First time outside outside. Now I can't sleep.

[IndyGail]

I know how foolish this sounds. I invested time and money for 4 weeks and I feel very responsible for there well being.
I have a small coop, a camera with sound and a solar motion detecting light all directed at the coop. The coop is on 8" of sand but I nailed 6 " trim of chicken wire to the perimeter and buried it under the sand so raccoons couldn't tunnel in. Last night there were raccoons picking at the locks. possums and deer at the coop.
Do you suggest a electric fence? If so, which manufacturer, how tall, what's the electrical charge, will solar be OK? I don't have electricity out there.

 

[Jpat]

How about a picture of the setup?

Theres no stopping point, the only stopping point is how much money you wanna spend!

 

[noregerts]

You don't sound foolish at all. We've all lost chickens and it's no fun. Raccoons in particular are very clever. I know recently we caught a raccoon on camera in our coop at night and it killed three of our girls and we still have no idea how it got in there. Electric fencing is probably overkill but if you wanted to do it you could go solar since you don't have any electricity out there. Instead you may want to buy hardware cloth and use it instead of chicken wire. It's much much much harder for animals to get through. I would cover any hole larger than a couple of inches in diameter with hardware cloth. Good luck.

 

[Callender Girl]

My runner ducks' breeder uses solar fencing pretty successfully. I THINK it's by Premier and I'm sure it's pricey. Losing sleep is also costly. Been there, needed naps.

Good luck keeping them safe. And know, that some day, some how, despite all of your best efforts, it may not work. But you have to try.

 

[McChics]

I'm with you - I have cameras and I also have a zapper fence. Mine is a plug in - but we've had the solar ones in the past for our dogs with great success.

I'm contemplating putting my babies out THIS weekend - I'll start another thread about that. But...I get you. I'll have some sleepless nights here real soon too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Magnolia Ducks has Premier1 fencing.

 

[PirateGirl]

I would recommend a stronger and larger apron. Most all predators, including those you listed, can get through chicken wire. Additionally, 6” is not enough to stop diggers, even my chickens dig 6” holes near the fence line!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I have heard good things about the solar powered fences. Good luck!

 

[chkva]

Honestly the best protection I've ever seen out there is a Coonhound! I say this because my neighbor has a few and let's them run loose at night, I've had ZERO predators in my yard and I have chicks in one coop and hens in another. They have one Coonhound and she is amazing at her nightly duty. I know if anything happened she would sound the alarm and wake me up. When we move, I'm buying a Coonhound just because I want the predators to know what they have to go through to get my chickens.

Electric fences are a great thing to have. They keep most land predators out, but the air predators are what you'd need to look out for.

 

[Knighstar679]

I have heard good things about premier1 poutry fence a friend has it and she has 64 chickens she has kept safe behind it for years. Dogs are her main problem though as a neighbor can’t keep his home.