Not having a roof on a run? - Page 2

My 7 weeks olds girls run doesn't have a cover I've just got a tarp over part of it for shade and I've got a small dog kennel in the run too and they have access to their part of the coop at all times and my adults free range and so far I've only lost one banty hen mysteriously and most of the time there is at least one of the big roo's around the pen  

The run we have built our coop in was pre-existing, and was positioned between high 10 foot shurbbery and a 55 foot long work shop (flanked on either side).  We feel we can skip the cover on the run, because the tree's extend over the top of the run slightly, and the garage eavestrough does as well on the other side.  So even though our run is 20 feet wide, the trees and garage overhang leaves only about 10 feet of width, which we think a hawk/owl will nto be able to swoop down in.  Plus, I have built an overhang feeder, like a little roof on stilts where the feeders hang, and we have drug in fallen trees with tons of branches to hide under.  I only worry about the chickens flying OUT and getting gotten.

Right now, we don't have a roof on our run.  But our chickens are young enough (less than 2 mo.) that they stay in the coop unless directly supervised by us.  We do plan on putting a roof on it soon, though, because I've seen lots of hawks in our area.  We have a neighbor with chickens and he has had some losses, although I'm sure to what kind of predator.  He free-ranges his chickens most of the day but he also has woods along the edge of his property and lots of places for them to hide.  We have mostly an open yard with only a couple of large bushes for them to hide under.

A very inexpensive way to hawk/owl-proof your pen from above is to purchase a 500 yard roll of 50lb. mono fishing line (store brand ok) and crisscross back and forth over the top of your run.

This won't work for possums,weasels, coons etc............ but no worries on hawks/owls. This is also very cost effective.

I like the fishing line idea as I don't really want to burn $50 worth of hardware cloth on the top. Question is, can/would a racoon climb up 6' of cloth and get in run?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiegg 

I like the fishing line idea as I don't really want to burn $50 worth of hardware cloth on the top. Question is, can/would a racoon climb up 6' of cloth and get in run?

Yes, and eat all of your chickens and climb out.

That will only work if you are going lock them into the coop at night every night, at or just before dusk.

If you might not be home at night for some reason they would be in danger till you locked them into the coop.

We have a covered run just so on bad weather days they can get out and not have to spend the day in the coop. We do let them free range as much as possible though. Fortunatly we can leave our dog out with them and she guards them from anything sneaking into our yard.

Raccoons are resourceful. A friend of mine caught a raccoon on top of her 8 foot high chain link dog run with a firm grip on a still struggling chicken. It scaled the fence, tore through the tarp on top, broke the latch on the coop, killed 2 chickens and was making off with a third. She has 3 dogs, a pit bull, a rottweiler and a mix and none of the dogs stopped the coon.

Until she could afford a wire roof she took the remaining 3 chickens inside the house in a pet carrier each night. 

AnotherSusan