Flock murdered, WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS!!!!!

[ducks4you]

@hayley3 , Thanks!
My GS puppy May have chewed on them before I discovered the loss, but the predator dragged them to the sides of the run. Nobody came in or went out except the murderer.
@RoosterML
not sure about electric fencing and here is why. I moved my horses--now all passed on--to this property in 1999. The owner of the place where I boarded, turnout with a shelter,
didn't know how to put horse fencing up correctly--the boards go to the INside, so that a horse who kicks it will break it, instead of kicking it off and escaping. He resorted to electric fencing, which is GREAT, when it is correctly installed, (he didn't) and when it is always on. One day I came out, and thankfully it was one of wiser and mature horses who had a piece of fencing wire tangled around his pastern.
(Can you say, "mini heart attack?") The power got cut off, and the wires broke.
I keep horses, dogs and cats. The horses don't spend very much time near the coop, but they sometimes "mow" around it. I don't want another incident.
For somebody with a different situation, this would be a great suggeston!
Any other ideas?

 

[aart]

Sounds like you have plenty of framing to support roof, or at least a great start.

NO chickens until the Spring.
Any other thoughts?

It got them all?! I musta missed that part.

If I put hardware cloth underneath the gate and make room for cement, do you think some 16 x 16 in pavers would work?

Pavers would work did here.
This was to keep chickens in, but.....

I really want to put cement all along right below the fencing.

The wire apron might be better and easier. Extend wall wire down into the apron.

 

[ducks4you]

In case anybody needs to work with wire, THIS is the set of cutter that you absolutely need:
https://ranchersupply.com/channello...MI9KPhqPau5gIVSb7ACh2CJQpSEAQYASABEgJCKvD_BwE
Mine is red. When you open the pliers you put the wire to be cut inside one of the cavities on each side. Close the pliers and they cut. The clamps are to grab wire and bend it. It has a small hammer on top and you can hammer in staples with it.
I need to do some edge of the property fencing repair soon--horses aren't in that part of the property so it doesn't have to be a great fix it job.
I will be happy to post "how to" pictures of using this tool.

 

[ducks4you]

Sounds like you have plenty of framing to support roof, or at least a great start.


It got them all?! I musta missed that part.


Pavers would work did here.
This was to keep chickens in, but.....


The wire apron might be better and easier. Extend wall wire down into the apron.

ALL good thoughts. Yeah, I was about to butcher before my vacation, then replace the flock afterwards. Guess I'll be buying eggs from the University of IL Ag school this winter. They sell whole crates of double yolkers!
These ideas are Really helping me!

 

[Shezadandy]

I don't know how many feet of fence you have to protect - we did hardware cloth top to bottom on the inside of our chainlink, both to keep chickens from sticking their heads out and to keep chicks IN.

If you don't have too big of an area and are feeling ambitious - we did this in the most vulnerable spots.

I bought 16 ft "hog panels" which are made of extremely thick (4 gauge) wire. Pricing depends on your farm stores and current sales, but this (or cattle panels, which are taller) is what I'm talking about:

https://www.farmstore.com/product/hog-panel-16-ft

We took 2 panels, laid one over the other until each of the openings was 1/2 the size. Then we wired them together. Then wired on a section of hardware cloth. Then buried it (widest holes going into the bottom of the trench, smallest holes sticking up) - and then wired THAT onto the chain link.

I agree with other posters- install an automatic "pop" door on your predator proofed coop- it's the easiest way to protect them if you're not up at sun-up (I'm rarely up then!!) or not home by sun-down. The rest of the fence is to protect from daytime predators that might kill chickens that stick their heads out, or dig under. For night time menaces, the secure coop is the best bet.

I love my aviary net- it has saved chickens so many times from diving hawks, including incidents where they dived on them with me standing 10 feet away. However, I know that if a racoon or other critter decided to climb my chain link and chew through the net at night to gain access to prey they could see, there wouldn't be anything I could do- so the coop is the fortress. As it is, they have no incentive to bother.

Electric on the exterior perimeter using poly-wire or poly-rope is also effective- and IMHO not as dangerous as steel or aluminum wire when it comes to horses. At our last property I had to dig out the worst installed fence I'd ever seen- and we STILL ended up wrecking a mower running over wires we had NO idea were laying out there.

 

[ducks4you]

@Shezadandy , thanks! I am afraid that I need to construct Fort Knox and maybe buy some stock in hardware cloth!
My run is 12 x 30. Crazy neighbor asked me if I liked his dog fencing (while I was walking My dog), then told me I had to get it toDAY if I wanted it. That's how I ended up with this sized run. It's been up about 5 years and the prefab coop is about the same age.
I need to call in a favor. Church friend knows the guy 10 miles away who raises pheasant and I need an introduction. He has 4 large runs. I should really ask him how he does it. Just don't want to go onto the property without an invitation.

 

[PirateGirl]

I have a board across the threshold of my gate so that it fully blocks the gap under the gate when it is closed. I hope I am making sense; I can't really add a photo as it's now covered in snow and partially buried with dirt so you can't really see what's going on.

 

[ducks4you]

@PirateGirl , I can wait for photos. THE gate/door is gonna be the trickiest fix of all. Remember my ETA for new birds is next April...got some time.
I have owned RR's(done with them), EE's (love 'em!), Silver Laced Wyandottes (great breed, and I will own more, mine were given to me bc the owner wasn't zoned for chickens), and I even had EE mutts, if That makes sense.
I want to add a few Lakenvelders (SO pretty!) and maybe a Golden Lace Wyandotte or two.
I only had one rooster that didn't attack me, an EE. My coop houses 12--advertised for 15, YOU know how they do that, so maybe 1 rooster next spring.

 

[Howard E]

Our neighbors have something similar to your run, but have a hard metal roof over the run. A hard roof offers the most security, shade, protection from rain and snow and can be made secure so you don't need to close pop door each night. Our neighbors never do.

They put chicken wire over the chain link......and to my knowledge, have never had a predator breach it. The chicken wire was to keep sparrows and starlings out. Heavy lifting is done by the chain link.

Over time, numerous larger predators like coons, etc. have made a play for the birds by ripping the chicken wire off the chain link......but never got past it. A weasel might. A mink might. Securing any secondary wire to the chain link can be done, but is awkward and not all that attractive.

How attached are you to the dog kennel? A framed in run, with metal roof, would be the most secure. Normally, 1" x 2" 14 gauge welded wire would work for about anything but weasels......for them....maybe 1/2" x 1" welded wire? That will stop anything short of a mouse or a bear. About 10 to 15 SQ per bird run space is adequate if you wanted to cut down the size to save on cost.

 

[ducks4you]

Thanks for your thoughts! I am sticking with my run as is. I want to reinforce it. I may do well working with hardware cloth, but I am NOT a carpenter. Don't see me building a building like you describe. If I wanted that, I would clean up my 4 car garage, move to tools to that, and take the current tool shed back to what it was originally with the original farm, THE chicken house, hard and sloped roof, with a cement floor and hardware clothed windows and a "storm door of sorts" with painted, black hardware cloth.
Not sure I want that, either. I denied horse#3 his current stall bc I kept a flock in the 12 x 16' area in the barn for 2 years. (He had the 16 x 19' shelter off of the barn, west side, south facing.)