I'm curious what people have done to predator- proof a Catawba coop. My husband just built one, and the first night out in it, our girls got attacked through the chicken wire and we lost 2. Stupid on my part - I should have put them up and closed the ramp but they really didn't want to go up there and I had no idea something would attack like that! (I've since been reading like crazy on the forums, and see what we're up against!)
Anyway, we are wondering if it would help to put a floor on the coop and raise the entire thing 1 - 2 feet off the ground, or would that just create new problems? It would be on stilts, and open on the bottom, and maybe harder to reach? We are adding hardware cloth over the chicken wire, and latches to the side panels.
Here's what it looked like before. There's a plastic mesh net with rocks on top under the dirt, and then we put it on pavers (if we don't raise it, we're going to close all gaps, level it, and add hardware mesh underneath). I'd really like to enclose the whole thing, or start over with a bigger design, but we don't have the space.
Any suggestions appreciated!! We just got 4 new chicks to keep our 2 survivors company, and don't want to lose any more!
Anyway, we are wondering if it would help to put a floor on the coop and raise the entire thing 1 - 2 feet off the ground, or would that just create new problems? It would be on stilts, and open on the bottom, and maybe harder to reach? We are adding hardware cloth over the chicken wire, and latches to the side panels.
Here's what it looked like before. There's a plastic mesh net with rocks on top under the dirt, and then we put it on pavers (if we don't raise it, we're going to close all gaps, level it, and add hardware mesh underneath). I'd really like to enclose the whole thing, or start over with a bigger design, but we don't have the space.
Any suggestions appreciated!! We just got 4 new chicks to keep our 2 survivors company, and don't want to lose any more!
