Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

That fence is not nearly high enough to keep chickens in OR foxes out without a roof.  OR making the fence higher.  Foxes can climb By the way.    Even my heavy birds can fly up to the highest perch in the coop which is about four feet off the ground.  If you clip their wings you remove all self protection ability they have.

By the way I have plans for covering my yard which is 50 Feet by 75.    Couple of poles setup like teatherball with a ball on top and Aviary netting thrown over the top. Then fastened to the fence.  In my case I will stretch cable as well but the principal is to put in an upright to hold the netting up.  I have seen people use a swing set arrangement for net support.  It will keep Chickens IN but not predators our.  So that coop needs to be bullet proof. with a well fastened roof.  I had a friend get his roof litterally PEELED back by racoons he lost thirty chickens.

How wide is your run there are several options.  By the way that run should be dog proof too.  I had a dog that could go over a six foot dog kennel panel.  

deb


My dogs will stay out and wont actively try to get in, but should a bird get out, all bets are off and all training goes out the window. Raccoons are an issue, too. The coop itself should be solid. We are converting an old shed.

The run will be about ten feet wide or so. Hubby is out buying more fence because the 40 feet he bought isn't enough.

I'm actually not sure how tall the chicken fence itself is. It's taller than the super yard. Oh, hubby just said it's 4 ft. He also just informed me he spent $240 on the fencing! :eek: :duc :hit :barnie
 
My runs are all 20 feet wide and I've covered them with wildlife netting. It's $15 for 700 sq ft and very easy to put up. I also stretch metal wire from post to post to keep it from sagging but it's working pretty well
 
Debs55 said it. Wild life netting is a good choice.... Or Deer netting. Both are light weight Support in the middle if necessary could be just a garden stake stuck into the ground a little taller than the sides with something stuck on top to keep the net from sliding down over it. I have seen Woofle balls stuck over the top. Zip ties to hold it to the fence and you are good to go.

deb
 
So I have eggs in the bator, and just put some finishing touches on the brooder I plan to use in the garage. The eggs are on day 8, I started with 23 Araucana, 10 BCM, 2 EE, 12 that SCG was kind enough to egg bomb me with. The first candeling I had to toss 8 Araucana and an EE. The BCM's are really hard to see into as everybody already knows...lol. The Brooder is 6'lx2'dx33"h and on wheels. The PVC water should hold about 3 gallons and has 6 nipples. The feeder should hold about 20 lbs of starter crumble, ( I am thinking about changing the pie pan to another piece of PVC with holes drilled in it to keep them from getting in it and scratching). I built a drawer to go under the Hardware cloth on the bottom. I plan to put either sand or kitty litter in it to make it easier to keep clean, just have to use a kitty litter scoop everyday. There is a shelf on the bottom that holds my 3 containers of meal worms I am trying to grow out and will be storage for feed. Please pardon the mess in our garage.


This was before I mounted the water, feeder and drawer.


These two are the after shots.




I can't hold a candle to what you have done Oz but I gotta start somewhere on something.
 
Careful with that chicken wire. My chicks have been able to get out through those holes before. Looks great though!
X2. Mine were able to as well. If they ate living there, I would minimally put some hard cloth three to four feet up around the bottom. If it's just a day run, then use the smaller hex wire on the lower part all the way around. :)
 
Careful with that chicken wire. My chicks have been able to get out through those holes before. Looks great though!


I would have never guessed that they could get through those holes.  Head maybe but not the fuzzy butts.  Thanks for the warning.

I found that out when I had the Kindergarten Pen built inside my coop. Thought it wouldn't be that much of a problem with a broody mom in there with 'em, but discovered momma goes NUTS when a chick goes through the chicken wire and she can't. So I added hardware cloth to the bottom all the way around it. That should work for your most excellent brooder!
 
I found that out when I had the Kindergarten Pen built inside my coop. Thought it wouldn't be that much of a problem with a broody mom in there with 'em, but discovered momma goes NUTS when a chick goes through the chicken wire and she can't. So I added hardware cloth to the bottom all the way around it. That should work for your most excellent brooder!

I have some hardware cloth that I was saving for the lower sections of the coop. That crap is not cheap. Maybe I can put up half heartedly as to make it easier to take down and reuse on the coop. Thanks for the tip
 
Quote: You dont need the expensive stuff for a brooder in the garage. They make plastic hardware cloth that is very inexpensive at home depot. Works just the same and you can cut it with scissors and fasten it with zip ties. Id put it on the inside though. and make sure they cant get behind it some how.

Nice job on the brooder.... I would love to have a setup like that....

deb
 

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