Chickens near a lake?

Your chickens will eat small snakes, say 6” or so. They also love mice, frogs, and lizards. Cats may help but they probably won’t tackle a snake big enough to be a problem. The best things cats will do is keep the mice down so the snakes are not attracted to the mice. The mice will be attracted to your chicken feed. So will raccoons, possums, and skunks.

Instead of burying wire I suggest you look at an apron. You lay a piece of wire maybe 18” to 24” flat on the ground and attach that to the bottom of the coop or run. The idea is that a digging predator goes up to the fence, starts to dig, hits the wire, and does not know to back up. They are pretty effective. It’s a good idea to bury that about 2” to keep it out of the way of lawn mowers and weed eaters.

To attach it to wire you can use J-Clips, hog rings, or wire. To attach it to wood, bend that wire 90 degrees to fit against the wood then use a piece of ¾” thick wood to screw over the wire. Sandwich it in between the ¾” wood and the base of the coop with screws going through holes in the wire. Drill pilot holes for the screws so you don’t split the wood and make it easier to start the screws.

Don’t think coyotes aren’t a problem further south either. I just used Chicago as an example.
 
That is some great advice Ridgerunner! And, you were dead on with coyotes down south. We are crawling with them down here. The only relief we have is that heartworms are a plague on canines in this part of the world. Coyotes being relatively new to the geographic region, have no resistance to the them. A wildlife biologist told me the coyotes have about a 2-year life expectancy here. The only problem with that is, the infested coyotes are spreading heartworms like wildfire. Without heartworm prevention here, your dog will absolutely succumb to them.

Now, for the netting. Coons and possums will find a weak spot in your defenses if you have any. Boar coons have easily ripped through bird netting that some of my chicken-raising friends have used. If yours is stout enough and secured well, you will be OK.
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Yeah, I'm second guessing the netting idea so I think I'll ask my husband how to go about constructing a metal roof over the additional run instead. My chicks are two weeks old today and the coop will be here tomorrow, so I still have some time before they'll even utilize the larger run. I think our biggest concern with definitely be raccoons. I've never seen one in the yard, but I'm sure they're here. When our cat went missing several months ago, we set traps in neighbors yards hoping to catch her. Ended up catching two really mad neighbor cats and two really scared raccoons in the process... so I know they're lurking around at night.

Possibly a dumb question, but where do you put the food/water once the chicks are out of the brooder? Inside the coop or outside in the run? I ordered a chicken fountain which has to be hooked up to a water hose, but I could probably configure it to work in either location.
 
Having food & water system in the run would make things easier with the set up that I've got coming, but I just worry about attracting predators. I feel like a nervous first time mom, lol!
 
My son keeps the greater portion of our chickens in a very wild environment. We HAD TO cover the run with strong wire to keep out the stronger critters. I added corrugated sheet metal over a small section of the run, for shade, since we have them in the open with our cauldron-like heat during summer. I have water in the run and the coop. I hang from the ceiling of the coop a water bucket with chicken nipples installed. It can be filled from outside. Directly under the bucket I staple down 1/4-inch hardware cloth so I don't wind up with a wet, stinky or rotten area of coop flooring. Cold is not an issue for me so, the hardware cloth the size of the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket is fine. When biting gnats and mosquitos are a problem, I lay a small piece of thin plywood over the hardware cloth. I could probably solve this permanently by installing small weave screen over the hardware cloth.

For feeding, I use the same set-up both in the coop and out in the run. I have a piece of 4-inch PVC attached vertically. About a foot or so before touching the ground, I glue on a 45 degree fitting. I now glue a "TEE" that runs along the ground. On each end of the Tee I add another foot-long piece of PVC pipe. With a hole-saw I drill about 2 1/2 or 3-inch holes in this piece laying on the ground. Big enough for the chickens to be able to stick their heads in to eat. Of course, from the outside of the coop or run, I pour the feed into the top of the vertical piece, using the top half of a bleach bottle for a funnel. I keep the top covered with a small bucket. But they do sell caps that fit perfectly. If y'all want a photo just ask here and I'll post one.
 
I'd definitely love to see your set up if it's not too much trouble. I've been wondering about using PVC for the food containers. Seems like a great option!
 

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