Beginner questions

[corinnep27]

We have a dozen 4 week old chicks that will be moved outdoors in the next two weeks. We have a 10x20 ft shed (pictured here); the smaller side with the porch will be the coop, divided off inside by a wall from the larger portion. We will be fencing a run that is the size of a neighborhood yard. Questions:

How high fence?
Does it have to be netted over the top? That's a lotttttt of fencing/netting.
Is the verdict I am seeing here, metal fencing and doubled up with chicken wire?

Thanks from a newbie!

 

[Judy]

I have a 6' fence with large fowl. The truth is if you have the occasional bird who just insists on getting out, she will get out. I have watched them "walk" up the fince, flapping and hanging on, til it got to the top and over, several times. Of course, she was tring to get back in within the day, but.....

I also have a large yard with no top. No, it's not predator proof... but has not been breached in the 3 or so years it's been up. We have hawks, but I think in this area they are small enough, or maybe just well fed enough, that they don't try to take a chicken. Oddly, we had a buzzard get in there reentl, apparently for the feed. No problems other than that.

It just depends on your area, and maybe on how hungry your wildlife is. If we had bears, this setup would not work. We also have a couple of dogs running around the property, often hanging out atround the chicken yard. I imagine they discourage any fox or coyote that is looking for a meal..

There are different kinds of wire fencing that you can use. If you want more securit, put a 1' or 2' sstrip along the bottom, so weasels, etc. can't slip through, and coons can't tear through. Mine has holes large enough that a coon could reach through and grab a chicken, but the chickens don't hang out next to the fence, they hang around the bushes that brow here and there in their ard, or in the coop on hot days. (It is about a 70' x 70' yard, with 9 birds.) My fence actually looks like chicken wire, but it is very heavy gauge, similar to hardware cloth.

Standard shicken wire will not keep anything out or in but chickens. Even a small dog can easily tear through it. It has its uses, as to fence the garden off from the chickens, or to partition a small area inside the coop, but offers no protection.

 

[1000yearoldeggs]

I just wanted to mention that the kind of chickens you have might make a difference. I just watched my 9/10 week old tetra tint (leghorn/Rhode Island red cross) fly to the top of my coop, it's about eight foot high! She flew straight up, no hanging off of anything.

My adult chickens (not leghorns, mostly heavy breeds) are all too heavy to fly higher than maybe 4 foot, so you can imagine how surprised I was. Very scary, I thought she might get hurt flying back down, but she had no problem. If you have leghorns, you'll probably need a netted top to your run.

 

[corinnep27]

I really have no idea what breeds we have!! We got the chicks from my kids school after they hatched them from a mixed batch of eggs. Time will tell I suppose!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Quote:

That's a lotttttt of fencing/netting. True
Is the verdict I am seeing here, metal fencing and doubled up with chicken wire? Works

My run is about 4 ft high. If you clip the feathers on one wing of each bird it will help.

Make sure there is no blood in the shaft of the feather before you clip or your bird may bleed to death.

On some birds you may even have to clip a few secondary flight feathers.

One wing throws the bird off balance and is more effective than trimming equal amounts off both wings.


My Coop is a salvaged 4x8 metal shed insulated with Styrofoam covered with veneer from interior doors from Habitat From Humanity. Here are a few tips and a quick look at my set up.
My floor are planks with a layer of tin for rodent proofing. On top of the tin I have a piece of vinyl flooring cut one foot longer than the length and width of my coop (roughly). Six inches squares are cut out of the 4 corners of the vinyl flooring. This allows the friction fitted flooring to travel up the walls six inches around the perimeter of my 4x8 salvaged metal coop. Shovel out the heavy stuff into a wheel barrow. Pop out the vinyl flooring hose it off pop it back in.
Easy Peasy!


Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.



POOP BOARDS are the "BEST" addition yet. Handles well over ½ of the poop in my set up keeps ammonia smell in check 3½" below roost excellent for catching eggs laid through the night (roost are in cups for easier removal and cleaning). I recently friction fit a piece of vinyl flooring over my poop board.it makes clean up even easier; Pop out; Scrap; Hose; Pop in.

Winter months even easier flex over compost bin DONE!

Easy peasy!.

 

[4 the Birds]

We have a dozen 4 week old chicks that will be moved outdoors in the next two weeks. We have a 10x20 ft shed (pictured here); the smaller side with the porch will be the coop, divided off inside by a wall from the larger portion. We will be fencing a run that is the size of a neighborhood yard. Questions:

How high fence?
Does it have to be netted over the top? That's a lotttttt of fencing/netting.
Is the verdict I am seeing here, metal fencing and doubled up with chicken wire?



Thanks from a newbie!

A run area is best COVERED to keep out predators. I would create a smaller run area that is totally enclosed and then just use a 4 ft. high fence for any free ranging fencing.

Clipped wings creates an imbalance with the chickens flight but it will not guarantee that the birds will not still escape from a fenced area. Clipping also has to be done on a regular basis as the feather grow back. Our free ranging flock stays within a 4 ft high fence but often fly up over 7 ft high to sit on the coop roof. The run should be predator proof and enclosed on the top so I would recommend deer netting as a quick and easy way to keep them in the run. The best solution would be to add a center ridge board in the run and slope some tin sheets or panels for a run cover. This will keep the run shaded and also keep out rains and snow (if you are in a cold region). It would also be much more predator proof than deer netting.