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- #21
- Jun 1, 2012
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I lock them in the coop at night now, and let them out in the a.m. There is a 2" x 3" in the top of the run that goes across width wise. It's there favorite hang out.I like your idea for you flower bed. Chicken are a great way to take an overgrown area and reduce it to dirt without taking any nutrients from the soil. All that's left to do is a little leaving and you are ready to plant.
Where do your chickens spend the night now? If they have a place to roost that is protected from small paws that would like to reach in at night, I don't see why they couldn't stay in the run. If you are going to make movable predator guards, I would use heavier fencing. Hardware cloth doesn't hold up as well when it is being walked on a lot. Any thing that is 17 gauge or bigger will work better for you. I use 12.5 gauge 2"x4" for mine. Anything small enough to fit through 2" is not much of a digger. Some rodent could dig under over time, but if you are always moving around that will never become a problem. Skirts have worked from many people on this forum. A fox will come to the edge of the run and that is where it will try and dig. If it can't dig there then it will move around the perimeter of the run looking for a place to dig under, it make no sense to them to move away from the run to dig. As for cats, once your chickens are bigger they won't be much of a threat, besides they have a great looking guardian watch over them. Does she stay with them at night?
No real way for anything to get to them there. I would use the 2"x4" fence for the skirt and the hardware cloth I was thinking would only be for the sides to replace the chicken wire. Although my sister-in-laws' Pitbull was testing the strength ot the chicken wire last week and it held up pretty well.
My dog spends some nights with the birds some without. It's up to her. She hangs out most of the day with them. Like I said, she really likes having the company. It's funny seeing the birds picking up on her barks. If its a friendly bark they run to the one side of the run to see who it is, and if it's an alert bark they fly up on the roost out of site.
This time of year there are easier sources of food around for foxes and the like, but I'm thinking as winter approaches the animals will take more risks.