Arizona Bob
In the Brooder
- Jul 31, 2017
- 7
- 25
- 23
I purchased and assembled a 72" Pawhut coop and surrounded it with 2 foot high chicken wire. I assumed my mom & daughter team were happy but i was totally ignorant regarding how unprotected they were. They got into the habit of jumping out into the larger yard, then not being able to figure out how to jump back in. They lived for 6 months without any issues until our 1st day of vacation 2016, when the house/chicken sitters called to tell us they had BOTH been taken away by a coyote!
So after 6 months of grieving, we hired a carpenter to build us a large, fully enclosed structure over and around the coop. It is 9' wide, 12' long, 7' tall, and covered with chicken wire all over. There is also chicken wire buried under the dirt all the way around the base, and another layer of small-holed chicken wire around the base of the perimeter. This was added later when a rattle snake squeezed his way in and then our 1st pullet squeezed herself out all in the same week! There is a full door for me to open and enter. The carpenter built the structure in sections, then attached the sections together. He wedged it up under a huge tree, and though we have had winds of 60mph, nothing has moved. We still let the girls out at least 3 times a day for 20-30 minutes at a time to run, forage, fly a bit, and chase insects.
So after 6 months of grieving, we hired a carpenter to build us a large, fully enclosed structure over and around the coop. It is 9' wide, 12' long, 7' tall, and covered with chicken wire all over. There is also chicken wire buried under the dirt all the way around the base, and another layer of small-holed chicken wire around the base of the perimeter. This was added later when a rattle snake squeezed his way in and then our 1st pullet squeezed herself out all in the same week! There is a full door for me to open and enter. The carpenter built the structure in sections, then attached the sections together. He wedged it up under a huge tree, and though we have had winds of 60mph, nothing has moved. We still let the girls out at least 3 times a day for 20-30 minutes at a time to run, forage, fly a bit, and chase insects.
