I am currently free ranging my flock of 13 birds. The coop is in an area surrounded by wood fence posts, which I plan to turn into a goat pasture next year (about a fifth of an acre). I want to put up a smooth wire electric fence on those wood posts, mostly to keep the goats in and predators out. I intend on leaving the coop in there and keeping the goats and chickens together, which I have read mixed reviews about, but that's for another thread. But, I have this question:
Is there a wire spacing that will also keep the hens in?
I recently lost a pullet to an unknown predator near the property boundary (I think it was a possum given that it only ate the thighs/some of the organs and left the rest, but I'm obviously not sure). I know loss is to be expected when free ranging, but it would obviously be ideal to keep them in a more secure area. I'm not opposed to some pretty tight wire spacing along the bottom to try and keep them from walking through and clipping their wings to keep them from flying over the ~4ft total height if they routinely do so. Could I do a goat wire spacing like 6"-6"-6"-6"-8"-10" and add in an extra couple strands at the bottom? Like one at 3" and 9"?
I am reading everything from "you can keep a flock behind two strands of electric wire" to super intense setups with wayyy more wires, and lots of "they'll literally squeeze through anything. I know they won't really get shocked, so the spacing should be more of a physical barrier, and I'm fine with that so long as they are stuck inside and predators are outside. Ultimately, I'd really like to hear from someone that has tried (and hopefully succeeded) in making an electric fence like this to essentially make something between a "free range" area and a really really big run.
Thanks in advance. Hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question. I'm really hoping to make it all work together, but I guess I can pivot to another plan if I really need to, especially if I start losing more birds to predators.
Is there a wire spacing that will also keep the hens in?
I recently lost a pullet to an unknown predator near the property boundary (I think it was a possum given that it only ate the thighs/some of the organs and left the rest, but I'm obviously not sure). I know loss is to be expected when free ranging, but it would obviously be ideal to keep them in a more secure area. I'm not opposed to some pretty tight wire spacing along the bottom to try and keep them from walking through and clipping their wings to keep them from flying over the ~4ft total height if they routinely do so. Could I do a goat wire spacing like 6"-6"-6"-6"-8"-10" and add in an extra couple strands at the bottom? Like one at 3" and 9"?
I am reading everything from "you can keep a flock behind two strands of electric wire" to super intense setups with wayyy more wires, and lots of "they'll literally squeeze through anything. I know they won't really get shocked, so the spacing should be more of a physical barrier, and I'm fine with that so long as they are stuck inside and predators are outside. Ultimately, I'd really like to hear from someone that has tried (and hopefully succeeded) in making an electric fence like this to essentially make something between a "free range" area and a really really big run.
Thanks in advance. Hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question. I'm really hoping to make it all work together, but I guess I can pivot to another plan if I really need to, especially if I start losing more birds to predators.