We have lots of predators here, and when my parents raised chickens, it was one of the main reasons they gave it up. They couldn't keep the predators out of the fenced in area. We get raccoons, skunks, weasels, bobcats, coyotes, wolves, foxes, bears, mountain lions, hawks, owls, and eagles frequently, also my neighbors have lots of dogs. I am planning on raising quail in the backyard, and since they are such small birds, I want to make sure they are as secure as possible. Anybody have some good ideas for a design that would predator-proof my backyard?
Bears are a big concern because they show up annually at fall to eat apples off our trees, they have caused lots of trouble in the past, and with their strength, there is little that can keep them out.
We also have a big raccoon and two skunks that come every night to eat from my cat's food. Other predators are all very common around here, since we live in the prairie next to the mountains and encounter them often.
The area I would be keeping the quail in would be a garden area in the backyard, half of it would be open field with tall grass (prime gamebird habitat) and in the other half I would plant corn and sunflower for cover. I plan to fence in the entire area like a giant cage, with wire on the ground, about 8 feet high around, and a wire top to keep the quail in and eagles out. I was going to put hardware cloth around the lower half of the fence (about two feet high) and use chicken wire for the rest. Would that be sufficient, or should I just use hardware cloth all the way up? How about for the roof and ground? The problem is the expense.
I would also have to fence in a passage to the coop, which is outside of the fenced area, and secure the wood coop from predators.
Outside of the immediate garden area where I would keep the quails is a larger fenced in area. I thought I might put wire around this area too, so that if a predator were to get in, they would have to get through 2 barriers instead of just one to get to the quail. In this fenced in area, I thought I would have some bigger kinds of birds that could chase away some of the smaller predators, like maybe peacocks or guineas-anybody know of a good bird for that? Also, that way, the predator might just take those birds and spare the quail.
So I just was wondering if anybody has some suggestions for added security. Maybe barbwire, etc... what's the best thing to use, and what would be a good layout?
Bears are a big concern because they show up annually at fall to eat apples off our trees, they have caused lots of trouble in the past, and with their strength, there is little that can keep them out.
We also have a big raccoon and two skunks that come every night to eat from my cat's food. Other predators are all very common around here, since we live in the prairie next to the mountains and encounter them often.
The area I would be keeping the quail in would be a garden area in the backyard, half of it would be open field with tall grass (prime gamebird habitat) and in the other half I would plant corn and sunflower for cover. I plan to fence in the entire area like a giant cage, with wire on the ground, about 8 feet high around, and a wire top to keep the quail in and eagles out. I was going to put hardware cloth around the lower half of the fence (about two feet high) and use chicken wire for the rest. Would that be sufficient, or should I just use hardware cloth all the way up? How about for the roof and ground? The problem is the expense.
I would also have to fence in a passage to the coop, which is outside of the fenced area, and secure the wood coop from predators.
Outside of the immediate garden area where I would keep the quails is a larger fenced in area. I thought I might put wire around this area too, so that if a predator were to get in, they would have to get through 2 barriers instead of just one to get to the quail. In this fenced in area, I thought I would have some bigger kinds of birds that could chase away some of the smaller predators, like maybe peacocks or guineas-anybody know of a good bird for that? Also, that way, the predator might just take those birds and spare the quail.
So I just was wondering if anybody has some suggestions for added security. Maybe barbwire, etc... what's the best thing to use, and what would be a good layout?
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