Does my coop-run have to wear an apron?

[Terrie Mac]

We live in a high fenced yard in the suburbs with 2 “alarm” dogs (inside at night) yet close to open space. We haven’t seen raccoons or opossum in our yard since getting the dogs but they do frequent the neighbor’s pond and feast on her fish. I’ve seen fox on our road at night and hawks in the day and a skunk visits at least weekly. Are we still at risk of diggers infiltrating so that we HAVE to make an apron and bury the hardware wire? Our dogs will not dig and the coop/run is just feet from our house.

 

[CapricornFarm]

How much do you like your chickens? Most predators are busy at night when the dogs are living it up in the house.

 

[AngelzFyre]

Just my personal opinion but if you can do any extra security measures, I'd do them! Better safe than sorry.
If predators are close, sooner or later they will be closer and in your yard. It's devastating to lose anything to them when it could have been prevented. If you've already seen fox and skunks and know there are raccoons and opossums around, they'll find your chickens and do anything they can to sneak in during the night....sometimes even in the daytime if they are hungry enough to risk getting caught.

 

[CapricornFarm]

You see posts every day, oh my chicken got eaten , what could have happened? We had a four foot fence. Yes, but not even a top on it. Sooner or later, a predator will get in. Even chicken wire is no good if a stray dog or fox gets in there. I lost an entire chicken tractor full of young birds to a pack of stray dogs. Ripped right through that chicken wire. After I put welded wire, they came back but could only bend it and got no more chickens from that tractor. If they would have come back the next night, I was waiting for them. I am just hoping to keep some birds from getting eaten. The sight of a yard full of dead birds is something no one wants to see . Just go ahead and put that apron in, it really isn't so hard. And make sure your coop floor is solid or has wire too, plus the run needs a roof.

 

[Terrie Mac]

I don't like my chickens---I love them!

I should have posed the question...what are the facts I can show my husband about the necessity of going the extra mile and fortifying the coop-run even though we live in suburbia? The chicks are only 5 weeks old but soon will be leaving the house for their home outside...if it's safe. Even though I've waited years to have chickens I think I would rather give them up now than make them vulnerable to attack

Would bricks or rocks around the edge deter digging critters?

 

[AngelzFyre]

Bricks and rocks can be moved easily by anything that digs. The apron or something similar will be your best bet. I use hardware cloth and also have huge and heavy railroad crossties surrounding my runs. Even so, I still lock everything totally up at night time when they are even more vulnerable and will also lock them up if we are gone long periods of time.

Do a search on here for predator attacks and let your husband read all the horror stories, that should be more than enough to convince him it can happen anywhere, anytime if they are not totally protected.

 

[CapricornFarm]

You could put 12x12 pavers. The critters that show up in yards, even in town is amazing. We lived in Bradenton, FL, and I saw coons and possums at night a lot. There are almost always rats in the city, and cats and dogs, owls, hawks, the list of varmints that wants to eat your chickens is long. Even snakes will eat small chickens and eggs. It's a jungle out there. I love my chickens too, and when I saw a hawk flying away with my young polish pullet, my heart broke. She was still screaming. I thought it was ok to let them out of the tractor to play in the grass. They stayed within 6 feet of the door, but the hawk was too fast. I keep working to make my coops more secure , and even go back to check existing coops for gaps. If you turn on a light inside your coop at night, you will see where the gaps are. Coons will reach into small gaps and grab any part they can reach of a chicken and chew it off. Thanks to that, I had a one legged chicken for a while. I think she died of sadness because she could no longer run and play. My friend lost 20plus chickens in one night to coons, they just kept reaching in and grabbing. Sometimes they just eat the heads. It's horrible. Hope you don't have to experience it:'(

 

[Terrie Mac]

Quote:
I am so sorry that happened. Last week we set up a temp. pen for the chicks to venture a bit in the grass. Within minutes I was waving my arms and yelling at ravens that gathered in the trees and and hawk circling overhead. Within minutes!! I've read enough at BYC to instill the fear. Everything wants to eat them. Apparently there is no compromise when it comes to their shelter. If the coop/run can't wear an apron then I can't have chickens.

Thanks to all of you who responded. I respect your input.