Fencing Help

[feathermania]

Oh wow. Yeah that's bad. I didn't think dogs could get in through that. And if a dog could a coyote probably could too, and I know I have those in my yard. I'm sorry for your loss. Hope the new chooks are doing well. <3

Oh yes, they are all doing very well...7 very spoiled hens!! Thank you!!

 

[twendt]

This the truth. One day in spring of 2017 I brought home 3 RIR chicks from my local farm store. Chickens aren't allowed in my suburb and I already knew this, moment of weakness and madness? not sure. Hubby was mad as hell. I made a brooder in my basement with a tote tub, shavings, a waterer and feeder, and heat lamp. Daughter played with chicks one morning and heat lamp fell into shavings... almost killed chicks and burned my house down. Luckily, I was home that day. I bought a pre-fab coop online and put it in my already enclosed garden. Perfect. As winter came along in Wisconsin, I realized, not PERFECT. I needed a larger, insulated coop. I have 6 chickens now, lost one to a mystery illness , fine one day, didn't come out of the coop the next day. No one else was ill and haven't lost one since. I recommend reading all posts on coops and enclosures. I probably spent $700 on building this coop.

 

[twendt]

This is my prefab coop. I called it the Doll house.

 

[feathermania]

Coop And Run That My Hubby Built

• feathermania
• Jan 19, 2019
• 4

We both designed the coop and run, then my hubby built it. It has 3 layers of different wire on...

We looked at many, many different coops/runs and designed this. The whole end of the coop near the door of the run opens for cleaning. That's where the roosts are located. The side of the coop near the other end near the nesting boxes (the window is in it) opens for cleaning too. The top of the nesting boxes opens for ease of collecting the eggs and cleaning. The coop is 4' x7', the run is 28' x 12'. We will be adding clear panels over the part of the run that isn't roofed, plus a gutter across the front of the coop. We will be moving the coop/run to the other side of our shop (a garage will go where the coop is now). When we do that, we will also build the roofs higher so they are a lot more slanted...for snow run-off. We have had a huge amount of snow here this year and it has taught us a lot!!

 

[bruceha2000]

For example, this is 72" x 50', 4" x 2" Mesh, Galvanized Welded Wire, 14 Gauge.

The welds in welded wire breaks easily. I've ripped any number of them string trimming the weeds/grass on a fence line.

The original request was regarding fencing but the thread has turned to a chicken coop building. There are a bazillion different ways to build a coop in this section of the site.

As far as the fence goes, skirting out keeps digging predators from doing so. Animals that tunnel like mice will eventually get in just because they naturally tunnel long distances. Your concern is the digging predators such as canines. They will start right at the vertical wall. You don't need expensive 1/2" hardware cloth to keep them from digging under, larger opening field fence will do the job because not only is it larger diameter wire, thus harder to break through, the holes in woven field fence are still smaller than the predator can fit through even if they do dig at the wire. You do need the 1/2" hardware cloth a couple of feet up the sides to keep coons from reaching through as was already mentioned. If you need to keep small weasels out, you are almost stuck with encasing the entire thing in 1/2" HW, those things can get through very small holes. And don't use Arrow™ staple gun type staples to install the hardware cloth, they pull out fairly easily. Use fence/poultry staples or a screw a board over the HC to the framing. The Arrow™ staples can be used to hold the wire in position.

Is your builder planning to do the fencing entirely with metal posts? T-posts or the round kind that are used for chain link? Either way the corners will need bracing to hold the fencing tight, a saggy fence isn't desirable, nor is one that is pulling the posts in toward the center of the run area. And, technically speaking, the "run" is whatever area you have fenced off for the chickens, doesn't matter if it surrounds the coop, starts at one wall of said coop or is a totally separate area.

I'm with @aart on that video, it was well produced but I wouldn't take the coop for free. Way too many design issues to even list and apparently a lot of people have her build them a coop? TWENTY SEVEN chickens in that coop? NO WAY. Even using the BARE minimum of 2 sq ft per chicken they would need 54 sq ft of actual usable floor space. If you look at that coop, it effectively has very little floor space because of the way the ladder roosts are positioned. An average large fowl standing is over 12" high.

It would be faster and cheaper to build a full height coop than one with a raised platform floor. Build using standard dimensional lumber and "sheet goods" and you won't have much cutting to do. Build it on bare earth and you don't have to deal with a floor. It is also easier to rake out the bedding if it is ground level. Put a removable 1x6 board across the door opening on the inside. When it is time to rake out, remove the board and rake into the run. Need more shavings in the coop? Walk in, cut the bag open and shake the compressed shavings out as you walk around. No reaching into the far corners from 4' away (how long ARE your arms? ) to spread it out.

Your question about roosts - you need a liner foot per bird, you want them as high as is reasonably practical and all at the same height if possible. ALL the birds want to be on the highest roost but if some are lower due to space constraints, the birds lower in the pecking order will be forced down.

