Just got our chicks - need to plan yard fencing and a run

[SeanInVa]

I am in talks with a few local guys about having a coop built, so that's mostly taken care of, but we have a need for a few fences:

We live on a rectangular plot that's about 2.25 acres with the house set basically dead center. The right side of the property has our well, pump house, shed and veggie garden, none of which is currently enclosed. The left side has a few plants, but is mostly wide open - but my wife wants to build up pretty floral area on that side for her photography endeavor, so we are mostly restrained to the right hand side of the property.

We have 16 chicks, and the idea was to have the coop placed inside a largish run (probably 20x20' at least) and then we want to fence in a large portion of that right-handed side so we can let them run around while we're home and can supervise. We have several hawks and vultures in the area, along with racoons and opossums and the occasional fox and there was a coyote or two reported a few years ago

I am looking at using hardware cloth for the main run area, but not sure how high to make this. 6 foot? Wife and I are both about 5'7" tall. Should I cover the top with hardware cloth as well? If it's 20x20 (give or take), I suppose I am going to need to run some supports in the middle and make a roof frame so the cloth doesn't sag? Does the entire thing need to be covered with this stuff to protect from hawks/owls?

For the perimeter fencing, can I just sink some t-posts and wire around some chicken wire? The intent of this fence is simply to keep the chickens on our property, not really to keep anything out.

How far should I keep the chickens from the well? Don't want us drinking chicken poo-laced water

Here is a picture of our land. Outside perimeter lines are a rough approximation of property lines. Bigger brown box near property line is old garden, currently grown over. Smaller brown box is current garden area - mostly raised beds with mulch pathways, but a few in-ground items. Blue box is proposed placement of the "run", with coop inside.

Sorry if these are silly questions - we are both brand spanking new to raising animals other than dogs or cats.

 

[Judy]

Unless yolur well is awfully shallow, I wouldn't worry about poop laced drinking water.

I don't have many good answers for you, but I'll tell you one thing I wish I had done. I wish the coop were adjacent or very close to the garden, with two chicken doors, so that I could let the chickens into the garden or into the run, depending on the time of year. You will find you have to fence the chickens out of the garden while it is productive or they will destroy your crops -- but they make a great cleanup crew when the season is over, plus of course fertilizing it for next year.

I think I would worry more about the coons (and the neighbors' dogs) than hawks. You really only need strawberry or deer netting, if that, to discourage hawks, but if you fence them in with chicken wire, the coons etc. will make short work of them. We have hawks living 50' from the chicken yard who never bother the chickens (but will take chicks.) It depends on the type of hawk as well as what else is available for them to eat, I am convinced.

 

[Lynnette]

we r in the process of building our chx run now. it will b 12×12. there will b braces in the center to support the top with hardware cloth we plan on making 3'×6' frames n then putting the hardware cloth on them with 18 " down on the ground. we will lay the cloth on the ground n cover it with rocks to keep the predators from digging under fence. hope this helps

 

[SeanInVa]

Thanks for the replies all.

The perimeter fencing (around the property line) is just to keep them inside while free-ranging. The run itself I want to to make as predator proof as possible. Think I will go with the apron approach for the cloth - I like not having to break my back digging through our sandy clay to bury the stuff.

Good tip on the garden, I had read they will tear it up in-season, but are a great help for cleanup. I am going to have to fence that off as well - but my main worry would be that simple 4' fencing won't suffice as they will just fly over it to get to the tasty veggies - maybe 6' would be better.

Thanks again!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I've had my chicken run attached to one side of my garden for the past two years. My primary chicken run is wood framed, about 6'X9', plus the 4'X8' under the chicken coop, for a total of 86 square feet and is 6' tall. It is framed in 2"X4" lumber at 3' intervals (to take advantage of the size of chicken wire and hardware cloth. When I first built it, I covered it in chicken wire. But after reading some stories in the predator/pest section, I realized that chicken wire wasn't going to be enough. So, I went back and reinforced the bottom 3' with hardware cloth. and added an apron. I live in the Colorado mountains where we regularly have visits from bears, bobcats, foxes, racoons and coyote and several neighbor dogs. There are also mountain lions in the area as well as hawks and owls. The only predator related loss I've experienced was one pullet to a bobcat my first year, but that was when the girls were out free ranging.

