This weekend my wife and I finally got the chance to put up our new coop and run for our chickens. They've spent the last two days in there,and they seem to be having a great time. They've been out foraging and running and generally having a great time. Call me neurotic, though, but I can't shake a feeling that their setup isn't secure enough.
Right now they are locked up in the coop at night and able to range around the run from about 7 am to 11 pm. The coop is secured with hardware cloth and double locks, and I'm not too worried about it. But is the run secure? We want the birds to have space, so we aren't going to build a small enclosed run, but I'm no expert on things like this. Thoughts? Suggestions?
Can't see from the picture but my first thought was if you have netting over the top of the run...otherwise you might have birds of prey feasting on your chickens...
Our chickens can't free range because of predators. Bobcats and hawks mostly. This is a picture of our run. We have hardware cloth and a solid roof. We have had no losses.
I'd be concerned about not locking them up until 11 p.m. For me, that's way too late, fenced in big run type area or not. It's pretty dark here by then. Our sun sets around 9 p.m. these days. Do your chickens go into the coop on their own at dusk? What is the fence around your big open run made out of? How do you have it secured/anchored? How high is the fence? I can't tell from the pics but I can see that it's a nice, big fenced area. Where do you live, in the suburbs/urban area or country?
I live in KY bordering 3,000 acres of Daniel Boone National Forest so we have predators too (don't we all?
). I've only had my chickens for about 3 months. They truly free range during the day (zero fencing). I have a secure coop with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, triple locks that are raccoon proof. I also have 2 dogs that help with predator control by barking at nearly every animal that comes around. I'm really diligent about locking them in the coop around 8:30 (dusk for us), usually trying to spend time up at the coop/barn doing chores so I'm in the area at dusk. I also do about an hour of chores in the morning as I let them out, again, so I'm in the area when it's more likely predators will be passing through.
I think your fence is helpful during the day. It can't hurt, that's for sure. It will at least cause ground predators to have to work to get at the chickens. It won't stop them, though, I'm afraid. No fenced area of your size really can unless it's hardware cloth buried into the ground and covered. It's sort of the choice you're making. You want to give them more space but the trade off is less security from predators. And depending on where you live, the predators can be domesticated (neighbors dogs and cats) or wild (coyotes, fox, weasels, snakes) or... both.
I am sorry to tell you, that is the type of enclosure I had. It was only 8X8 with a net on top.
My 2 wonderful golden doodle tore it down and took out all 10 8 week old chicks, all my fault. And I was in the yard when it happened. No noise. Stronger or electric is a must!!!!
I agree with GuppyTJ 11:00 pm is awfully late. My chickens are true free range during the day but at 6:00pm I put them in their run. ( We have a lot of predators here in the UP) They go in the coop by 8:30 and then I close up the coop for the night. I've had chickens for 2 years with no losses. ( knock on wood )
Wow! These are some great responses from everyone. We are new to chickens and figuring out new things every day, but this isn't something I want to experiment with and get my chicks killed! I really appreciate all the advice.
It seems clear that we need to get them in earlier than we have been. The fence is 4 ft high plastic fencing secured to u posts every six feet, so it is definitely intended to keep the chickens in more than keep anything out for an extended period of time. I think I'm going to start bringing them in around 7 or 8 in the evening now.
We are suburban and have a few pretty densely populated streets around us, a college campus, and then a lot of woods. I''ve never seen or heard of Amy big predators in the area, but we've got more than our fair share of hawks, owls, raccoons and the like. I need to figure out someway to get the chickens some aerial protection now I think...
Valentine Hill, I suspect your biggest risk based on where you live will be dogs and cats, domesticated animals vs. wild animals. Dogs are predators and unfortunately, hunt/kill for sport. When they have time on their hands, they'll send hours joyfully trying to break into whatever barrier is between them and chickens. Not everyone respects leash laws and maybe even more often, dogs just get out of their own fenced yards or run off or whatever. Many on this forum who live in urban/suburban areas indicate dogs are their biggest predator threat.
Most cats will not kill a grown chicken but will kill as many chicks as they can. Cats are great at killing birds and well... a chicken is certainly a bird!
It's not that these animals are bad, it's just that chickens are prey and they are predators. I speak from experience, having spent loads of time training my 2 dogs to not harm my chickens. One dog was easy. The other dog, who is also bind, took a LOT of work. He's still a work in progress. But, luckily, as the chickens have gotten older and stop peeping and start clucking, for some reason, he is no longer so interested. The older 10 literally peck at him now and he sleeps through it. The younger 6 still peep a little and he was fixated on them. Now, not so much as they cluck more and peep less. And now, he's more guarding them all, helping me keep the coyotes and fox away. Last night at about 6:30, he went crazy barking the "intruder alert" bark (he has different barks for different things) at something in the woods. We border 3,000 acres of Daniel Boone National Forest so have our share of wild predators, but luckily, no neighbors and no dogs other than my own. Even though my blind dog can't see, he can still smell and hear well so I credit him for their safety. So far... I know it's really a matter of time before a fox or coyote wanders by during the day or early evening and takes one or more of my chickens. I heard the coyotes off in the distance whooping just this morning, a big pack of them. But... it's that trade off I mentioned and I have to learn and figure things out as I go, as we all do. I free range and really want to keep free ranging but this comes with predator risks that I try to manage and influence but know I can't fully control. I talk a good game now but... we'll see how I really feel and what really happens when it happens!
But back to your situation. The plastic netting... how strong is it? I only know of the sort of flimsy stuff that a dog could easily bite/rip through. Just something I thought to mention. I don't know that the need for aerial protection is as much a concern. If you lock them up at or before dusk, you're probably relatively (relatively!) safe from owls. Hawks... not as much but if your chickens are grown and you provide cover for them out in the open, you might be mostly OK. We have lots of hawks here but I can only surmise that my dogs hold them at bay and/or my chickens are now too big (13 and 15 weeks old) for a hawk to try to tackle? Raccoons I have no experience with here but know others have big issues with them. And opossum. Which of course, both can climb up and over any height or type fence. So can a fox, BTW, can scale a 10 foot high fence, great climbers.
