Crazy idea!

[chickinthebator]

Hi all!
Just thought of a crazy idea!

Basically, I own a reasonably sized chicken run with a small hut inside for the chickens over night.
This also contains a fence around to prevent the fox coming in, but unfortunately he got one of my chickens
that i had owned for many years, along with others in the past and then and this was the final straw!

I incubated chicks, and while they grow and I incubate some more chicks to join them (due 30th August)
I am planning on an extreme solution!

My plan is to use a moat (much like in all of the castle movies)!

By doing this, the fox will be unable to get under the fence and into the run!

I plan to start building on the 10th, the day after my new eggs go into the incubator, hoping to add to my 3 little chickies that hatched last week.

I feel the plan really could work and will keep you updated on the project!
What do you all think?

(Here is the design)

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

It is easier to do a hardware cloth apron (no digging) or bury the hardware cloth. I wouldn't rely on a moat.

 

[ramirezframing]

Foxes swim. Have you tried burying the fence under the ground by about a foot and have the cut end on the wire bent upwards so that the prongs of the wire poke whatever tries to dig in? One of my friends had a few fox attacks, and this has stopped them from getting in. She can see where the foxes have tried to get in but failed. Good luck

 

[chickinthebator]

Thanks for the replies - the fence digging sounds very difficult?

 

[JanetS]

This is what we did. We buried 12" patio stones side way in the ground all around the coop and run. It was a lot of work but we feel it was worth it. Many people use a wire apron around the bottom which is less work. I don't think the moat idea will help. We use to have a small pond in our yard that foxes and raccoons were always getting in it. We finally filled it in. Good luck. It's a full time job trying to keep chickens safe.

 

[aart]

Apron...no digging required....view all images on the right side of the page of this thread

 

[Time-Out]

Fence digging sounds easier than moat digging to me.

 

[4 the Birds]

Seriously... A moat around the run? Sounds like a breeding area for mosquitoes. Go with a skirt around the run as mentioned above.

 

[MelissaTXRn]

Alcatraz! Great idea, but would the water breed bugs and bacteria?