Advice on keeping predators away from my pullets

[coolchange]

I am new to raising chickens so please forgive my ignorance. I have 4 pullets that are about 5-6 months old. I have them in a 4' x 8' pen with a coop for them to go into when they want to. I have the entire thing wired including the bottom because we have a few fox around our area. I keep hay in the bottom so they are not walking on the wire and hurting there feet. I am currently fencing a much bigger area for them to roam around in but I really don't have a simple way to wire the bottom. Any suggestions on how to keep predators from digging under the fence? Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I really appreciate any advice.

 

[SandraChick]

First off....I hope you're not using chicken wire. It's good for keeping chickens in, but not predators out.

Welded wire is the best, and if you can bury 1' of it- that keeps things from digging under. If the soil is too hard- you can bend it outward on the bottom as most animals do not know better to start digging 1' back.

I highly recomment getting an electric fence and then baiting the wire every so often with peanut butter or pieces of hot dog....it guarantees a good zap that they learn to avoid your pens.

Good luck
Sandra