And, by the way, if you followed a trail of feathers and found a chicken body part, more likely the killer was a fox and not a coon. Coons usually eat the crop neck and head, leaving the rest of the bird.

All of the above is my personal opinion, others may differ.

 

[AmyJane725]

Typical garbage prefab.
Only thing they got right was the roosts are higher than the nests,
but it's small....stated coop size of ~5'x4' includes nests on both sides.
Coop is actually ~3'x4'. SMH. Sorry.

Don't be sorry. I'm glad to know it's bad. I have to come up with a design to tell my builder guy, and I'm looking for inspiration/any good ideas that I can glean from existing coops. The premade ones all seem to be awful though.

So far, I know I want mine up on 2 ft stilts (to offer shelter and to have food/water available under there if I so choose), and the overall structure (not counting nesting boxes) should be 40 sqft or maybe 50 sqft. I'm currently planning on having 7 birds (1 Roo, 6 Hens), so technically I'd only need 28 sq ft, but you never know. I like to be prepared/flexible. Thoughts on this?

There will be a 15x18' enclosed run with a roof and a gate, made from D-knot no-climb horse fencing (unless ya'll have a better suggestion). 2' of skirting will line the outside of the run, with a 4' "L" of hardware cloth giving 2' of vertical protection against reaching raccoons and little animals and 2' of horizontal digging protection against coons, rats, and any other animals.

I want it to be symmetrical, so nesting boxes on both sides, maybe 3 per side. I'd like the back to drop out of the nesting boxes (rather than the roof opening up, for easy cleaning/egg collection) though please let me know if this is a bad idea for some reason. Also, tips on nicest nesting material that your girls like? Straw? More pine chips, something else?

I know I need the roosts higher than the nesting boxes, and I plan to have 2x4s for those. Maybe three or four of them. Stupid question: Is it better to have the 2x4s attached so the chickens sit on the bigger side, or turn them them so the skinnier side is where they put their feet? Right now my plan is just to have the roosts above most of the coop floor, and then a litter tray below that takes up most of the floor, leaving some space for a feeder and waterer that isn't in the bomb zone. As you alluded, my arms are pretty short, so even with a broom/rake I don't think I could reach the end. It would be great to just pull a giant pan out and dump it that way.

The back of the coop should have a keeper access door big enough to pull the litter tray out of, or maybe just fold down completely. I've seen some people who have one entire side of their coop drop down so they can just sweep the whole thing out. Having nest boxes on either side of the coop kind of eliminates this possibility though.

I plan to have an automatic coop door like this one (let me know if you know of a better one) because I have to leave for work very early in the morning (before sun-up) so I don't think they'd be ready to come out until after I leave.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B3W9RDW/?tag=backy-20

I know I need vents higher up than the roosts. Is it better to have window vents so that they can be closed sometimes? I've seen some people that just have an opening and they attach hardware cloth over it to let air in/out. It rains so much here I feel like water would get in if I had a constant opening like that. I guess I need a way to reach them/close them. I'm not a tall person (5'4) so if my coop is too tall I might have trouble accessing them. I mean, there's probably ways around this problem, but I'd love any suggestions.

 

[bruceha2000]

How does the design of this coop look to you guys? https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalo...el-Roof-Chicken-Barn-9-12-chickens-p2483.aspx

What @aart said.

 

[AmyJane725]

This is my prefab coop. I called it the Doll house.View attachment 1683490

That is really tiny. So many prefab coops are tiny, and they still cost a lot. Taking advantage of people in a hurry/that don't know quite what they're doing I think. :/

The welds in welded wire breaks easily. I've ripped any number of them string trimming the weeds/grass on a fence line.

That's what the guy at the Tractor Supply Co. told me. Said I should get the knotted fence instead.

 

[AmyJane725]

And, by the way, if you followed a trail of feathers and found a chicken body part, more likely the killer was a fox and not a coon. Coons usually eat the crop neck and head, leaving the rest of the bird.

Really? I had never even considered that. I haven't seen a while fox in my entire life. Maybe they're just really good at hiding? Either way, I think the precautions I'm planning on should keep them out too.

 

[AmyJane725]

And don't use Arrow™ staple gun type staples to install the hardware cloth, they pull out fairly easily. Use fence/poultry staples or a screw a board over the HC to the framing. The Arrow™ staples can be used to hold the wire in position.

Thanks for the specific tidbits like this. That really helps me. This isn't something I would have even thought to ask about. I think that's my biggest problem. I don't even know what all the things are that I need to consider. lol

Could someone just ask me a big list of questions that will cover all my problems, and if I can't answer one I'll know I need to do more research/ask more questions... XD XP Sorry to be a pain. I'm such a newb, and I don't want to screw this up since my birds' lives/wellbeing are on the line.