What a day.
I got my first dozen chickens about 3 months ago, and since then, it's been lesson after lesson.
Number one: My brother comes down to the lake on weekends. His house is about 400 feet from mine, and he has a fairly aggresive bird dog. Leaving the chickens in a 4 foot pen outside was the wrong descision to make, as Lacy promptly got in and killed my entire flock.
Number two: Built a coop. Not just a regular coop, a fairly heavy duty coop, or so I thought.
This is my first coop, and I did what a lot of DIY people do, troll the boards and then design my own. The skeletal structure is 2X3 with a 1' plywood shell. The fence slats were installed over the plywood to make it look better. dual fence, I've got diamond fence on the inside, and 9 gauge chain link on the outside pinned to the wood with U nails and screws.
I missed some screws though... and where you leave a weak spot, someone will invariably find it, and did.
Lacy (my brother and neighbor dog). pulled the chain link from behind the fence panels and got in, took 5/12 of my chicks, and got out. I know it was her due to paw prints, and her short white hair left all around the area. Now dealing with my brother aside, what to do to improve the security of the coop?
The first thing I did was secure every weak point on the chain link. Each link that touches wood has been anchored to the wood. The roof has been secured down with metal roof - wood screws. In addition, I took off all the fence panels and reverse screwed 1' drywall screws, then reattached. This basically left all sides near chain link with about a thousand tiny sharp spikes.
The front door and rear door are being upgraded too. Bigger hardware, stronger hinges, and a LOT of reverse screws. Most dogs are going to chew through wood or chain link, so if I can make the animal damage itself in the process, I *hope* that will motivate them to stop. I am also adding welded wire fence to the interior of the coop, near the nesting area, with another heavy duty door. Chicks will have to be confined to this area at night.
From what I've read, there is no fool proof way to keep any animals out. What keeps a dog or a fox out won't stop a snake, and vice versa. The only option left is to so ridiculously over-engineer the thing that any animal approaching it has no option but to
injure itself to get inside.
.
I don't want to hurt any animals, but my gut reaction was to bacon wrap rat poison and kill the dogs. Obviously thats not sensible, so my goal here is to make entry to the coop such a painful chore that it's not worth it. I guess the next few weeks will let me know.
If anyone has 5 chickens (egg layers) they would like to sell me, let me know. I need to replenish my flock.
God Bless!
I got my first dozen chickens about 3 months ago, and since then, it's been lesson after lesson.
Number one: My brother comes down to the lake on weekends. His house is about 400 feet from mine, and he has a fairly aggresive bird dog. Leaving the chickens in a 4 foot pen outside was the wrong descision to make, as Lacy promptly got in and killed my entire flock.
Number two: Built a coop. Not just a regular coop, a fairly heavy duty coop, or so I thought.
This is my first coop, and I did what a lot of DIY people do, troll the boards and then design my own. The skeletal structure is 2X3 with a 1' plywood shell. The fence slats were installed over the plywood to make it look better. dual fence, I've got diamond fence on the inside, and 9 gauge chain link on the outside pinned to the wood with U nails and screws.
I missed some screws though... and where you leave a weak spot, someone will invariably find it, and did.
Lacy (my brother and neighbor dog). pulled the chain link from behind the fence panels and got in, took 5/12 of my chicks, and got out. I know it was her due to paw prints, and her short white hair left all around the area. Now dealing with my brother aside, what to do to improve the security of the coop?
The first thing I did was secure every weak point on the chain link. Each link that touches wood has been anchored to the wood. The roof has been secured down with metal roof - wood screws. In addition, I took off all the fence panels and reverse screwed 1' drywall screws, then reattached. This basically left all sides near chain link with about a thousand tiny sharp spikes.
The front door and rear door are being upgraded too. Bigger hardware, stronger hinges, and a LOT of reverse screws. Most dogs are going to chew through wood or chain link, so if I can make the animal damage itself in the process, I *hope* that will motivate them to stop. I am also adding welded wire fence to the interior of the coop, near the nesting area, with another heavy duty door. Chicks will have to be confined to this area at night.
From what I've read, there is no fool proof way to keep any animals out. What keeps a dog or a fox out won't stop a snake, and vice versa. The only option left is to so ridiculously over-engineer the thing that any animal approaching it has no option but to
injure itself to get inside.
.
I don't want to hurt any animals, but my gut reaction was to bacon wrap rat poison and kill the dogs. Obviously thats not sensible, so my goal here is to make entry to the coop such a painful chore that it's not worth it. I guess the next few weeks will let me know.
If anyone has 5 chickens (egg layers) they would like to sell me, let me know. I need to replenish my flock.
God Bless!
