24 inches. I doubt if those who put up fences will attach hardware cloth as it has to be bent and can be time consuming. Good luck, Hay.
If the chickens are getting locked up at night, I'd say the threat during the day is more from overhead predators than something that might dig under..
But Hey... I'm in CA.. may be different where you are.
We're lucky to have really great neighbors. They have two older dogs who visit ever day to potty in my yard. They used this 2 acres long before we built a house here and they're great at chasing coyotes, good trade. Both dogs are great with people but will chase anything that moves. I'm paranoid. We also have lots of wild critters too. I found a picture to give the fence co.
They might be able to pour the concrete slab for the coop this weekend. I just heard more snow Monday so maybe not. the coop is ready to be delivered when that is done.
This is the picture I gave the company.
Well ZZ's I must say I agree with you totally, I afford no daytime protection for my birds at all except I check on them routinely. We have hawks, eagles, possum, skunk, coyotes, and even some weasels. I have lost none in the past five years to any predators. Oh yes and racoons also, as well as owls. What else is there.
That is exactly what I was describing in my first response. If you have dogs that visit and love to chase or dig that could be a problem.
Except for a couple of rogue raccoons that took some of my chickens in the daytime, I have no problems with predators during the time that mine are allowed to free range. We have hawks, coyotes, skunks, possums, feral cats etc. The daily activities of the farm seem to keep them away. The hens are cooped at night only.
Our perimeter fence is enough to deter our neighbors' dogs.
This message was edited Mar 17, 2010 11:04 PM
I'll run a hot wire too if the dogs get annoying. Zap some sense into them. Nice neighbors, nice dogs, and I guess they're just doing doggie things, but they aren't allowed to do it with my chickens! I love these chicks so much!!!! My husband calls from work for chick reports LOL. The cicks are getting too big and active for the box so it's out to the garage this weekend. Guess I'll be spending all my time in the garage now, can't stand to miss anything they do! I sit for hours watching them do chickie stuff.
AnnieBBB, I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't stop watching my chicks when they first came. I also have neighbors with "free range" dogs--Great Danes. The neighbors are very nice, but they say their dogs were meant to run.
We have the same set up as shown in the drawing you posted. We just installed hot wire around the perimeter of our yard as the dogs in question have not breached the chicken run or coop in the year we've had it up, but they chase from the outside. We work during the day and aren't there to discourage these dogs (our dogs are kenneled when we aren't home and trained to stay in the yard--mostly). Well, I would come home from work and find the hens huddled under the coop all upset and Great Danes trotting over the hill in the distance. Tongues hanging out and tails wagging. It was only a matter of time. Also the turbo wire, to be exact, is for the *#%$ feral hogs, etc. that destroyed my veg gardens in the past. No more of that this year =D! DH gave me a turbo wire fence for our anniversary!
Good luck to you, I think you have a good plan, and I hope your neighbor doesn't have Great Danes!
You got a turbo wire fence for your anniversary? Your DH is a great guy! I'm so glad you wrote this so I can show it to my DH, he always thinks I want the weirdest things for gifts. I swear this is the first time I've heard of anyone who has feral hogs, seriously? Are they a specific breed of hog or just... I don't know, lost or escaped pigs? I love pigs too, they're so smart.
Your poor hens! Too bad you can't zap your neighbor with the turbo so they'd keep an eye on their dogs. Bored & untrained dogs usually get into trouble. Bad owner!
Yeah, my DH says I have chick burn. I sit in front of the box watching them all the time. I love them! Do you think it's too cold to take them outside today for a little while? It'll be about 65 degrees?
Yes, last year I got a zero turn lawn mower. It was just what I wanted and more! Last Christmas I got a chicken coop.
And, no, feral hogs aren't a specific breed of hog, they are escaped hogs that have de-evolved so to speak. Do you remember the photo of Hogzilla featured in National Geographic a few years back? Turns out that was a feral hog. They breed really fast, roam in herds or pods or whatever, and do a tremendous amount of damage to crops and pastures here in Texas every year. They are a real problem. In general, I like the varieties of hogs found on farms. I think the Heritage breeds are very cool. But I'm not a fan of these feral hogs. I'm only a five-year Texan and I've already had one veg garden completely destroyed by those guys and the second destroyed by a combination of feral hogs, coyotes, and a couple of escaped calves. This year is my year for the veg garden for sure--knock wood!
As for your chicks, I'm not an expert, as I've only had chickens for one year now after a lifetime of longing for some. So many of the folks on this forum have such excellent advice that I really trust, I'm sure someone will weigh in with a good judgement on letting the little darlings outside in 65 deg. temps.
And as for the neighbor's dogs, like I said, they are really nice people. And I really like dogs. They just seem to have a blind spot in the judgement department for these dogs. They had more than they have now. They were breeding them. Its a long story and I try to stay off the subject as much a possible. Let's just say that the turbo wire is doing it's job! Woo hoo!
terri--I'm not sure how feathered your chicks are. Of course their mother would take them out of the nest and into the yard within a day or so of hatching and they would run around, but they could always get back under her if they got cold.
Generally, if they have most of their juvenile feathers, maybe still a little down on their necks and head, they can go outside for short periods in warmer weather...65-70 and up. But you would need to watch them and make sure they are not getting chilled...or over heated. The will adapt pretty quickly to being out in decent weather and you can leave them out for longer and longer periods. It is mostly a question of monitoring how they are acting...you don't want them huddled with their feathers all fluffed.