All 31 Meat Chickens Gone!

[MichaelZ13]

A dog, a coyote, a racoon , a fisher will all rip through chicken wire like butter. Your solution here is to do one of the following:
1. Herd them in to your coop each night and lock a door.
2. Get a guard dog to keep watch 24/7. A Great Pyrenees or Australian Shepherd will work, but they need a little training.
3. Use a secure chicken tractor with a lockable metal house. See http://www.raisingbackyardchickens101.com/chicken-tractor-plans.html

I use the secure chicken tractor, and I keep it in my yard close to the house in plain view. After I move it each day, I hose down the previous area good and this keeps the smell down to near nothing. I think the fact that there is little or no smell to draw in predators plus there are no chickens in sight at night helps discourage predators. Also, having the tractor on the yard right near where my dogs mark up the area with their scent helps. Our 2 dogs go inside at night so they do not help keep watch over night, although if they hear some commotion from the nearby tractor, they would be quick to wake us up. If the predator sees a chicken on the other side of some wire, they will go all out to rip through chicken wire or dig under some sturdier hardware cloth.

 

[sonofabish1]

MichaelZ, thanks for the response...

1. I would rather not have to herd them into the coop every night for a couple reasons. One, it's a pain to do with my setup. Two, (most importantly) the coop is half the size of the run and could get a little cramped - especially including a water bucket.

2.. As for a dog...well, nicely put I'm not too fond of dog plus I'm very allergic to them.

3. That chicken tractor doesn't look very secure. Maybe it's the wrong link as it's just PVC and chicken wire. Maybe the coop is secure but def not the run. That run has no support/safety underneath. If you operater with item #1 above then no big deal. My run made out of 2x4s is staked into the ground in 4 locations (plus attached to the coop) and my plans with this hardware cloth 6-8" into the ground will make digging a very deep experience.

Keep in mind these are meat chickens that will see the outside about 3-4 weeks at a time. I would rather spend the money to put up a predator-proof fence on all sides (and underground) of the coop. You have me questioning the hardware cloth...is this going to be enough???

 

[Mutt Farm]

You have me questioning the hardware cloth...is this going to be enough???

IMO for 1 coyote, fox, yes, heavy gauge HWC if it is very securely nailed, (not staplegun) to your 2X4's. And is digproof by way of buried HWC or a skirt. If you can't pull it off, they can't either. We all do the best we can do.

 

[sonofabish1]

What if I kept the chicken wire to keep the chickens contained and keep little paws out but cover it in chain link fence? Surprisingly enough chain link fence to cover my run is way cheaper than hardware cloth. I would also think that it would be nearly impossible for anything we have here in Ohio to rip through chain link fencing.

 

[aart]

What if I kept the chicken wire to keep the chickens contained and keep little paws out but cover it in chain link fence? Surprisingly enough chain link fence to cover my run is way cheaper than hardware cloth. I would also think that it would be nearly impossible for anything we have here in Ohio to rip through chain link fencing.

It would keep anything from chewing thru, but raccoons can reach thru chicken wire.....and take them part by part.

 

[Mutt Farm]

IMO, you could use chain link, however, a raccoon can and will reach through that and chicken wire to get a chicken. Might be just fine if you offset and doubled up the chicken wire too to make the openings smaller. Re chain link, I board and train dogs and have seen dogs bend and rip the cheap light gauge chain link fencing to bits in a matter of minutes.

 

[sonofabish1]

So to be super safe I should junk the chicken wire and put up hardware cloth then for another $50 adding the chain link for peace of mind is well worth it IMO.

 

[RonP]

Chain link the entire run, stops big predators, and relatively inexpensive.

Wrap the lower 2 feet in hardware cloth to stop prying little hands.

Essentially what I did, only I used 2x3 inch fencing instead of chain link.

I also aproned the run with the 2x3 fencing.

I really admire your setup, except the chicken wire...sorry for your loss.

 

[Mutt Farm]

So to be super safe I should junk the chicken wire and put up hardware cloth then for another $50 adding the chain link for peace of mind is well worth it IMO.

If it was me, and I had that money to spend, that is what I would do to be super safe. You've already lost so much.

 

[sonofabish1]

Well it's settled then! I went cheap the first time and paid for it. Now I'm gonna do it right!!

I've also learned (through more research) that I need better ventilation in the coop. Going to cut bigger openings near the top and cover them with hardware cloth. I have plenty of fall/winter projects so it sounds like this is going to be priority next spring before I get more chicks.

I had a fox run across the road in front of me today near home and as cool as it was I couldn't help but think about him killing chickens. This experience really makes me think differently!

Thanks everyone so much for the help!