Are my chickens safe if we seldom see any predators

[Gerald1969]

My wife and I built a hoop coop for our 11 chickens. Here in Port Arthur, Texas we live inside city limits. Very seldom we see a possum or raccoon. We use an automatic run chicken door with the timer set for opening and closing. So far we haven’t had any problems, however our surrounding neighbors has plenty of dogs. Can anyone tell me if they would feel safe with the way we have constructed our hoop coop?

 

[AinaWGSD]

No. It's usually the predators you don't see that are the biggest problem. It looks like you have chicken wire over the panels. That's not strong enough to keep predators out. Dogs or raccoons will have no problems getting through it. In fact, chicken wire is really only good for keeping chickens in. What you want is 18 gage hardware cloth.

 

[Gerald1969]

No. It's usually the predators you don't see that are the biggest problem. It looks like you have chicken wire over the panels. That's not strong enough to keep predators out. Dogs or raccoons will have no problems getting through it. In fact, chicken wire is really only good for keeping chickens in. What you want is 18 gage hardware cloth.

Th

 

[Gerald1969]

Thank you so much this weekend I will be making changes removing the chicken wire and replacing it with hardware cloth. I intend not to lose any of them!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

The panels you have to create the hoop have very large gaps. And it appears the front and back are just chicken wire.

There are 2"x4" panels similar to that (some places call them horse panels) they're more expensive, and might be harder to find, but it'll have smaller gaps so that if/when something rips through the hardware cloth you're going to use, a large animal can't just stroll right in. (I'm referring to things like dogs and raccoons.)

But, I can't see where your birds roost. If they're within grabbing range of the top or sides, then...

Also, digging prevention is important.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
It's impossible to overdo building a safe coop!
No openings larger than 1/2" anywhere.
A dig proof skirt around the coop, or a concrete foundation.
Child proof latches, raccoons are really good at simple latches!
The problem with automatic doors is that you aren't there to see who's in, and who's out, and what critters can be inside when the door shuts. Much better than never having the door close, but not always best.
Your coop is better than our first effort, and we learned the hard way, over time, that improvements were essential.
Mary

 

[yungtan]

Thank you so much this weekend I will be making changes removing the chicken wire and replacing it with hardware cloth. I intend not to lose any of them!

If you have Amazon prime you can get a pretty good deal on hardware cloth, I believe 48”x100’ 19 gauge 1/2” hardware cloth is about $140-150 and free shipping.

 

[Gerald1969]

Welcome!
It's impossible to overdo building a safe coop!
No openings larger than 1/2" anywhere.
A dig proof skirt around the coop, or a concrete foundation.
Child proof latches, raccoons are really good at simple latches!
The problem with automatic doors is that you aren't there to see who's in, and who's out, and what critters can be inside when the door shuts. Much better than never having the door close, but not always best.
Your coop is better than our first effort, and we learned the hard way, over time, that improvements were essential.
Mary

I’m taking the advice from the each of you. I’ll call it bulletproof on the coop! I’ll improve the entire coop with hardware cloth and put it from inside to cover beneath the bottom going to the outside surrounding. I already have Arlo3 cameras on the front and rear. We can see completely around the entire coop. We also own paintball gear so we can run anything off without really hurting them. I’m going to recover the coop, however I will be leaving the chicken wire on for the extra protection. I want to say thanks to the each of you for all the great information. I’ll post pictures once I have it all completed