Trish, I'm not surprised about the dogs. A determined dog is an amazing thing. Our full grown Weimaraner could squeeze out of her wire kennel by pushing against the smallest gap. She also eventually broke most of the welds, and I'm talking about pretty heavy duty wire. Fortunately she doesn't need to be crated any more. Good luck with those pups! We have a layer of small chicken wire covered by a layer of heavier wire fence, all attached to landscape timbers on the inside of the yard and lined with rock on the outside, all because the dog keeps pointing out the weaknesses in the system to us.
Patricia, I love those coops. We converted a child's play house into our coop and fenced the chicken yard around it. It's nice, but not in any way moveable!
Someone was asking about cats and dogs preying on chickens. Our dogs are both hunting breeds and I'm sure they'd very much love to eat the chickens. Actually, the Weim did get one of the very first chickens we had before we got the permanent pen and coop put up. Both dogs spend a bit of time every day patrolling the edge of the fence to see if anything edible has been kicked out and to see if they can find a way in, but they don't try too hard any more. Several times I've seen some neighborhood cats standing outside the fence checking things out. Usually the chickens start making a lot of noise if they feel threatened, or a dog lets me know there's something going on. I just let the dog out to chase the cats away. As far as I know, no cat has ever actually gotten in the pen.
Patricia, I love those coops. We converted a child's play house into our coop and fenced the chicken yard around it. It's nice, but not in any way moveable!
Someone was asking about cats and dogs preying on chickens. Our dogs are both hunting breeds and I'm sure they'd very much love to eat the chickens. Actually, the Weim did get one of the very first chickens we had before we got the permanent pen and coop put up. Both dogs spend a bit of time every day patrolling the edge of the fence to see if anything edible has been kicked out and to see if they can find a way in, but they don't try too hard any more. Several times I've seen some neighborhood cats standing outside the fence checking things out. Usually the chickens start making a lot of noise if they feel threatened, or a dog lets me know there's something going on. I just let the dog out to chase the cats away. As far as I know, no cat has ever actually gotten in the pen.
I have left over shingles, too! Thinking of a 4X4-- or maybe 4X3 coop with a single pitch/slant roof. NO trusses!!! ha! Since I only need it to hold my 3 silkies... and possibly a few more if they hatch out. Looking forward to my new project. I would get started now, but my kids have made me sick. *cough, cough*
