Is this enough security?

[PetesChicks]

We just started with our chickens and after consulting with many of our farmer friends about security, I consolidated all of their advice into our run! Buried the poultry fence at the bottom of the fence, double the poultry fence for 3' from the bottom to keep the eager hands of the raccoons out, installed electric fence along the bottom board to shock the foxes attempting to dig, and raccoons, in addition to running a wire around the bottom of the top board on the fence incase someone gets ambitious and tries to climb the fence. I installed low wattage LED spots with motion sensors on either side of the run and for the attacks from the air, just ran lines across the top with aluminum foil pie plates (heard this works, but not sure) with warning messages directed to the hawks written on them by my 10 year old daughter. I'll be installing the security cams tomorrow!! LOL Chicken prison!

Everything looks good except the chicken wire. That is only good for keeping chickens in, predators can rip it apart. Hopefully with the hot wire will stop anything from getting the chance.

 

[Michael Propst]

I would agree with the others. Leave your chicken wire there but put an additional layer of hardware cloth. The chicken wire is good at keeping chickens in but not predators out. You can find the hardware cloth at some hardware stores or Amazon https://goo.gl/aKZVoe. I have made several upgrades to my run that was once just chicken wire by keeping the chicken wire but reinforcing the lower half with the hardware cloth and using a layer of hardware cloth and PVC welded wire as a ground barrier to prevent digging under. All of my doors have multiple latches and each has a hasp with a clip. The smaller coop I recently purchased from Amazon to use as a isolation coop or transition coop.

 

[JosieMae]

I agree a photo could really help. Even with photos it's hard to see everything but a good shot of the carabiner and lock system would really help. And enough to give us an idea of your coop/run. There is no telling what someone might see.

How big are the openings in they fencing material? Can a raccoon stick its hand through or a chicken stick its head out? Where do they roost? Next to the fence where something could grab them through the fence or inside a solid coop well away from the fence?

What do you have at the bottom to stop digging predators? If the ground is not level it doesn't take much of an opening for many different predators to squeeze through, not just raccoons. Raccoons and many others are mostly fur so they can get through very small openings.

How secure are your connections where you connect the wire to the coop or posts? The best materials in the world won't help if all the predator has to do is pull and it comes loose. Your materials, construction techniques,and workmanship all come into play.

Its' hard to say just how secure a lock is from a raccoon. They are intelligent, strong, and really good with their paws and teeth. I've used a carabiner/hasp system for years without a problem and I've trapped a lot of raccoons from that area. It's worked so far. But I don't know how well it has actually been tested. I don't know if a raccoon has actually set down and tried to work the lock. That's one of the problems with predator protection. If it is tested and it fails you generally know. If it is tested and actually worked you usually don't know. There is always the chance that the next one might be a bit luckier or a bit more clever.

The type of carabiner can make a difference too. Is it spring loaded or does it screw shut to lock it? If you are really concerned about it a padlock is about as safe as you can get but my carabiners are a lot more convenient as often as I go into the coop/run in a day.

The wire is hardware cloth and it is very secure onto the posts. We built it over an old patio so the floor is just sand over brick...nothing can dig up the coop is raised and I always close them up at night so they aren't hanging around in the run...

 

[CKMore]

Racoon are smarter than they look. My Chicken run is made out of chain link fence. Top & sides. I have a 2' board around the bottom to keep hands out. We have electric fence around the whole thing. I had to unplug the electric fence to let the chickens out during the day. THE ONE DAY that I forget to plug the fence back in, was the night the coons dug under & killed 5 chickens. That means they must have been checking the fence every night in order to know it was off that night. Now I have my electric fence on a timer. My other chicken run has wire shelving layed around the outside of the perimeter of the fence with stakes & bricks to keep it in place. That run the coons never try to dig into & that run is near the other run. Needless to say I got more of the wire shelving on craigslist to use on the 1st run as added security. I also purchased some from the Homes for Humanity Restore at a great price.

 

[PirateGirl]

My doors are secured almost identical to yours. If you are really worried you can slide a board through the handles for one more layer of protection. Just an easy thought without extra construction, though I don't know that you need it.

I know you said it's on an old patio, the only weak link in this picture I see is where the wire meets the ground. I'm not sure if it's buried or anything, but if not, to keep something from prying it up you can run a board along the bottom... it looks like you have done this just out of frame of the picture to the left.

Also I'm assuming the PVC coming out the top is either vent or feed/water system. Make sure it is capped or covered with wire/mesh so things can't crawl in. Even things that can't harm your chickens like mice, you don't really want them in your coop.

 

[Birdinhand]

sounds good but I'd echo others, no actually I'd go a step further and say it's time for us to start a campaign to force the industry to rename poultry wire, it is fine for creating partitions inside a coop, but virtually useless for an outside barrier. lets rename hardware cloth to poultry cloth, LOL! heavy gauge galvanized hardware cloth is about the only thing that holds up. you can use a long screw and a washer to help make it taught and then secure it with "U" nails, then reuse the screw and washer. extra latches are great, I use two, one on each corner for every door. if a racoon can get it's hand in side a corner, it is sometimes strong enough to pry the door right open if there isn't a latch at that corner.