I've read through a lot of posts but can't find our exact situation so I decided to ask for advice specific to our needs.
Our coop is secure and I'm "fairly" confident that at night my girls will be safe (in addition to improving locks we've covered the ground within the coop's run with h.c.) I am considering an automatic door to ensure they are locked up before it gets dark. My question relates to daytime in the run....
3/4 of the run will be roofed with polycarbonate panels, the perimeter is a combination of fencing beefed up with h.c. including 2-3 ft. aprons to discourage digging.
Our predators include foxes (which we see on our property often), cats, raccoons, and hawks (that I think are on the smaller size).
We are unsure how we want to cover the area of run that is not roofed with panels. I know all of these predators will be able to get to the top of the fence where we'll be attaching some type of protection.
Is chicken wire enough or do we need to do h.c.? Any other suggestions for what would work?
I've read that people have lost chickens to raccoons during the daytime. We've also seen foxes in our backyard in broad day light.
Here is a picture of what we have so far... sorry about the mess! The yellow lines and arrows show the area we need advice for.
Our coop is secure and I'm "fairly" confident that at night my girls will be safe (in addition to improving locks we've covered the ground within the coop's run with h.c.) I am considering an automatic door to ensure they are locked up before it gets dark. My question relates to daytime in the run....
3/4 of the run will be roofed with polycarbonate panels, the perimeter is a combination of fencing beefed up with h.c. including 2-3 ft. aprons to discourage digging.
Our predators include foxes (which we see on our property often), cats, raccoons, and hawks (that I think are on the smaller size).
We are unsure how we want to cover the area of run that is not roofed with panels. I know all of these predators will be able to get to the top of the fence where we'll be attaching some type of protection.
Is chicken wire enough or do we need to do h.c.? Any other suggestions for what would work?
I've read that people have lost chickens to raccoons during the daytime. We've also seen foxes in our backyard in broad day light.
Here is a picture of what we have so far... sorry about the mess! The yellow lines and arrows show the area we need advice for.