Hardware Cloth?

[ERRJRDN]

I like your design, somewhat looks like mine, you can see my coop and my building of it by hitting the "My Coop" on my bio. I don't think you need to dig your predator perimeter down so deep, just make sure it goes out 2 feet all around the perimeter of your coop. And I didn't use any concrete for my coop, I built it and just set it on the ground, I believe that the weight of the wood is good enough to keep it in place. We get some good wind and rain storms here, and it hasn't budged since I placed it. And my door is on the side as well, but I am going to move it to the end so I can put gutters under the roof to control rain runoff better. Hope my tips are helpful.

 

[ERRJRDN]

Oh I forgot to ask if you plan on letting your flock out to free range for the day and locking them up at night?

 

[IamRainey]

Good luck with your coop build! I see you got your hardware cloth, good deal, I was going to suggest that you go all hardware cloth for predator protection. I built my coop to be a small Fort Knox, my neighbors have lost chickens to foxes and raccoons, and I didn't want that to happen to mine. Can't wait to see some pictures of your coop build in progress! Good luck!

I'm with you, ERRJRDN! I followed the same Fort Knox protocol and 2 years later I've yet to have a bad incident despite an environment rich with coyotes, raccoon, hawks, skunks, rats and who knows what else.

In fact, due to the recent devastating SoCal fires we have coyotes and other predators who have lost habitat and are marauding even more aggressively. They've always just cruised our neighborhoods but now we see and hear them in packs. There have been nights I can't sleep because I can hear them howling within a 100 yards. I'm not about to go out in the dark and shoo packs of them so I lie in bed worried for my girls. But, so far, that Fort Knox strategy is holding up GREAT and I worry less and less.

 

[LilMissChick]

Spend the money on hardware cloth (the largest gauge you can find) OR on feeding rats, replacing chickens and cleaning up bloody messes. And besides rats and raccoons in BC you'll have to protect from eagles and probably hawks as well. I don't know about the island but are you sure there aren't bear?

Of your potential predators I'd take the raccoons most seriously. They're smart, relentless, incredibly agile and can slip through spots 3x smaller than you'd ever imagine. Besides that strong hardware cloth, be sure you have secure latches on all the openings to your run, coop, egg box and feed storage area and that all of them are further secured with carabiner clips.

Look at it this way: hardware cloth is a one time expense for 24/7/365 protection. Next year you will have forgotten what you spent but your chickens will still be healthy, happy and providing eggs in return for the protection you've given them.

PS I have occasionally lived in West Van just up from the Horseshoe Bay ferry and Whytecliff Park and I've dealt with all of this myself. Plus, I'm always happy to be reminded of those lovely days and the most glorious spot and the nicest people on the face of the earth. Thanks for the happy Sunday morning memories!

Hi @IamRainey!

We I are buying the hardware cloth as we speak. Found it on amazon of all places (thanks to other ppls suggestions). We are using Ondura corrugated roofing, it’s the heavy duty stuff not the thin plastic, over the whole coop and run.

We don’t have bear where I live as I am right down in Saanich in suburbia, but there has been a cougar in my back yard before! Thankfully that has been a one time occurance so far.

Thank you for the carabiner suggestion, I will put that to good use.

We do occasionally have owls in our back yard, which I had forgotten. And bald eagles were reintroduced to Victoria to keep down the pigeon population so there are lots of them in the area. The chickens will only have free run access to the back yard when we are home and available to be out with them. I’m hoping that the run for 3-5 chickens at 4’x16’ (that’s including the part that is under the 30” off the ground coop) is enough to to keep the hens happy on days they can’t free range over the entire yard.

All these suggestions are great! And helping us get this coop done right.

And you are welcome on the memories. I love the fresh, clean ocean air, and balmy summers. I hope I can stay here for the rest of my years and keep enjoying it all!

 

[LilMissChick]

If you decide to make all or part of just one side, ideally the winter windward side, of a solid material, like plywood or wood fencing slats, that could end up being less costly and would provide a windbreak. I don’t know how much snow and cold wind you get, but I built my run with one solid side to both manage costs and offer some shelter in the run from the wind.

