Coop against the fence or away?

[izziebean]

So.... I'm building a 4 x 6 coop for the chickens and an 8 by 6 run to hook on to the coop. I was looking at the space today. I have some thornless blackberry bushes growing up the side of the fence. The run was going to go in front of that. If I move the blackberry bushes, I could either put both the coop and the run against the fence or could actually add 2 more feet to both the house and the run.

Is it a good idea to have the coop and run against a fence? It's a big wooden cedar fence. Squirrels love to run across the top of the fence line.. which I guess is why I was putting it a couple of feet away. The squirrels though could just jump though.

I would still put hardware cloth against the fence to keep predators out. I'm new to all of this but reading about what other creatures will do to my birds if given the chance, I am trying to build a cute little impenetrable fortress for my little chicks.

Thanks for any help!!

 

[centrarchid]

Gap so you can have layers. Considered hot-wire to zap predators scaling fence?

 

[izziebean]

Would that zap my neighbor when he looks over the fence? HA! I have a neighbor who talks to me like Wilson from Home Improvement. I love chattering with him. I was considering the hot fencing. May be too expensive at first.

 

[centrarchid]

Your neighbor can be informed of the fencing and it may place-able such that it does not zap neighbor yet repels predators. You should be able to setup for about $70 dollars with a low output charger powered by extension cord.

 

[yellowchicks]

I put my coop and the run 3 ft away from the fence so there is an alley way to do repair or service the back of the coop if necessary. If you put a roof over the run, you won't need to worry about predator or chickens jump the fence to require a hot wire fence.

Check your local ordinance to see if there is a setback requirement for accessory building such as a chicken coop. Check with your neighbor to make sure they are ok with the coop being so close to the common property line and the adjourning fence.

I talk to my backyard neighbors across the fence also, sometimes just hand some eggs over the fence to save ourselves the walk around the block.

 

[centrarchid]

I have roofs over some of my coops and yet the fencing is an added layer of protection. The larger gap to allow servicing is good.

 

[grlteki]

I am interested in moving my coop to the side of our garage and adding a run that will be between the garage and a board-on-board fence. I am not sure if I need to run wire mesh along the fence? There are gap between the boards. The run will be covered and I will make sure to protect from anything trying to dig in.
looks similar to this kind of fence:

 

[izziebean]

Predators are very smart and very quick. Animals can squeeze into the tiniest of places if they are motivated. I would put hardware cloth along the fence... screwed in with washers. I would even dig down under the ground a few inches with the cloth.

Still looking into the electrical fencing.