Three of seven birds didn't survive being let out too early Saturday morning. What a sad mess to clean up. I'm sure some of you guys know about it. We got them last Feb, and they were three great birds, solid layers, and pretty darn friendly in chicken terms.
We're definitely going to be keeping them in later in the morning, but I don't have a great way of getting them in the coop before they're ready, which seems to be about 10 minutes before most fox sightings, so we're just trying to be around and vigilant. (Coop is in the backyard, about 50' away.) The run is secure, but a determined predator with a few days' work would find a way in. Hopefully that gives us enough time to see it going on. We just have wire fencing around it, but I have a bunch of chicken wire I could put around the base, just to give a little more hassle. Don't have the cash to lay out for hardware cloth, though ultimately that's where we're headed, burying it a foot out and then up the side. I'd love to feel like they were bomb-proofed in there. Once inside they pretty much are, but like I said, they spend the day in the run and then go in wen they go in.
I'm installing some motion-detector lights on the sides of the building, just a quick-n-dirty for now, but wondering what others have done for wiring. I don't really want to pull a permit and lay underground wiring, install a circuit, etc. Looking just to have a reverse plug-in outlet for a heavy-duty extension cord running from the house, to power a heat lamp and maybe water heater seasonally, and then the lights.
Is this what most are doing?
We're definitely going to be keeping them in later in the morning, but I don't have a great way of getting them in the coop before they're ready, which seems to be about 10 minutes before most fox sightings, so we're just trying to be around and vigilant. (Coop is in the backyard, about 50' away.) The run is secure, but a determined predator with a few days' work would find a way in. Hopefully that gives us enough time to see it going on. We just have wire fencing around it, but I have a bunch of chicken wire I could put around the base, just to give a little more hassle. Don't have the cash to lay out for hardware cloth, though ultimately that's where we're headed, burying it a foot out and then up the side. I'd love to feel like they were bomb-proofed in there. Once inside they pretty much are, but like I said, they spend the day in the run and then go in wen they go in.
I'm installing some motion-detector lights on the sides of the building, just a quick-n-dirty for now, but wondering what others have done for wiring. I don't really want to pull a permit and lay underground wiring, install a circuit, etc. Looking just to have a reverse plug-in outlet for a heavy-duty extension cord running from the house, to power a heat lamp and maybe water heater seasonally, and then the lights.
Is this what most are doing?
