What kind of chickens do you plan on housing in the pens? Depending on how tall the birds are will determin how many you can build. Also think about that you will have to clean out the pens to keep from having problems with sickness. You can use wood or wire for the floors of the pens. If...
I have never heard of a fox jumping a fence. They usally find a hole or dig under the wire. Never used electic netting, but an electric wire about 6 inches off the ground will discourage them from getting close to the wire. Hope you get it figured out.
We have had that problem too. An Opossum was getting them. It would eat the head guts and a little of the breast. We also lost some of our bantams to hawks. The hawks would land on the sides of the cages and reach in. They would only eat the head and crop because that is all they could get...
There are no stupid questions. I don't have much experience with tractors, but do have several bantams paired up in smaller cages (wire circle 3 ft across) and found that they prefer some kind of roost to get them off the ground. We had problems with o'possums getting them through the wire if...
I don't know how big of an area you need th stabilize, but you could try mixing up some comcrete and pouring a thin layer over it. It would keep the water from washing away the dirt. The down side is that it won't be strong enough to step on.
Here is a pic I found on the web. We use a setup similar to this just not as tall. There is a 10 x 8 inch door that is hinged to be able to close it during really cold weather. We use standard light bulbs to heat it and seems to work good. Vary the temp by using different watt bulbs. Hope...
I'm not real sure about the insulation. I would think it would hold the heat in. If you are worried about heat I think the ventilation is the key. Good airflow will cutdown on the temp alot.
Standard chicken wire works pretty good. The only draw backs to it is that it doesn't have much structural support and it can be hard to work with if you don't have any help. The only time I have had a problem is when a large limb falls on it, it will stretch and tear. Hope this helps.
Your plan sounds like it will work good. I have alot of experience making different types of coops and have done just what you are planning and it worked great. I would suggest usin welded wire that has holes that are 1 inch by 2 inch. You may want to look into supplementing grit due to the...
Some of the older folks I talk to say that an owl can not take a chicken if it has a grip on the limb, pole,etc. But they say an owl will light next to a chicken and crowd it to the end. When the chicken flys down the owl will snag it.
I have found that Adams flea and tick spray works good, and it is alot cheaper than Frontline. And you can pick it up at most feed stores and at walmart.