Fox proof coop

[Henry&Friends]

I doubt that a raccoon or a fox can chew through even ⅛" wood if it is not rotten. But i would be worried about a fox digging under the panel and a raccoon climbing over it.
I have chicken wire outside of my duck house, that i connect to a 3,000V neon-transformer when i know there's a predator lurking around. That will be instant death to a fox, raccoon or weasel and intense pain to a coyote, dog or a bear. - I just don't own a fence electrifier (yet), so i had to go with what was available. The ducks inside are protected from touching the life wire with epoxy OSB-boards.

Honestly this sounds great, I’m a little jealous.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Honestly this sounds great, I’m a little jealous.

It works great, you just need to know what you're doing. - I didn't and ended up with some bad blisters on my arms…

 

[Henry&Friends]

It works great, you just need to know what you're doing. - I didn't and ended up with some bad blisters on my arms…

I have no idea what I’m doing at any given time, so I’m gonna go ahead and not set up the best fence I’ve ever heard of. Guess I’ll stick to chasing and screaming, what would my neighborhood do without the crazies?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have no idea what I’m doing at any given time, so I’m gonna go ahead and not set up the best fence I’ve ever heard of. Guess I’ll stick to chasing and screaming, what would my neighborhood do without the crazies?

We all learn! - When i started with duck last year, i did not even know how to hold a saw…

 

[Musolff2015]

I have seen (trail-cam) a raccoon climbing up a bare post (8x8) of treated lumber to get from my work platform onto the duck-house's tin roof, so i am sure they can climb any kind of wooden or wood like surface. Back in Houston i have seen a family of raccoons climbing up the cement-siding of my neighbors house to get into the attic…
2" gap - that's about the same that i have in my duck house, not wide enough for a 'coon, idk about 'possums and skunks, but weasel & co fit easily through 1" and less. I have see a full grown Raccoon male squeezing itself through a 4" opening (pallet) to get to my duck food stash. Fortunately he could not get out after filling his belly and i found him stuck in the morning, bad day for him…
Larger predators like Fox, Coyote, Lynx, Cougar, … are easier to keep out with sturdy building material than the small ones (weasel, mink) or the clever ones like Raccoons.
Are you using a carabiner or something equally complex to lock the door? 'Coons are intelligent enough to open latches, for example. And i have heart stories of raccoons luring poultry to the fence with food, grab them and drag them through piece by piece.
I consider Raccoons to be the greatest threat to my ducks and electricity the only reliable defense measure. Once they have burned their greedy paws the don't come back.

Since the fox attack we now lock them in the coop house itself at night, they are in the run during the day and free roam when we are home and have a constant eye on them. I've also been leaving the back door open for my dog to keep watch as well. When it comes to animals we are in Wisconsin in a very small town. We have neighbors all around but its population of 600 and all double lots with lots of woods. That being said weve had 2 fox hanging out in town the past couple years, raccoon and skunk.
-Coyote shouldn't be able to fit through my hog panel back yard but if they do they are unable to get into the coop building. I've also never heard or saw any come within a mile of us.
-Opossum I have only saw 1 in my entire life living here
-skunk I dont believe can climb and the bottom of the coop is secure, we do have poultry flooring on the coop floor raised 8" however since the fox i have been placing a sturdy box on one open end and a few board on the other to keep anything from reaching up in or tormenting them from under
-fox would be unable to jump, climb or fit through any of the 2" holes on the 8ft section of the roof but I do worry with the new addition if they would be able to scratch and chew the fence panels so I'm likely going to line the bottom 4ft with panel that way if they chew through one they would come to another that is solid and flat.
-raccoon I started double checking everything today going off of articles I have read and what you've said. My chores today and fixing the latches on both standard doors, somehow creating a lock for the sliding coop door incase they do get into the run itself where the coop door is and adding a few screws, bent tin and ordering wire mesh for the 2" gaps. I never even thought about them getting to the coop roof from our roof. It would be pretty easy climbing the hog panel, jumping to our roof and making the foot stretch from ours to the 2" opening in the back of the coop.
I'm damn near embarrassed I missed so much information!!! I'm highly educated with small indoor animals, dogs, cats, and farm animals not to mention spent WEEKS researching duck info but you learn something new everyday! And it's sad to say I used to trap these animals, worked at a large scale pet store and a dairy farm but it still went over my head. I'm going to attach a few pictures if it will let me to give you a better look for understanding and possibly tips.

 

[Musolff2015]

Dont mind the poor carpentry!!! My husband didnt have the time or enough supplies to properly square it and ended up needing to use a jigsaw cutter on some portions.

Poultry floor is ½" gaps, cover the open ends from it being raised at night.

I'm aware they can get through chicken wire which is why they now go in the coop at night. I dont have the money right now to toss all the wire I just double layered up to replace.

Coop door I just have a bolt stuck in a drilled hole that keeps it lifted and it slides down when I take it out. I'm thinking I could bend a latch and use either a spring loaded clip or a carabine clip.

The edge on the left of the door is majorly uneven and where I'm going to try to screw on some tin over the edge.

2" gap right under the roof on 8ft back wall of coop I'm going to try to order some hardware cloth to slap there just to be safe and be able to put a window in the addition we're building and layer on the inside and outside.

Latches I'm not sure exactly what I can do yet without having to go buy new so I'm brainstorming today

 

[townchicks]

-Coyote shouldn't be able to fit through my hog panel back yard but if they do they are unable to get into the coop building. I've also never heard or saw any come within a mile of us.

Hate to tell you, coyote can easily climb that hog wire. Your best defense is keeping them in the coop at night. What you see in daytime is nothing, most predators are out at night.I don't know your location, but most everywhere in U.S. has coyotes.

 

[Musolff2015]

Hate to tell you, coyote can easily climb that hog wire. Your best defense is keeping them in the coop at night. What you see in daytime is nothing, most predators are out at night.I don't know your location, but most everywhere in U.S. has coyotes.

I know they could get through it if they were determined because they could easily dig under and I guess climb that high over but the bottom foot is 2x4 openings and the rest i believe is 4x4. We do have alot of coyotes in this area of Wisconsin but they are very rarely seen around neighborhoods. You can hear them at the golf course every so often about a mile away however nobody around here has ever saw them in town. Regaurdless like I said the ducks are locked up in the coop house every night. Around the time the sun starts to set I put them in the run and then lock them from run to coop right before or after dark. Then around 7-8:30am I let them into the run and go let them out to free range anywhere from 9a-noon when I can be watching them. I switch my times of all 4 things daily that theres no distinct pattern.

 

[aart]

Long story short we didnt know the extent of a fox's capabilities when it comes to fencing and unfortunately lost our favorite duck this week.

Sorry for you loss.
Where was it when the fox(?) got it?

when I can be watching them

No guarantees with that, hawks and fox can strike very close to humans.

Here's how to your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Musolff2015]

Sorry for you loss.
Where was it when the fox(?) got it?

No guarantees with that, hawks and fox can strike very close to humans.

Here's how to your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
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