Fencing before Winter

[pekinsRus]

I'm looking to fence an area to free range without tresspassing & predators . Not sure of the size yet, but it's for our 4 Pekins. I'm doing this alone, so suggestions & photos are greatly appreciated!!
Thanks

 

[Eroc1_1]

Quote:
Make it as big as you can - physically and monetarily. At a min. try to get them about 40 sq/ft per duck.

 

[Amiga]

I'm most of the labor force here, so if I can do it, just about anyone can do it! I've put in three foot high 2"x3" coated wire fence, which I can do myself, and I've put in four foot high 2"x3" welded wire (much heavier gauge) fence, and I needed a helper.

I use either u-posts or t-posts, but I have even used oak garden stakes as fence posts. Zip ties do a nice job of holding the fence. If I use three or four per post, I cannot pull the fencing off the post (but then, I'm a medium sized middle aged person - not a weight lifter unless you count bags of feed and straw bales).

To pound in fence posts I use a small sledge hammer. The shorter u-posts are easy enough to handle that I can also use a block of wood to pound at the top of the post to avoid smashing the top of the post. But I've pounded without a wood block and it's not that bad.

Being the overly cautious type most of the time, it occurred to me that some of the predators around here (foxes, coyotes, bobcats, fishers) jump fences quite handily. So if I'm not nearby, the ducks are in the day pen, a 16'x10' pen attached to their house and veranda (about 64 sf total). The day pen has coated chain link fence on the bottom, and 2"x3" coated fence top and sides, with an extra span of 2' high 1" diameter coated chicken wire along the bottom to discourage grabbing through the fence.

There are three main fenced-in areas for the ducks to forage. About 500 sf of upper garden, which they use often, about 600 sf of another garden which they can use fall winter and early spring (I grow tender plants here so they have to leave for a few months), and 1800 sf of new forest garden. The latter has the 4' heavier duty fence.