Fencing for moose/chickens?

[alaskamojo]

Still too wintry to do much about it now - but I'd like advice on what kinds of fences folks are using in areas with moose. Looking to keep moose, dogs, eagles out & chickens in. I'd love some clever way to let the girls feed in the weedy patches between my raised garden beds - without inviting them to eat my kale & beets. Pictures appreciated!

 

[downhome]

What your not worried about the bears?

best bet to keep moose out I would think is do not put anything in that run that they would want (keep food in the coop), maybe a stockade style fence or at least a formidable fence,split rail or the 3 board they use for horses in front of the wire with some visual deterrents on the wire that way they don't try to run through it.

we have moose in the state but not in my area but we do have deer and they are horrible on fences, if they can see over they will hop it most times not to successful and they crash through a good few too. so if there cousins are similar I feel for you.

eagle you need to cover the run one way or another, I have snow fence over mine. though with your snow loads yo may opt for a roof. corrugated metal or poly carbonate.

 

[jmagill]

The moose don't ever come near our coop. They are not interested in it at all.

 

[alaskamojo]

Sorry - guess I wasn't very clear. I'm hoping to use the same type of fencing to keep moose out of the garden & chickens in the yard when they're ranging. I use an electric Fence on their smaller coop area for bears.

 

[Chickadee55]

I think I would put in chain link fence with a couple of hot wire strands around it. My horse can hear the electric current running through the wire when it's turned on so I'm guessing that most any critter, big or small is going to be a little leary of it.

 

[patandchickens]

We are mercifully mooseless in this part of Ontario but I have a friend out in Alberta who's had a lot of moose problems with her horse paddock fencing.

She started with multiple lines of, I forget if it was electric rope or 1 1/2" electric tape, and the moose would barrel right through it like they didn't see it at all. She added pagewire. Same thing.

The problem was apparently "mostly" solved by going to 4-board wooden fencing with highly-charged electric wire on the outside and just above the top; and secondarily by the worst-offender moose disappearing one year

Anyhow my point is that I get the impression that VISIBILITY is a key part of moose fencing. Like, not just what you think any moose with half a brain should be able to see, but something INESCAPABLY visible, like four or more 6" boards

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I don't know how you keep moose out of the garden. If I had to guess, I'd say an electric fence, because I know they're big.

You might want to think about making a chicken tractor that fits in the space between your raised beds. That will protect your veggies, while allowing the chickens to eat the weeds and till the soil with their scratching. The biggest issue will be overwintering them. Tractors are often hard to overwinter in, if they are too small, not as sturdily built or are low enough to get buried in snow.

You might want to have a smaller, lighter weight tractor that will dock with a larger, more protective coop for winter.
Some people have even built a daytime tractor that will dock with the run on their main coop. You can do it all different ways. I've also had pullets in a tractor during the growing season and then just moved them to the main coop when it was time to get ready for winter. It will depend a bit on how predator proof you want to make your tractor or your garden fence, whether you want to leave them in it overnight.

 

[okieinalaska]

Alaskamojo,

Moose have terrible eyesight... and I have seen them step right over a 5 foot fence like it was nothing.
I do have moose come through once a season and eat my broccoli (which I can live with) but I don't want my babies being eaten by bears! I am more worried about bears frankly. I hardly see any bears in my neighborhood but I know they are there. My neighbor tells me the next day about them.

I am working on my coop now and the chicks arrive next month. I am wondering how well the solar powered electric fences work here. (assuming we have more sun than rain unlike last summer, LOL)

They have those red light flashers that are motion activated and solar powered. I wonder how well they would work here though with all the day light hours we have in the summer? You put them at the eye level of what ever animal you are trying to scare away.

Amy in Eagle River