Coop Security

[terry777]

I converted an old horse stall into my chicken coop. It's 10'X14' with three sides having solid siding on them. (East, South, and West side of the coop). On the North side, I have a run that measures 6'X14'.for a total space of 16'X14'. I live in Florida, so I left the North side open so my girl wouldn't get to hot. The top of the run is also enclosed. I used hardware cloth instead of chicken wire on the run. My girl likes to sleep on the ground. She won't use a nesting box. Since I don't have a coop with four solid walls, how safe is this for her? The only predators we have are owls and hawks.

 

[Judy]

Oh, you have other predators, but hopefully you have done enough to discourage them. Raccoons are everywhere, if nothing else. Did you bury the bottom of the fending or lay some sort of apron around it, to discourage digging under?

 

[terry777]

I plan to put wire around the perimeter of the bottom of the entire coop/run, but have not had a chance to do it, due to time and finances. I also plan on putting barb wire on the top of the run just in case the owls and hawks get any bright ideas.