What makes a coop "Fort Knox" predator proof?

[JenniferCNY]

@zndzant
I kept my roosting trays the same as the plan and they are working out fine for containment purposes. I also use sweet pdz and scoop every day. I like that I can take them out for a deeper cleaning, as needed.

 

[zndzant]

@zndzant
I kept my roosting trays the same as the plan and they are working out fine for containment purposes. I also use sweet pdz and scoop every day. I like that I can take them out for a deeper cleaning, as needed.

Your roost trays are undoubtedly quite a bit lighter than mine because i did make mine wider. You mentioned switching your roosting bars also. Depending on what you use, that will make them heavier. Just something to keep in mind.

Do your cheeps roost with their beaks toward the back and tails toward the front of the coop? How many do you have? Mine all squeeze onto one roost board. Only my rooster has ventured into the uncharted territory of the whole other roost box next to the one they all squish on. Lol

 

[Linda Lu]

This is coop we built from pic on Pinterest. It has cattle panels and then chicken wire over it that extends a foot past bottom that we covered with dirt and rocks (not pictured).

 

[JenniferCNY]

@zndzant goodness! Yours girls must be squished sharing one roosting bar. So cute! Mine divide up between the two, facing both directions. I have wondered why they face the big back doors. I do have one girl who roosts right in the middle, between the two roosting trays, so she is perpendicular to the others. Silly chicken! I think it's her way of showing her dominance, claiming that as the best roosting spot since they are all on the same level. I have 8 pullets, 6 months old.

 

[med1pilot]

Any hole one inch or larger is fair game for weasels and rodents. It looks like you went above and beyond in protecting, so great job. I agree with another poster though, some form of shade would be nice, and a plan on what to do with the run when they finish denuding the green.

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Wow! Your run is amazing! We have 5 foot high electric netting, with a foot welded mesh skirting pegged into the ground. I also lock them into a sequre coop at night, but the only real threat I've got in the UK is Red Foxes.

 

[Blooie]

I echo everyone else in the "great job" comments! You certainly did it right the first time!

But as @cavemanrich said, predator proofing is just part of the story. Speaking from a personal standpoint, I refuse to think there is such a thing as a 100% predator proof setup. I have said this in other threads as well. Nothing - no hardware cloth, skirts, aprons, concrete, or latch - can be relied on to provide all the protection needed. If I were to put all my faith in the mechanics of predator proofing, it would be far too easy to become complacent. Nothing adds more to predator protection than diligence. Watch for little gaps that might appear as the coop/run settle a bit. Walk the perimeter regularly and look for little signs that something has been interested in getting to your birds and reinforce that spot if necessary. Repair (or replace) any little areas that are showing age or damage. And listen to your chickens. If you hear a commotion out there that is totally unexpected, get out there and investigate immediately.

If you wonder about the apron you put into place rather than digging down several feet and putting wire down, I can tell you that even a skirt and apron work well. When we built our run, we ran hardware cloth up the sides about 2 feet, then folded it out at the bottom as an apron for another two feet or so. Our ground is just too hard and rock filled to try digging, and Ken and I are older folks. Both of us have some degree of disability. I worried...was it enough? When our girls went out there for the first time, our English Setter Molly got way too overexcited at seeing them flapping around in there. She paced the length of that run like her tail was on fire. She tried jumping up on it, but the cattle panels (reinforced with chicken wire to deter birds and squirrels and the hardware cloth skirt over that) were solid and when that didn't work she got the bright idea to try to dig under it. Um, that was a mistake! She broke and bloodied a toenail. She yelped and limped away from that run, looking over her shoulder and shooting the chickens dirty looks like they were responsible for her injury. And she never, ever bothered those chickens again, not even when they were free ranging. She decided they hurt her, and she gave them all the space they wanted just to avoid another owie.


The hardware cloth skirt going up the sides of the run and apron running outward. We found a few wrought iron corner shelves at a flea market and used them to stiffen every corner of the run. The hardware cloth skirt is literally sewn into the side of the run with wire and we used landscape fabric staples to secure the apron to the ground. We planned to cover the apron with flat rock, but the grass grew up quickly right through it so we left it as is. Ken can mow right up to the edge of the run, and no tall grass or rocks mean no place for littler, annoying pests like mice and snakes, to hide.


Molly the first day the chickens were in the run.....just before she tried digging underneath.


Since she blamed the chickens for her mishap and never forgot the lesson learned, she became utterly reliable around them. Not that I recommend this method of training any dog to be around chickens - it just happened to work out in our case. Here she is laying down in the run, waiting for me to finish chores. Notice the chicks behind her...the enclosure she's laying against is the brooder pen within the run that we use to raise chicks outside.


Bookends. She didn't bother the chickens and they didn't bother her...except to occasionally give a tug on that tempting tail hair...


The run and coop...notice that we also ran hardware cloth up the sides of the coop and secured it with large washers and screws and extended it out at the bottom as well. That covered box-like thingy in front of the run is the little tunnel they use to get from coop to run....so the pop door is totally encased within a solid structure. There is hardware cloth under it and extending out, and hardware cloth sewn into the wire on the run above it, just in case any critters have the bright idea to jump on it and get in that way. Windows are also covered in hardware cloth, using screws and washers.


The lattice serves no purpose except to keep the run from being an eyesore, since we live on a corner lot in town.


They say build it like Fort Knox. I say that even Fort Knox has extra security and guards to back up the protection built into it. From what I can see, you're off to a great start!

 

[zndzant]

@Blooie I love your covered tunnel from coop to run!

 

[cavemanrich]

I just LUV this picture....

 

[Nardo]

@zndzant
My roosting poles are 2x4's with the wide side up. The roosting boards are the same as the plan except that I made them about 3" wider because I was afraid that they would miss the board at width they were designed. I will say that this makes them quite a bit heavier to take in and out so I've filled them with sweet pdz and just scoop it daily like a cat litter box.


Awesome!