I didn't use hardware cloth.

[Quik1th]

We have hawks, BIG owls, coyotes, bobcats, regular cats, javelinas and roof rats in out neighborhood/area. Some people have even had their little dogs snatched out of their yards by the hawks and owls. So we are going with welded wire for our set-up.

Can’t stop laughing about @The Moonshiner peeing on the coyotes and chickens though....

 

[enrgizerbunny]

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.

It doesn't keep the chickens in, but it keeps the dogs out. Two of my birds jump the fence regularly, the third stats inside. Not sure why, she's perfectly capable of getting out.

 

[jthornton]

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.

If a standard chicken want's to get out of a 4' fence it's no problem for them to fly over. I have 5' chain link fence and only once had a pullet flown over it. They can but they have enough things to do inside they don't try.

JT

 

[The Moonshiner]

I've heard that this technique can alter egg flavor?

Haven't noticed that but it does give meat birds a nice salty taste. Figured it's same as a good brine soak.
It also gives feathers a nice healthy shine as well as gets the dirt off. Caution white birds may get some discoloration.
Doesn't do much for waterfowl feathers. You know the old saying " like piss off a ducks back"
Great for comb frost bite relief, cures scaly mites and another tool for teaching cockerels to stay out of your space and who's the boss. Advise using caution with older roosters unless you're into below the belt piercings.
Roosters usually learn respect pretty quick. If one wants to test boundaries just put your thumb into your belt or bailing twine and almost always they'll back down. If not give em a good squirt until they squat for you.
Only one dominate cock round here.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Our coop at my dad's (since neither at my home are in use..Grrr) is a dog kennel gone coop. Huge walk in house, magnetic and latching door closures on the house. Whole thing is on a cement pad enclosed in chain link. Has a hardware cloth top on it. Never had anything get in, but weasel don't frequent my area- they could. So could a snake of course.

Coons, hawks, owls, foxes, and dogs are the problems here. Coyote out farther but not where my dad is at. Skunk are around also. None of those can get through.

 

[ChickenRelatedUserName]

This thread is of great interest to me as I'm building my first coop right now. The coop is on a concrete slab so I don't have to worry about anything digging in and they'll be locked up at night. My issue is that I really don't want to cover the run. The run will really be to keep the birds out of the rest of the yard, more than to keep things out. I'm in the metro area of Colorado so also have all manner of hawks, owls, coyotes, raccoons, foxes, skunks, etc. Again, as the chickens will be locked up at night, my only real concern is hawks or early owls.

As I build my coop, I take the birds outside everyday and they hang out in a cheapy PVC and bird netting (the cheapest I could find) run that only serves the purpose of keeping them where I can see them. Literally as I was reading through this thread today, I looked outside to see a hawk sitting on the ground outside the temporary run looking at the ducks and chicks. Fortunately it didn't try anything because it could get through that bird netting in a second.

Anyway, my planned run area has a bush right in the middle of it that prevents me from effectively covering the run without greatly reducing the available space for the flock. In addition, it is in a sloped portion of my yard that I didn't really know what else to do with anyway. I'm under the impression that a bush to hide under is not good enough, but I'm not sure what else I can do without changing my entire plan. Mostly I want to be able to walk around in the area and not have it looked like a prison yard with fence everywhere. I could pretty easily do a series of staggered roofs with corrugated steel that birds of prey wouldn't be able to see through with the idea of out of sight, out of mind. i assume that a hawk won't ONLY get birds from an areal attack, and if they have to walk in from the side, they'll still wreck havoc on the flock. Thoughts? I assume most answers will be variations of "suck it up butter cup and cover your flock."

 

[JDN]

Yeah...Looking more and more at it, I'm building a regular old fence to keep MY dog out, and a cover over the run of HC to keep something dropping in over the fence...But between my dog that would enjoy nothing more than a merry midnight romp with a raccoon or a fox, and the neighbor's free ranging pitbulls, the threat of a coon/possum isn't a huge thought. The owls I see and hear are. The neighbors dog and coyotes are mostly kept out with my large fence.

 

[JMotuzick]

We had to cover our run from ground based predators. We have fox bobcats along with all the other racoons possums etc. we do have hawks in the area and I’m sure the cover has helped against them as well. A fairly cheep 50x50 net covers the run nicely. I am surprised but it lasted all winter. Before the net we lost five birds in three weeks after the net we haven’t lost one. Since the cover I’ve also added electric fence at six and 24 inches. not the best looking run but if we don’t lose hens ..... building a second run in the same manor, this way we can rotate the hens over different areas.
The hillside is now better used with the chickens using it not me rolling the lawnmower ever time I try to mow!

 

[Hokum Coco]

I didn't use hardware cloth when I built my run.

Some times it is the least expected neighbourhood pet that can kill or mangle a flock of birds like a dog that for some reason is running at large. Hope everything works for you BYC buddy.

 

[PirateGirl]

Some times it is the least expected neighbourhood pet that can kill or mangle a flock of birds like a dog that for some reason is running at large. Hope everything works for you BYC buddy.

There's plenty of other fencing that could stop a dog I'm probably more worried about my neighbors' dogs that hang out anywhere other than their own yard than I am anything else.