The coops my husband helped me build but I built the pens and the rest, me, myself and I did and I'm no spring chicken. I had my first flock around 50 years ago then went into the military for awhile and there couldn't have poultry but eventually got them again. What works well for one may not work as well for another. I have a lot of birds, currently around 400 so I probably do many things differently then someone with a backyard flock. My fences are 5' high as am I. It may not be too pretty but works. Again good luck...Thank you SO much for the link to the articles. I might find that chickens lure predators I haven't seen. I will worry about the fawns born here yearly if so. We have a doe that finds it safe on our land and has twins every year. I may need to put a cam where she beds down at night. We enjoy watching them. It is legal in my state to feed them. I have a mineral block out there and am going to set a place where they have water access. We get a small herd sometimes, but that one doe is here all the time. It may be the one who approached us, unafraid. My neighbors see coyotes and bears. The womsn across the street said that coyotes had a den nearby, but I knew foxes had one. I think I would hear them if they were. We have large foxes around here. There was a fire on a nearby mountain, so it would not surprise me to see coyotes and bears. I have never seen them or heard coyotes yipping. However, one day, I did see a canine leaving our property that could have been a coyote. I barely caught sight of it. It could have been a dog, but I am willing to do the same as you have, just to be safe. I will put cameras in there too. I figure the geese I will get might wake me if there is an intruder. We will probably have guineas too. They are hard to wrangle up for the night LOL. They liked our trees when we had them. And our roof LOL.
I may get a livestock guardian dog. The woman who runs a horse rescue across from me knows where I can get one that someone dumped off at a shelter that is a full guardian breed. She said many don't know that the dogs need a "job" and find that the dog is not what they expected and tgere are many dumped off. I will look into it. I will have to see how it all goes. I would need one that is young because of my son with autism. He is an adult and very animal friendly, but I am just wanting him to not be afraid of it and for it to love him.
I will probably put concrete all the way around my coop. I am thinking 4 to 6 inches deep and 12 to 18 inches out? Is that a good measurement? I will use rabbit wire instead of chicken wire. I hope it is like a fortress. I might use dibby wire on the inside for separations I need for trios and such. It is all in my mind, but all of you may have better ideas that I love. I know you all are more experienced than I am. I saw a man make a really nice wading pool with a drain for his ducks inside their enclosure. I am turning ideas over in my mind. Some may be bad ideas.
I will definitely use electric fencing. I will turn it off around the coop during the day while I am out there. I have been "bitten" one too many times by that type fencing LOL. I want it around the perimeter fence too. I watch coyotes in videos jump over high fences. I will DIY coyote rollers with PVC pipe and hope it isn't too unsightly. It is cheaper. The electric fence may be good enough. I hope that it can be because I will have to do this in stages because of the cost. I need things easier now that I am not a spring chicken anymore, ha. When I say, "I will..."...I mean that a handyman I hire will do the building
Thanks again for the articles link!
I had one cocker spaniel. She was a sweet dog. I think my favorite breed is boxers. My two little ones were unexpected. I wanted another boxer, but I ended up with chihuahuas. I adore them, though. I would foster dogs if I were set up for it. Maybe one day. I bet you enjoyed what you did. I see the people who show them behind the scenes and see how much they love it.
. It is definitely a mouthful...great registered name.
