Dog Proof Coop?

[kcallis]

Last week I had a couple of neighborhood pit bulls pull the roof off my chicken coop and kill all my chickens. The roof was screwed on, hard, white plastic sheets, which they couldn't get off, so when they pulled, the rafters, which had been nailed on pulled out (mind you, I don't think I could have accomplished this without the help of a crow bar). I'm going to screw everything together this time. But other than using screws instead of nails, does anyone have suggestions for dog proofing the coop?

(just as a note, we are both suing the neighbor - this is the 3rd time their dogs have killed our chickens because they won't keep the dogs locked up. and we are working with Animal Services to get the dogs taken away. But in the mean time, I would like to start more chicks, to replace our lost flock).

 

[Mahonri]

More chickens laced with cyanide?

That should get rid of the dogs.

 

[kcallis]

Thanks you. I've actually had LOTS of suggestions on how to get rid of the dogs, and we are working on that side of the problem. However, in the interim, I would love to know what kind of modifications to the coop would help keep this from happening again.

 

[Byrdj]

Putting an electrical strand of wire about one foot off the ground should work. Turn up the voltage enough to really get their attention as pit bulls have a high tolerance for pain. Glad you are suing the owners. People need to be responsible for their dogs.

Let us know how everything turns out.

Jeff

 

[rooster0209]

hot wire fence around your coop, even run a few wires atop the coop just above the roof line.

Dogs hate electricity

the fence is easy to put up/take down. I am not sure on chargers..maybe directly hook up to a car battery

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Quote:
I think Mahonri is on to something. While you are trying to be civilized and sue the neighbor, and just want suggestions on rebuilding the coop, perhaps you might want to also have a plan for when the dogs return. It sounds like you want to rebuild your flock right away, and it takes a long time to solve these things legally. Do you live in the city limits where discharging a firearm would be illegal? If not, it might be your legal right to shoot the dogs if they are attacking your flock. I am editing to say I see you DO live in the city.

If you really don't want to do that, then short of building something that could withstand a hurricane, probably you should wait until the dogs are gone. They have a history of multiple attacks. I wouldn't chance it. Just my opinion.

 

[Mourningdove]

So sorry about your loss!

Now I don't know if this will be what your looking to do but this is what hubby and I did before getting our chickens....see my hubby was over safety where he worked so he is sometimes over the top as some would say....but I have to admit his idea is working for us, we live near woods on this mountain with alot of predators! Now:
1st with wood and tin we built the coop that included the door and all we used was nails to construct it!
2nd we made a covered run using field fencing all the way around it, then we put chicken wire all around over it, we used chicken wire for the roof(of the covered run) and then we used chicken wire to enclose coop as well. It is added protection and with locking them in at night nothing has been able to get in at them. See we have alot of predators around here including dogs and so far all has been safe, we haven't lost any of our birds!!!! Just a suggestion!

 

[mbrown]

Even if you are within the city limits you can use a gun, it's just illegal to be "target" shooting; or shooting for no apparent reason. You are allowed to protect your family and property (and your chickens are considered your property) no matter where you live. If these pitbulls are able to tear down a chicken coop in order to attack your chickens, what will they do if they see a small child running around? You would be doing the whole neighborhood a favor if you shot it if/when you caught it attacking your chickens. I'm not saying you should hunt it down and kill it next time you see it, but if it's attacking ANYTHING, it has earned the bullet you put in it!

 

[spatcher]

TSC has a kit available (single-strand elec fencing) for 79.00 that I am thinking about. Operates on "D" batteries and wonder how long they would last before replacement. Anyone have this set-up, and if so are you happy with it?

 

[kcallis]

I like the electric fence idea and covering the whole thing with chicken wire - thank you.

I may need to be a bit more explicit in saying that we are now in a legal battle over the issue of the dogs. PLEASE do not give me any suggestions on how to get rid of the dogs. I now need to legally say that we would NEVER lure the dogs onto our property, nor intentionally injure, kill or poison the dogs, outside of self defense. We realize that we have the legal right to defend ourselves and our property with a gun, even in the city. We have been working in close contact with the local police and animal control officers and know our rights. HOWEVER, if I have a lot of posts on additional options of how to get rid of the dogs, I will not longer be able to log onto BYC, which would be a really disappointment, as it would make our legal challenge so much more difficult if the dogs were harmed in a method that happened to be mentioned on this forum.

I'm very sorry I opened a can of worms, but I wanted to tap into the vast knowledge of how to defend against predators from the BYC users to get suggestions on how to modify our coop.

Thank you.