Chickens in the Woods?

[patandchickens]

I think the only predator that it's really tough to keep out is a bear - and even then, only *if* the bear notices your chickens and decides it's worth his or her while to disassemble your coop or run to get to them. (And some do keep chickens successfully even in bear country).

Anything else, you can provide a reasonable guarantee of safety if you work at it, although there may be some 'learning experiences' along the way (e.g. oh, raccoons can open this kind of latch after all, aargh).

I'd say go for it,

Pat

 

[CritterHill]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think we will move ahead with project chicken.

It is looking like we will spend the summer building the coop and then get the chickens next spring. We (meaning my husband) will have to clear the underbrush from a section of woods adjoining our yard, dismantle the old rock wall between that section of woods and the yard, and build, build, build, so it will take us some time to get ready.

There are no bears out here, just possum, raccoons, hawks, foxes, neighbor's dogs... They are pretty good about keeping the dogs fenced though. Occasionally the ancient, one-eyed beagle comes through the woods to visit, but I don't think she could catch a chicken at her age. I'm always amazed she can make it over at all!

The only concern I have is the fact that our soil is mostly rock. I'm not sure how easy/possible it will be to sink a fence a foot deep into it. Wondering if the critters will be able to dig under the fence if the soil is too rocky (bouldery) for us to bury it?

Oh, and another question. Our neighbor has 4 honeybee hives. Someone told me that chickens would eat bees if given the chance. Any idea if a dozen chickens could make a noticeable dent in the population of 4 hives? The chickens would not have access to the hives, but the bees spend a huge amount of time on our property at our cats' water dishes and in our flower gardens... I wonder if they would be smart enough to stay out of the chicken coop?

I get some wonderful fresh honey from this guy, I would hate to sour the relationship.

 

[MissPrissy]

Chickens will eat the bees if they catch them but I don't think they will eat hundreds of bees. No worries there.

It is good you mentioned the neighbor and the bees. You will want to stay away from DE products with your chickens. Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is used to help control insects that are not good for chickens - mice, lice, bugs and it will help to keep flies under control. It works naturally because it microscopically slices and dices the bugs and flies and larvea and they bleed out and die without the need of poisons to be used. It will also do this to bees. So if the bees come over and get the DE on their little feet and take it back to the hive any other bee that gets in it will also eventually bleed out and die. You could see the entire colony gone.

I am not trying to scare you. I am just giving you a friendly heads up since you voiced the concerns of the chickens eating the bees.

On a happy note, if you build your coop this summer you will staill have plenty of time through the fall to get chicks and get them feathered out before winter.

 

[patandchickens]

The only concern I have is the fact that our soil is mostly rock. I'm not sure how easy/possible it will be to sink a fence a foot deep into it. Wondering if the critters will be able to dig under the fence if the soil is too rocky (bouldery) for us to bury it?

You could just pile Lots Of Rocks, including some heavy ones, all round the bottom of the fence. With or without some wire mesh laid flat on ground under the rocks, dependind on how paranoid you are about predators digging.

Good luck,

Pat​

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
I think I just found a use for the rock wall that needs to be dismantled!

MissPrissy, thanks for the DE heads up. I did not know that!

I will take a few weeks and get my head together, do some more reading and lurking, etc. Once I have a plan for the coop, I'll probably post it to get a sanity check.

Thanks again folks! You guys rock!

 

[CritterHill]

New idea to avoid burying the fence in soil that is mostly boulders and rock...

What about chicken wire flat across the bottom of the run? Impossible for predators to dig up through, but I wonder if it would cause problems on their little feet.

My husband was suggesting throwing a layer of dirt on top of the wire, but with all the scratching, I dunno how that would hold up.

Opinions?

 

[greenmulberry]

Lay the wire a few feet around the outside of the run. That way the predators can't dig under (it won't occur to them to back up so far from the fence and try again) and then your chickens won't have to walk on wire.

 

[ChickenSquat]

Quote:
thats what i did and it works well

 

[CritterHill]

Thanks all again for the replies. That sounds like a good idea. I expect we will pile up rock as well since the rock wall that is getting removed has to go _somewhere_. Though the hubby looked at me like I was asking too much when I mentioned moving it to encircle the run. We shall see. I may end up moving some rock myself this summer. I guess it is good for me.

How did people manage to raise chickens before the internet?

 

[bs1234567]

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