Electronetting and predators

[chanceosunshine]

I've ordered my meat chicks for the year and this time I doubled the order. I usually split 25 chickens between a hoop house and a chicken tractor and let everyone free range during the day. With 50 chickens, I am looking for another option.
I'm wondering if electric netting would keep predators out of a very large area and allow for the chickens to have an open shelter. Like a three sided salt box design with low roosts inside that they can come and go in as they please.
Obviously it wouldn't keep flying predators out, but they're at risk of those when they free range anyway. And maybe a goose would help with that??
Has anyone tried electronetting as their first and only line of defense for predators?

 

[DobieLover]

Has anyone tried electronetting as their first and only line of defense for predators?

My flock (of layer hens and roosters) is kept in a 1/3 acre area enclosed with electro-netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger. They're in it year round but they do have a run they can go into. But the door is open all day long. I've never lost a single bird to a ground predator in that pen. I've lost one young pullet to a hawk. That's it.

 

[chanceosunshine]

My flock (of layer hens and roosters) is kept in a 1/3 acre area enclosed with electro-netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger. They're in it year round but they do have a run they can go into. But the door is open all day long. I've never lost a single bird to a ground predator in that pen. I've lost one young pullet to a hawk. That's it.

Thank you so much. I have a bachelor group of roosters I'm going to experiment with first. I appreciate your sharing your experience.

 

[centrarchid]

I use electrified netting on smaller areas where it keeps terresterial predators out well. It is at night I have had greatest issues with Great-Horned Owls. The easiest approach for me to correct is to lock up chickens at night. The current approach is having a dog that jumps fence to check on chickens.

 

[chanceosunshine]

I use electrified netting on smaller areas where it keeps terresterial predators out well. It is at night I have had greatest issues with Great-Horned Owls. The easiest approach for me to correct is to lock up chickens at night. The current approach is having a dog that jumps fence to check on chickens.

It's a good point you make about owls at night. I will put some wire up on the open side of the salt box. Thanks!
Many years ago, we forgot to put our chickens away one night and heard a ruckus. I looked out our bedroom window and could see this huge brown mound of something on the front porch. I was so confused because I had NO idea what it could be. I made a noise at the window, and ever so slowly, the top of the mound began to rotate until a huge owl was staring at me. My husband ran out and the owl flew off, revealing a lifeless hen. My husband laid her under the bench, with the intention to take care of her the next day.
In the morning, she was walking around like nothing ever happened! I will never forget the sight of that owl and the feeling of my own confusion as to what I was looking at! It was amazing.

 

[Fontaine]

My flock (of layer hens and roosters) is kept in a 1/3 acre area enclosed with electro-netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger. They're in it year round but they do have a run they can go into. But the door is open all day long. I've never lost a single bird to a ground predator in that pen. I've lost one young pullet to a hawk. That's it.

Would a bobcat jump over that electro netting? do you have any of those type of predators in your area like coyotes, bobcats, or foxes?

 

[chanceosunshine]

Would a bobcat jump over that electro netting? do you have any of those type of predators in your area like coyotes, bobcats, or foxes?

We do have foxes and coyotes.

 

[Lyranonamous]

My flock (of layer hens and roosters) is kept in a 1/3 acre area enclosed with electro-netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger. They're in it year round but they do have a run they can go into. But the door is open all day long. I've never lost a single bird to a ground predator in that pen. I've lost one young pullet to a hawk. That's it.

Do you mean the door to the run where they roost is open all day and night? If so and you've never lost any of them that's terrific.

 

[DobieLover]

Do you mean the door to the run where they roost is open all day and night? If so and you've never lost any of them that's terrific.

The door between the coop and the run is never closed.
I open the door to the run and they can come out into their pen during the day but I close that up at night time lock down. I did mention that I lost a 10 week old pullet to a hawk when the flock was out in the pen. But just her in 5 years.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

This is interesting. I currently use a smallish dog run but as I am adding to the flock, and we used to free range before we lost a couple hens to a fox attack, I wanted to consider either electrified, or non-electrified netting to connect the coop and then pen. We could just lock them in the pen when we are not home, but most of the time they could range that way between the coop and the pen, and I could adjust the area as we move the pen around the yard. I'm just not sure if it's worth the added expense to electrify, or how much I really need.

I was considering getting two 100' lengths of 48" plastic netting that would run me about $150 including stakes and ties. If I go electric, I would need to make a continuous loop around the 6x5 coop and 10x10 run, and the run could be positioned anywhere from 20' to 50-60' away from the coop. We never put it right on top of the coop, and are rotating it to keep the grass alive, but also there's a slope; the coop sits on a bit of a ridge, so we couldn't really place it too close even if we wanted to.

I'm curious to hear people's thoughts or recommendations. Would I go with two 100' lengths same as I planned on with plastic? (Which would be more than ample). Or try to make it work with one 164'? Can I get away with one solar charger, or would I really need double of everything if I do two lengths? We have fox and mink that I know of, as well as hawks and owls, which I can't do anything about in the daytime, unless the rooster wants to call them in under the roof at least. But they would still be locked in the secure coop overnight, just to sleep.