Dog Proofing a Coop

[Ol Grey Mare]

I don't see how a dog can get in. It wont dig in trough the wire and wont think to start digging 18" from fence and the welded wire on the run is secured enough so they can't bust through.

This - the no-dig skirting works very well with the way a digging ground predator approaches this sort of situation - they get *to* the barrier (the perimeter fencing around your run) and only start to try to dig around/under that barrier once they encounter it -- when they get down to the skirting and encounter a barrier there they may move up or down the fence line and make more attempts to gain entry, but they do not move out away from the original barrier in an effort to go "around" the barrier under them - eventually they become frustrated and leave to find an easier meal.
The good news is, this security gives you the time to catch the dog in the act and contact AC to have it picked up - repeat EVERY time it happens. AC may give the owner a "get out of jail free" the first time, with just a "firm talking to" - but after that things will escalate with the animal being impounded and the owner having to pay fines, etc to reclaim their dog -- sometimes a hit to the pocketbook gets taken more seriously than the fact that their animal is a) in danger himself when out wandering and b) puttting other people and their pets in danger.

 

[SClaire]

My neighbors dogs have been digging under our privacy fence. They got through once and killed 2 of our chicks that were in a starter coop. Since then we have built a much larger and stronger coop farther away from that side of the fence. I am wondering how to further dog proof it.

When the incident happened, we did call animal control and have called them a second time when I kept discovering holes along the fence line that I had to plug up with rocks. I haven't seen any more holes in the past couple of weeks, and I check every day to make sure that no more appear.

Our chickens are cooped all the time. The coop has wire buried down a little (deepest 3" -the ground around us is very rocky and hard to dig into) and out about a foot. This is covered with rocks, dirt, and on one side a railroad tie. A picture of the front is included below. We used 1/4" hardware cloth that is nailed on with U nails about every 2 inches, and we have put a reinforcement bar along the bottom half of the door. All entrances are securely latched.

What else can we do to make sure that if their dogs get back through the fence while we are at work or away, that they can't get through the coop to the chickens? Our neighbors have said that it won't happen again, but they are quite frankly lazy, and I have little faith in their guarantees. Their dogs are two boxers and a mean yellow lab.

(I have two small kids, so I am not sure about a hot wire. My youngest is 2 and telling her not to touch something is pointless.)

Thanks for your help with this.

We had foxes doing this and found that only burying it by 3" isn't enough.

We ended up digging a trench and burying an entire roll of chicken wire 3 foot deep. Took some work, but afterwards the foxes never got under it again!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

We had foxes doing this and found that only burying it by 3" isn't enough.

We ended up digging a trench and burying an entire roll of chicken wire 3 foot deep. Took some work, but afterwards the foxes never got under it again!

The "down" is not the control - it is the "out" - you can actually lay the skirting at the surface and still have an effective deterrent. As you saw, a predator will continue to dig down to get under something - that is why having the skirt run out is what makes this work as explained above regarding how ground predators approach barriers.

 

[MichaelZ13]

First step is talk to the neighbors. You have done that.

Next step is give a polite ultimatum - somehow keep your dogs in with fence, shock collars, etc or you will contact authorities. I would do this after they are on your property again. And take photos of them the next time they are in your yard - you can use these, if needed.

Next step is to call authorities after the ultimatum is given and dogs are again on your property. Then fines, capture, etc will follow, but it will be by the authorities.

If you take the law into your own hands, you may ultimately pay a price.

If these are decent people, they should not be offended. We had a neighbor complain about our dog chasing him when he roller bladed and gave us an ultimatum - so I put in a shock fence and got a collar. Our dog is now trained to stay off the road and the shock collar is no longer needed. I am on good terms with this neighbor and in fact he did me a great favor - I found out later from some kids that a child fell off his bike because of our dog - that could have been some serious legal trouble for us!

 

[CarolinesChicks]

My neighbors are basically decent people, but they just don't seem to care how their dogs affect their neighbors. We aren't the first to complain about the dogs behavior. I am going to try the cattle panels along the sides. Thanks for everyone's advice. I really appreciate it!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My neighbors are basically decent people, but they just don't seem to care how their dogs affect their neighbors. We aren't the first to complain about the dogs behavior. I am going to try the cattle panels along the sides. Thanks for everyone's advice. I really appreciate it!

Which is a situation in which I would have zero issue escalating the situation by contacting AC and reporting the dog "at large" every time it was outside the bounds of their property. When that sort of consequence starts to result from their lack of response to the efforts of yourself and others to bring the situation to their attention starts to come about they may be more inclined to take some sort of corrective action.

 

[LI chickie]

Seriously if my neighbors dogs were getting into my yard I'd be knocking on their door and it that wasn't enough I'd be talking to animal control.
It should not be your responsibility to have to keep their dogs out of your yard.

 

[LaurelC]

I don't see how a dog can get in. It wont dig in trough the wire and wont think to start digging 18" from fence and the welded wire on the run is secured enough so they can't bust through.

We have a couple of malamute mixes and one had a pretty healthy prey drive. I have 1/2" welded wire on the bottom 2 feet of my run, and I caught one of them starting to chew through the wire. He tore a couple of wires at the welds before I noticed him. Luckily I was out watering and nailed him with a jet of water from the hose and he hasn't tried ever since (he hates being wet) but I expect that a similarly sized dog would be capable of chewing through the wire if they had enough determination.


Cattle panels would be a better option, however I think that an electric wire would be the most effective. For most kids, getting shocked by an electric fence only takes once or twice before they learn to avoid it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My neighbor's dogs (6 Husky/Malamute crosses) have killed chickens here on multiple occasions. She has paid for the chickens but I don't want to sell them like that.
I've called animal control and they took them but she bailed them out of jail.
She's been warned, the next time they won't be coming home. There is a loaded 12 gauge on the back porch.
In MO, any dog that worries livestock can be tracked across the state and killed anywhere one finds it except in a pen on its owners property.

 

[Folly's place]

Woven wire is better than welded wire, and big tough dogs have amazing abilities to chew through barriers! Mary