fencing or automatic coop door?

[craigImb]

question:

I have a large area that I could freerange my chickens on if I wasn't worried about predators. Mainly I will have Coons, Coyotes, and I would imagine foxes all though I have never seen any foxes at my homeplace.

With the cost of fencing, would I be better off making a 72 inch tall run in a larger area, say 100 lineal feet run and then supplementing it with an auto coop door? or making a smaller run and enclosing it on the top?

This dang world of chickens is getting to be expensive and I could have bought all the eggs I would ever eat I think.

 

[chfite]

A six foot tall fence of sturdy wire would be good. It is what I have. 100 linear feet will enclose 625 square feet. I still shut the birds in at night.

Chris

 

[craigImb]

you do not have a top on yours? do the coons not climb over the fence?

 

[Debbi]

Boy, I hear you on the cost of chickens! Good fencing is your best bet in my opinion, and by all means, add the roof!! My run is 6 feet tall, I am only 5'2", so this works fine for me!

I put 4' hardware cloth on the bottom of the run, then overlapped to the top and to the roof, with welded wire. I also ran 2 strands of electric fence around the whole thing, but the charger drained out the first snow we had, and I haven't used it since. It was a solar powered charger, and all I can say is they had better improve them a whole lot more before I'd buy anything else that was solar powered! I don't trust the automatic coop doors. I know my birds, and there are always stragglers. With those doors, they would get shut out. Nothing like personal attention, I know when to shut the gate door. In the summer, I don't close them in the coop, the doors are open all the time, and the good fencing keeps them safe. Oh, and I also have a 2' wide wire apron buried around the whole run so the diggers can't get in. I've had a couple of coyotes and a few racoons come to inspect my work...the fencing paid itself off for me!