Keeping chicks safe

[rosawoodsii]

My broody hen just hatched 2 chicks yesterday and now I'm waiting for her to either hatch out more or leave the next. I figure I've got at least another day.

The fence is a 4' x 2"x3" welded wire fence. Now that there are chicks, I'm concerned that one of them will go through the holes and into the yard where my mighty hunter dog will decide it's not a chicken but a tasty treat. I'm considering putting hen and chicks in a smaller run for a while, with 1/2" chicken wire, but the small coop that's attached is a repurposed ferret house that has two stories, with a slanted board to the second story. The ground level is enclosed in hardware cloth, but the second level is totally enclosed. Here's my question: Do you think this would be suitable for the hen and chicks? Would she take them "upstairs" or should I somehow enclose the bottom so there's no weather coming in? Either way, they'd be able to go out into a small run during the day.

Also, how long does it take before chicks won't be able to go through 2"x3" welded wire?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I do not believe the hen would take the chicks up to the second level of the little coop.

I do believe that if a chick got into the dog yard, mama hen would fly over the fence to do battle with the dog. This is based on what my mama hens did when their chicks slipped through 4' high chain link and got into the chicken run with the rest of the flock on Day Three. (The chain link was reinforced for the chicks but they found a gap.)

Finally I'm going to say, probably at about six weeks your chicks will be too large for the gaps in the welded wire. Hardware cloth is pretty safe (1/2") for chicks, not only to keep them in, but to keep most boogymen out.