We have raccoons, opossums, foxes, hawks, owls, snakes, cats, and dogs as potential predators. I have hardware cloth all the way up and over the roof of my run. This may be overkill, but our neighbor lost all of his chickens to a fox and my ducks remain alive and safe. The roof is also covered by a heavy duty tarp to keep things a little drier, since we have rain and snow to contend with. This cuts down on the attention my girls get from airborn predators and is an extra layer of protection from raccoons and opossums who are expert climbers. I notice that my dogs’ claws could do damage to the hardware cloth down low, so I sealed the edge of the hardware cloth along the bottom of the run with wood trim and attached some 24” welded wire fencing I had lying around to pieces of 2x4 screwed to the the outside of the run so that the fencing sits about two inches out from the hardware cloth, making it harder for my dogs to get to the HW cloth. I put screen door grates on the lower parts of the doors for the same reason. My run has a solid surface floor, built on joists sitting on concrete deck supports because of the city code where we live, so my build may be quite different from yours. The picture was taken before I added the WW around the bottom and before I put another door grate on the side clean out door. My duck house is attached to, not inside my run.

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Hi Duckworth
We don’t usually get harsh winters here, we usually get rainy spring, fall and winter, though there are the occasional anomalies, like this year. Record breaking snow....:/ I prefer our usual winters of flowers blooming lol.

I was thinking that if we find that one side of the run gets more weather than the other I might cut some plexi-glass and attach it there during the season.

Your coop is some what similar to what we are doing. And I have to say that your ducks in their little blue pond made me really smile! So cute!

I’m hoping to make this thing bomb proof if possible. My lady hens are going to be pets, so I don’t want to go through losing them in a bad way. The hubby was just a little balked at the price of the hardware cloth. He was raised on a big hobby farm where there wasn’t this much cost going into keeping the animals. But amazon prime sells the hardware cloth for so much cheaper! It’s bought and will be here this week.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

 

[123RedBeard]

When installing the hardware cloth ... plan on using "fender washers" or strips of wood and screws ... don't depend on the little staples that go through a little "gun" ... while those staples are fine for tacking the hardware cloth in place, to get it all set for the real attachment, don't rely on them alone, as a racoon will just rip them out!

 

[LilMissChick]

Oh I forgot to ask if you plan on letting your flock out to free range for the day and locking them up at night?

Yep, they will get to free range when we are home and can be around and aware of them. They will have a 4’x16’ run on the days they don’t get to get out. I should also mention that I can only have up to 5 chickens and no roosters where I live. So I’m getting three to start and will be adding 2 more in later

Cheers!

 

[rosemarythyme]

When installing the hardware cloth ... plan on using "fender washers" or strips of wood and screws ... don't depend on the little staples that go through a little "gun" ... while those staples are fine for tacking the hardware cloth in place, to get it all set for the real attachment, don't rely on them alone, as a racoon will just rip them out!

Just wanted to add that fender washers and other stuff like screws and hog rings can also be cheaper on amazon. I couldn't even find bulk washers in larger diameters in my local hardware stores.

 

[123RedBeard]

The whole coop plus run will be 4’ x 20’.

They will have a 4’x16’ run on the days they don’t get to get out.

I'd stretch it back out to 20' ... you'll never regret that extra 4' ...

 

[Duckworth]

When installing the hardware cloth ... plan on using "fender washers" or strips of wood and screws ... don't depend on the little staples that go through a little "gun" ... while those staples are fine for tacking the hardware cloth in place, to get it all set for the real attachment, don't rely on them alone, as a racoon will just rip them out!

This, for sure. I used fender washers on everything not covered by wood trim. Fender washers have small holes, which makes them perfect for holding HW cloth in place. Most washers have large enough holes that the screw heads can be worked through the holes, making it possible for predators like raccoons to get the HW cloth open.

I also used star head screws, which do require a star bit, but they were so much easier to drive than a Phillips head screw and they didn’t strip. I used a small cordless Milwaukee drill driver.

I made so many false starts on things and had to redo them.