- Jan 9, 2010
- 306
- 13
- 121
HotDesertChick - Our 7 acres is fenced, although a coyote could come over the fence if they were so inclined. The presence of our three dogs seems to have been the biggest deterrent to them and they move on to greener pastures where they do not have to work so hard.
Our coop is on rocky ground also, so burying wire was not an option. We did, however, run it at a 90 degree angle out 18" from the run, buried in gravel and dirt. Have not found a predator yet who has been able to dig that far and that deep. We do, however, use floor to ceiling hardware cloth on our run. I don't find that it interferes with visibility, and the peace of mind has well justified the cost.
I have several chicken friends who have run two strands of hot tape around the base of their coop run, one at about 6" and one at about 18". So far, this has been enough to deter bears, raccoons, coyotes, dogs, bobcats - well, everything!!
This is our old coop, the visibility of the hardwire cloth is pretty clear in this shot. We went a lot bigger with the 2014 Coop/Run edition (from a 8x12' run to a 22x48' run)
Our coop is on rocky ground also, so burying wire was not an option. We did, however, run it at a 90 degree angle out 18" from the run, buried in gravel and dirt. Have not found a predator yet who has been able to dig that far and that deep. We do, however, use floor to ceiling hardware cloth on our run. I don't find that it interferes with visibility, and the peace of mind has well justified the cost.
I have several chicken friends who have run two strands of hot tape around the base of their coop run, one at about 6" and one at about 18". So far, this has been enough to deter bears, raccoons, coyotes, dogs, bobcats - well, everything!!
This is our old coop, the visibility of the hardwire cloth is pretty clear in this shot. We went a lot bigger with the 2014 Coop/Run edition (from a 8x12' run to a 22x48' run)
