Covering A Chicken Yard

[Michelehm]

Hello! New to BYC so I am not sure of the proper verbage just yet! We fenced in 30 x 22 foot area with cemented posts and heavy gates, to house our chickens and our coop. We live in the country and have a lot of hawks and owls in our woods and am wondering what be a good sturdy covering material to put over the yard for greater protection? There isn't a post in the center of the yard so I don't think chicken wire will work as it will sag without support. Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I used to keep my birds in a 30x50 foot old garden and also have lots of predators and hawks. So we put up poultry netting over the entire thing and put up 3 supports in the center, (3 poles with cookie tins at the top for support) circus tent style. Wish I had some pics of it, I don't use that area any more. I went with the 2 inch holes, but regretted that because small wild birds were getting in. So we eventually had to go with the 1 inch.

Here is a link to what I am talking about...

https://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/poultry-netting

I never had any hawks or predators even mess with this area.

Good luck and enjoy BYC!

 

[cafarmgirl]

Our run is about the same size, we had a heavy duty shade cloth made to fit at a local hardware store. It was not very expensive at all, less then $200.00. It's been up for 6 years and is not showing any wear yet. My husband did run some supports across the run so it wouldn't sag. What you use will also depend on your weather, if you get snow in winter something like this won't work.

 

[Michelehm]

Thanks for the great suggestions! It sounds like we will need to go ahead and put in a few support posts regardless of what we decide to use. I appreciate your answers!