Mountain life help

[Sunny4x4]

So, I'm beginning my journey, chicks ordered from a local hatchery ( a hatch date early may). 4x6 quaker chicken coop being delivered early April (has a 10-inch gap underneath)

Photo is where the coop & run will be.

Issue is I live on a dang mountain, and even the flat areas are rock with "some" soil. The split rail posts are about a foot deep (maybe), and those 4 holes took all dang day with a post digger (lg rocks everywhere)

1. We have high winds, and I want to ensure my run doesn't blow away (I'm building my own run)

2. I need electric fencing to deter black bears (zero clue how I'd get a grounding steak in the ground deep enough)

3. I want to raise the coop a bit to give the girls (90% guarantee sexed ) more room under the coop.

Does anyone have any input/advice/experience to share?

 

[azygous]

You need to invest in a trenching tool. https://www.amazon.com/Digger-2-Str...7&sprefix=trenching+auger,aps,232&sr=8-8&th=1. Or just buy a planting auger for your drill to loosen the soil. Post hole diggers don't work in rocky soil. You found that out.

As for the electric fence copper grounding rod, start a hole for it, fill it with water until the water loosens the soil and you can pound it in as far as you can. The dampness of the soil goes farther to ground it than depth. When I am filling waterers or cleaning, I use the available water to water soil around the grounding post.

It's nice to raise the coop for the chickens to enjoy safety and cover, but make it high enough that you can crawl under there to fetch a sick or injured chicken or a surprise clutch of eggs a hen has hidden there.

 

[Jimmy W]

I do not understand where your run will be.

Are you planning to attach the run to the coop and place it in that area or are you planning on enclosing the area with fencing and placing the coop in it?

I have a 4 x 6 raised coop with a 6 x 12 run, which is enclosed and the run roof is extended from the main coop. I am in PA and we do not get many hurricane wind days, but the coop did withstand 60 MPH winds and the deck plate are only staked in the ground with rebar pins drilled thru the bottom plate.

I did run the hardware cloth a foot under the perimeter, and so far all has been good with the coop and INTERNAL run. I then have a 6 foot chicken wire fence as the outer perimeter, where I let the chickens run during the day when I am in and out of the yard. If I am going to be outside for extended periods, I open that up and let them run out wherever they want.

You have a really nice area for a coop, I would do something like I have (Internal secured area) for predator prevention, and for the wind, can you set some concrete footers in the ground with L bolts put in the concrete when you lay it, which you could then bolt the coop to for some stability in wind?