I didn't use hardware cloth.

[techbsmith]

We have coyotes in our area as well. But none have come in the yard that we know of. DH swears it's because he pees in the backyard from time to time. And the coyotes figure someone is marking their territory and stay out.

Hey, I have coyote's as well..and I regularly go out and "mark the territory" all along my fence row! I also go by the local beauty shop and the nice lady gives me bags of human hair that she would otherwise throw away. I stuff that hair into pantyhose and tie it to fence posts as well. I didn't feel too manly buying pantyhose, but hey my chickens are worth it!

 

[ehoneybee]

We have hawks here. Pretty much that's it, so after losing 2 hens in the span of 1 week, I only use hardware cloth. All we use chicken wire for is keeping our hens out of the neighbours' yards!

 

[blackdog043]

I didn't feel too manly buying pantyhose, but hey my chickens are worth it!

 

[aart]

I have found that peeing will work as a coyote deterent but getting close enough to pee on them is difficult.
You also have to consider the chance that they may attack. Not only are your vulnerable parts exposed, but it can be hard to run with your pants around your ankles.
I find it much easier to just pee on my chickens to keep them safe.

P.S. forgot to mention it does also work for hawks but you have to have good pressure and a fast draw. Downside is a sudden wind shift and d@mn it burns the eyes.

Hawks were my biggest concern, but have seen several fox and coyote bounce off it's walls. Coop, on the other hand, is an HC envelope, literally a 6 sided box of HC.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I didn't cage my run at all. I have to lock my coop every night though. My run is just a big area with 4ft fence. The chickens come and go as they please.

 

[PirateGirl]

I didn't cage my run at all. I have to lock my coop every night though. My run is just a big area with 4ft fence. The chickens come and go as they please.

Do you find the 4 ft fence is tall enough to generally keep your chickens in? We are brainstorming fencing part of the yard, but still deciding on the type of fencing.

 

[blackdog043]

My yard has 4' and 6' wooden fencing, I don't have a problem.(wings are not clipped) Our son only has 4' fence for his run and doesn't have a problem. His run isn't even covered. Now if you have any flighty birds, it could pose a problem.

 

[Oakhammockchick]

Previous owner built run out of 2x2 welded wire with a metal roof over the whole thing. He then cut pieces of what looks like corrugated fiberglass roofing....not the green stuff. Way heavier than that. There are 3 foot pieces buried against the fencing with about a foot buried. Squirrels started getting in yesterday. Scared them out and the hawk took care of them. New coop coming soon. It will have hardware cloth and be hurricane safe.

 

[PirateGirl]

Previous owner built run out of 2x2 welded wire with a metal roof over the whole thing. He then cut pieces of what looks like corrugated fiberglass roofing....not the green stuff. Way heavier than that. There are 3 foot pieces buried against the fencing with about a foot buried. Squirrels started getting in yesterday. Scared them out and the hawk took care of them. New coop coming soon. It will have hardware cloth and be hurricane safe.

Hurricane safe is a tall order! In CA do coops meet earthquake code too? Hmm.

 

[ehoneybee]

Do you find the 4 ft fence is tall enough to generally keep your chickens in? We are brainstorming fencing part of the yard, but still deciding on the type of fencing.

We have 2-3 feet and they never go over it.