chicken wire vs. fencing

[Nkelly]

I currently have a large fenced area with 2 goats. The fence is 2 inch square. I would like to add hens to the goat pen and have them cohabitate. Do I need to do change my fencing or will this work? Does it depend on the breed of hens? We are thinking of getting Bantys and RIR. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Free Feather]

If it is tall, it will suffice. Goat-type wires will be stronger than chicken wire anyway. You could put chicken wire at the bottom of the goat's fencing to make the holes smaller at the bottom.

 

[cavemanrich]

Fence is Ok. Bantys are only small when chicks and you need to keep them away from trampling goat until mature. Even the small banties when grown cant get thru a 2 inch fence opening. The chickens will stay clear of the goats if they feel threatened. I don't think you have killer goats. BEST WISHES

 

[Free Feather]

How tall is the fence? My bantams can fly near as good as robins, but I do not worry about keeping them contained because they are free range. If you plan on confining them, you may want to cover it.

 

[Nkelly]

The fence is 4 ft high. The goats might need a little time to adjust to sharing space, but as kids they shared space with chickens and ducks. Is it recommender to clip wings? It's a large area, not feasible the cover.

 

[Aliciahess]

I have personally never clipped wings. They come back...worry about predators sometimes. My chicks do okay with the goats. Sometimes the goats chase them though.
Chicken wire around the bottom is a good idea.

 

[WNCcluck]

Unless your fence is really high, you'll have at least one chicken escape artist in your flock if not all of them. We've got a smaller EE who routinely ends up in treetops. We changed her name from Louise to Lou-dini.

What sort of coop will you have / do you have for the birds?

 

[Nkelly]

Unless your fence is really high, you'll have at least one chicken escape artist in your flock if not all of them. We've got a smaller EE who routinely ends up in treetops. We changed her name from Louise to Lou-dini.

What sort of coop will you have / do you have for the birds?

Haven't started a coop yet. That is still in the planning phase. More thinking of shed to roost for night and allow them to free range throughout the day.

 

[WNCcluck]

...

Haven't started a coop yet. That is still in the planning phase. More thinking of shed to roost for night and allow them to free range throughout the day.

If your chickens can free range safely, that's wonderful. So, you're planning on closing the chickens in for the night? Most of the predators in our neck of the woods are "dark" predators. The main exception to that is hawks.

 

[aart]

Make sure your goats can't get to the chicken feed......it will make them sick if they gorge out on it.