Early on, I extended the original run using the existing fence from my garden (already fenced to keep out deer and elk) the wall of an out building and 4 -10' wide by 6' tall chain link dog-kennel panels to create a larger space that must be another 300 square feet. This section does not have any cover across the top. Although the dog panels are 6' tall and the fence around the garden only 5' tall, I've never had a chicken fly into the garden, although I did have two that occasionally escaped the run to the greater outdoors. I suspect part of the reason is that the dog panels have aluminum tubes across the top while the garden fencing is just wire fencing stretched (not very professionally) beween t-posts. My chickens don't just fly over the top of the fence, they fly TO the top of the fence, look around and then fly down on the other side. Perhaps the garden fence doesn't provide a secure/comfortable enough perch to land on. So, you might want to take that into consideration when fencing your garden.

I do agree that having your coop and run close to the garden is a great idea. While I was working in the garden, I'd toss weeds and things like turnip greens right over the fence into the chicken run and the girls would gobble them up. It also pays to have your compost/manure piles near the garden, since it makes it less work to clean the coop and get the beds ready in the spring. I wish I had built a gate between the garden and the run, but the garden came several years before the chickens.

 

[JackE]

Building and installing a hardware cloth fence is a lot of work, and ain't cheap. 20X20' is nothing for 16 birds. You could make a much larger run with electrified poultry net. I see you have some good sized trees there. You could include them in the run, then you won't have to worry about the hawks. I have hawks, and even eagles around here. Chickens, at least mine, learn about airborne threats, and react to them by hiding.
I have a 100X200' run, and it costs me half of what I saw somebody on this site paid for a wood framed hardware clothed run a fraction of the size. You can run 115AC out to it, or power it up with a solar charger.
Jack

 

[SeanInVa]

Thanks for the advice. So you are saying if I went for a bigger area, to include some of the trees behind the house (they are indeed large, 60-100 year old maples), I could simply "fence" the run in with some electrified netting and won't have to worry about the apron/burying fencing at all? Things won't just dig under the fence?

Would you recommend building a run to attach to the coop at all, or just drop the coop inside this fencing and be done with it? We would be closing up the coop at night.

It seems this methodology would be much easier and faster to install.

 

[JackE]

Thanks for the advice. So you are saying if I went for a bigger area, to include some of the trees behind the house (they are indeed large, 60-100 year old maples), I could simply "fence" the run in with some electrified netting and won't have to worry about the apron/burying fencing at all? Things won't just dig under the fence?

Would you recommend building a run to attach to the coop at all, or just drop the coop inside this fencing and be done with it? We would be closing up the coop at night.

It seems this methodology would be much easier and faster to install.

When a animal comes up to the netting/fence, they always check it out with their nose. Which leads to a very painful, over 7000V, shock. They then totally forget about chickens, food in general, everything else but getting faaaaaaaar away from that fence. I seen a dog get hit by the fence once, he yelped, threw it in reverse, then spun around and ran about 200' away before he even looked back. Of course the chickens, were just standing there on the other side of the fence looking at him when it happened, like they were taunting him.
The hot wires on that fence start at about 1.5-2inches up. They won't dig under it, because they will be long gone before they even think about digging. I surrounded my coop with the netting, so I have an unbroken electrified barrier around it. I have a big brushy area and a tree, plus the coop inside also for the birds to hide and otherwise use. As far as installation goes, it can't be easier.
Jack

 

[SeanInVa]

Excellent, just what I wanted to know! Thank you all for your friendly advice

 

[BLT79]

I was thinking about using dog kennel fencing! 6 ft high. then put wiring on the top! it's either that or buying lots of wood and expensive chicken wire. husband was thinking about using that plastic fencing! anyone use that?