I'm feeling momentary defeat as I visit the Predators and pests section. I've researched for months and came up with my coop plans, and scrounged around for my coop materials, primed my plywood, marked out and cleared area for coop location, scored a rocking deal on hardware cloth, and ordered my chicks (chicks due on 2/9/11!)
Breaking ground on coop building to commence in a week. And every time I feel somewhat confident about my plans (elevated coop, all hardware cloth, metal roof for both coop and run, apron of HC out two feet, using 2x4 fencing inside run for floor, but that will be under the sand) I keep reading the attack stories.
Our coop is backed up into the woods. I know we've got the predators, but is my operation bordering on futile? I was reading about weasels....if you "can get your thumb through an opening, so can a weasel". So a weasel can squeezle (like my made up word?) through my 1/2" HC cloth? I just can't wrap my head around that, because we live in a hot area, the windows in the summertime will be left open and YES, the opening will be covered in HC but what does it matter if a weasel can climb through a HC opening covering my window?
I'm guessing if that were really the case, a lot more people would've given up keeping chickens?! Sigh. It's late. Maybe my reading about predators and pests is akin to watching a scary movie before bedtime.
Breaking ground on coop building to commence in a week. And every time I feel somewhat confident about my plans (elevated coop, all hardware cloth, metal roof for both coop and run, apron of HC out two feet, using 2x4 fencing inside run for floor, but that will be under the sand) I keep reading the attack stories.
Our coop is backed up into the woods. I know we've got the predators, but is my operation bordering on futile? I was reading about weasels....if you "can get your thumb through an opening, so can a weasel". So a weasel can squeezle (like my made up word?) through my 1/2" HC cloth? I just can't wrap my head around that, because we live in a hot area, the windows in the summertime will be left open and YES, the opening will be covered in HC but what does it matter if a weasel can climb through a HC opening covering my window?
I'm guessing if that were really the case, a lot more people would've given up keeping chickens?! Sigh. It's late. Maybe my reading about predators and pests is akin to watching a scary movie before bedtime.