Anyone ever not had a loss?

[Mallory8502]

Trust me, 6ft will not keep a chicken in (even if it has so far), and it will not keep some predators out (raccoons, hawks, cats). Yes, you will probably lose chickens eventually. My neighbor has experienced this over and over. You probably put a lot of time, effort, and money into raising them, and it would suck to have to start over. My yard is fenced, and I let my chickens free range as well, but I only do it when I am sitting outside with them and they are in my line of sight. I do not walk away for anything. During the spring, summer, and fall it is a great evening ritual to sit out there with a beer and just watch them do chicken stuff. I am sure they would like to free range all day, but they have a run, and it's my job to keep them safe if I want to have eggs.

 

[Tuhmu]

X2!!

Raccoons are excellent climbers and can handle your 6 ft. wood fence with no problem. And they live everywhere - urban, suburban, doesn't matter, they are well adapted to survive. It sounds like you know that you're just playing with fire by not fortifying your coop, so why take the risk? You can get 100 ft. rolls of hardware cloth on amazon for under $100 - seems like it would be worth it for peace of mind alone.

If you are worried about predators, I would do all of this in addition to investing in a few of these. I have six scattered all over my property at various heights, all facing different directions. Two of them are on my chicken run. I would like to add another four, putting two more on the chicken coop and putting the other two in other various locations. I really think they help considerably. They are a beautifully simple product and are a useful addition to your flock defense.