FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[KatOttesen]

My entire coop is hardware wire - I'm determined to keep the ladies safe. And all doors are locked. Boy I hope that's enough a lot of folks around me have chain link- I don't think the predators are as bad in South Florida as they are in other parts of FLA. but one can never be too careful.

Also welcome to all the newcomers!!

And if ANYONE here sells there eggs and can share their experience I would SUPeR appreciate it!!!! Here the thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/287755/selling-eggs-for-consumption-in-florida/30#post_16965725

Thanks Y'all!!

 

[poppycock1974]

I have 1/4" hardware cloth covering the windows of the coop and 1/2" all around the bottom and run. I buried it 12" down because predators will dig and try to get under it but if you bury it far enough or put a big enough apron around it, they will give up.

 

[cmom]

I have chicken wire around the perimeter of my pens as well as electric wire and heavy duty netting covering all of the pens. I have heard predators touch the wire and they don't come back to test it again. I have touched it when I have forgotten to turn it off and it has made my heart skip a few beats. I have not lost o bird to predators in a few years.

 

[BootsMcgee]

I have chicken wire around the perimeter of my pens as well as electric wire and heavy duty netting covering all of the pens. I have heard predators touch the wire and they don't come back to test it again. I have touched it when I have forgotten to turn it off and it has made my heart skip a few beats. I have not lost o bird to predators in a few years.

LOL! I have a feeling an electric fence and I wouldn't be a good idea. I don't die my hair and my memory is shot. Not a good combo for operating a zapper. That's a jim dandy of a set up though. If I believed in reincarnation, I'd love to come back as one of your chooks!

 

[love laugh farm]

I have 1" galvanized chicken wire. I am totally aware that predators can get their paws in it, but they'd have to get past the pit bull and trained hunting dachshund first, which has proven to be impossible. The Dachshund barks at people walking on the street that runs parallel a few houses down, **** thing won't even let the lizards stay in the yard

We also have bunnies, which I learned get along with the hens, and the hens LOVE the baby we have. She may be a bunny but I've seen momma attack our pit and win, I've been letting them stay with the hens at night because if something gets in while we are sleeping she'll make more of a ruckus than the hens. Funny that she likes the hens, she's a mean thing and doesn't even like us anymore! lol!

 

[chickrunfun]

We have 1/2 hardware clothe everywhere for our girls house and coop.And I mean everywhere! Nailed in to the roof frame before the roof panels got set in place, over the window and the breeze way windows up top and under the coop before we filled the "play yard" with dirt and compost. Unless coons or anything what wants chicken nuggets got wire snips or 1/4 hands..."they ain't gettin chicken 1 fo sure!"







That's Scarlet...our blossoming photo bomber..

 

[BootsMcgee]

Thanks everyone for sharing. I feel better now. I'm still gonna block in the bottom as I've been wanting to do that anyway. When I let the chooks out to free range, they tend to run under there and if I need to get them back int he run or coop in a hurry it's a real pain in the rump.

On another note, it's gorgeous today! I was looking forward to gettin some things done outside but now I'm waiting on a well pump guy. Had no water this morning. Gonna pick up some water at the store for the animals and I guess clean up a bit til he/she gets here........

 

[cmom]

Quote:
It has happened over many many years. I lost birds too but got tired of battling the predators. I don't even shut the pop doors in the coops at night. The birds go in in the evenings and out in the mornings on their own. I'm not raising birds to feed to the predators. I do sell some of the birds in the fall and winter months. I have had some people buy birds from me constantly because predators were killing the ones I sold to them. I quite selling birds to them for the same reason, I'm not hatching and raising birds to be food for predators. I raise certain breeds for exhibition. If they want to feed the predators then they should go get some hatchery birds. I have a few mutts too but I do care about all of my birds. Sorry for the rant.

 

[cmom]

Thanks everyone for sharing. I feel better now. I'm still gonna block in the bottom as I've been wanting to do that anyway. When I let the chooks out to free range, they tend to run under there and if I need to get them back int he run or coop in a hurry it's a real pain in the rump.

On another note, it's gorgeous today! I was looking forward to gettin some things done outside but now I'm waiting on a well pump guy. Had no water this morning. Gonna pick up some water at the store for the animals and I guess clean up a bit til he/she gets here........

I let my birds out every day to roam in the pasture. In the evenings when I collect the eggs, everyone gets treats, they come running when they see me with their treat bucket and go right into their pens for their treats.

We lost our water a few days ago. Our pump died. My biggest concern was water for the birds. I took a large trash can cleaned it out at my neighbors and filled it with water. We had a hole in it because we had used it in the past for water. All of my coops have auto waterers. We let gravity work for us and the birds waterers had water. We were without water for a few days.

 

[BootsMcgee]

I let my birds out every day to roam in the pasture. In the evenings when I collect the eggs, everyone gets treats, they come running when they see me with their treat bucket and go right into their pens for their treats.

We lost our water a few days ago. Our pump died. My biggest concern was water for the birds. I took a large trash can cleaned it out at my neighbors and filled it with water. We had a hole in it because we had used it in the past for water. All of my coops have auto waterers. We let gravity work for us and the birds waterers had water. We were without water for a few days.

It has happened over many many years. I lost birds too but got tired of battling the predators. I don't even shut the pop doors in the coops at night. The birds go in in the evenings and out in the mornings on their own. I'm not raising birds to feed to the predators. I do sell some of the birds in the fall and winter months. I have had some people buy birds from me constantly because predators were killing the ones I sold to them. I quite selling birds to them for the same reason, I'm not hatching and raising birds to be food for predators. I raise certain breeds for exhibition. If they want to feed the predators then they should go get some hatchery birds. I have a few mutts too but I do care about all of my birds. Sorry for the rant.

Rant away! I can totally understand where you're coming from. raising them isn't easy and to see it go to waste, that stinks. The ol' exercise in futility. I've been wanting to upgrade the chickens water to an auto water system so maybe this is the day to do it. I don't have many so I don't need a big system. I've got a barrel so thank you so much for the hack!