Do I need to worry about predators?

[eggchel]

Both suburban and urban neighborhoods are full of raccoons, possums, skunks, owls, hawks, and rats. Plus a few snakes and other critters. You absolutely need to predator proof your night pens at a minimum.

Chel

 

[spiderman]

Suburb neighborhoods are also seeing a rise in Coyote populations. Also there's the occasional 'coon, dog, snake and hawk

 

[auntbee]

Quote:
Thanks, so how do I predator proof it?

 

[SterlingAcres]

Even if you don't have wild critters around your house, surely you'll have someone's pet. It's better to predator proof.

Depending on what you're building for them (ark or coop and run), you'll need to wrap the bottom few feet with some nice thick hardware cloth. If it's a run, bury the wire... even cement it, if you can. That's what we're doing. I've seen about 5 red foxes here within the last 3 weeks.

 

[eggchel]

If the birds are locked in a coop at night, then make that coop secure they way you would your house..... doors that close and lock, windows that close snuggly, no gaps between the walls and the roof, etc. Eliminate any opening larger than a dime. Then, lock the birds in before sunset and let them out after dawn. A shed can work well. Try to add some ventilation if it doesnt have any. Cover any openings with 1/4 to 1/2 inch openings hardware cloth fencing.

If the birds will be locked in a pen at night, then look at all the ways that a predator might get in... and make a barrier.

For instance, overhead: Put wire fencing or heavy netting over the top of the pen to keep predators out.

The sides: Make sure to use heavy strong fencing (chicken wire is not strong enough to keep some predators out) and put wire fencing with small openings (such as "hardware cloth") over the lower 2 feet and alongside any roosts. That prevents raccoons from reaching in through the fence, grabbing a sleeping bird, and pulling it out through the fence one piece at a time!!

The base: Keep out digging/tunneling predators by either having a cement floor to the pen, or digging a 1 foot deep trench around the perimeter and extending the side fencing down into the trench then backfilling. This can be made even better by adding some large cement pavers ontop of the dirt around the pen to discourage digging. If your soil is too hard for you to dig, you can extend the side fencing out flat on the ground for a couple feet and stake it down. Then cover it with rock or something so you wont trip on it.

The gate: Make sure that you have a decent latch or lock on the gate. Raccoons are pretty nimble fingered and can open some latches. Also make sure that the gate fits tightly in its frame and there are no gaps where animals can squeeze through. Use pavers of some type under the gate and extending outward several feet to keep diggers out from this vulnerable point.

Chel