Critique My Pen

[Humhill]

We finally got our pheasant pen to where we could put our pair of Red Goldens in it.
Eventually we'll split it into three sections for different groups. Let me know what ya'll think, if you see any major deficiencies.

The inside:

View from the inside to far corner of lot:

The whole thing:

 

[arherp]

You do have a top on the pen, right? I can't tell from the picture...

Just make sure any gaps and such are wired or wooded over in their inside section.

 

[Humhill]

Two inch flight netting. We did an apron and we've covered all the gaps we could find, but I'm still considering lining the lot with chicken wire. 'Cause I'm paranoid like that....

 

[JJMR794]

PARANOIA CAN BE A GOOD THING IF IT HELPS YOU RATHER THAN HINDERS YOU.

 

[JJMR794]

Maybe Sone 4 Or 5 Ft Chicken Wire Wrap... 1/2 Up The Exterior Fence And 1/2 Buried Along The Outside... Keep Inside Things In And Outside Things Out

I Like It, Nice Aviary For Them

 

[Humhill]

Thanks!!
We did an apron. It's with 2x4" welded wire. About 1' up on the inside, then it goes under the chainlink panels and out 3'.
We are planning to do a chicken wire wrap on the inside. Do we need to worry about a wrap along the top? Can they grasp onto the fence and maneuver through a hole like a parrot would?

 

[kartking22]

I found that the 2" top netting for pheasants is great for keeping them in but not so good if you have owls in the area. An owl will fly over the enclosure to spook your birds till they fly. A pheasant can get thier head caught in the 2" top netting giving the owls a free meal. The owl will just eat as much as they can before the bird will drop out of the top net. Second problem that I see is the netting on your enclosure. My personal experience with racoons taught me that they are still able to grab a bird through 1" chicken wire. Pheasants, when spooked go to the corners of thier pens to hide which makes it very easy for coons to grab them through the wire. My solution was to put corrugated tin around the whole bottom of the run. Coons can't climb it nor reach through to grab your birds. The tin also keeps the birds more calm because they can't see anything that might be just wandering past. I haven't lost a bird in two years since I made my run "preditor proof". I hope that this helps.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
I DID THE SAME THING.. FOR THE SAME REASONS. GOOD ADVICE. THE SOLID WALLS AT THE BIRD LEVEL ALSO HELP PREVENT DISEASE TRANSFER IF YOU FREE RANGE OTHER POULTRY AS WELL AS A VISUAL BARRIER SO THE BOYS WORRY ABOUT THE HENS IN THEIR ENCLOSURE AND NOT THEIR NEIGHBOR'S HENS... OR TRYING TO KILL THE NIEGHBOR HIMSELF