My dog got into my coop!

[Sharksandguitars]

Luckily I was keeping an eye on my chicks from the window. I am not sure why my dog didn't devour my chickens before I was able to run back there. Apparently my coop is not predator proof. Please help! The chicks aren't old enough to live back there, and I still need to make their hen house ( if they aren't all 3 roosters) but I'd really like to feel comfortable leaving them in the pen to play for an hour. The little guys love it back there...Suggestions?

 

[dkvart1]

Did you see how the dog got in? Is the run made with just chicken wire? If so, from what I've learned here all chicken wire does is keep chickens from getting out, doesn't keep predators from getting in. I believe others have recommended hardware cloth but forget what size and I think they someone mentioned not the welded wire, but the... woven or wraped wire? Darn this old memory. And they also recommend bringing the chicken wire down and either burying it a few inches into the soil or wrapping it outward and securing it to the ground and lettting the grass grow through it to help anchor it. I hope this helps.

If you already did this, I'm sorry for repeating it, but I can't tell much from the photo.

 

[Sharksandguitars]

She opened a portion where the chicken wire over lapped, that we had tied together. I guess we are back to square one, if chicken wire doesnt work!

 

[MareeZoCool]

I had a racoon get inside my coop a few times before I finally realized the problem with my chickens sudden dislike of their home.

Now we have the coop on 4 foot legs, and 3/4"outside plywood walls, doors, and roof. Ain't NO 'coon gettin in my hen house!

 

[florida lee]

Correct, chicken wire only keeps chickens in and rabbits out. I only use hardware cloth with the 1/2" squares.

 

[Sharksandguitars]

can I just put the mesh on top of the chicken wire? Man, a pain in the but it would be to pull all those staples out!

 

[dkvart1]

Yes, I've seen it around the bottom of their runs over the chicken wire. Good luck!

 

[Sharksandguitars]

Thank you, that is what we are going to try. Now for hen house plans

And if we can keep the dogs out of the pen, the dogs will keep the other stragglers out.

 

[Horsefly]

You can also add some support boards where the wire pieces overlap. That way you can staple both pieces of wire to the solid board instead of just tying together in a few spots.

 

[Dogfish]

The coop looks to be 10-12 feet long. Add vertical supports every 3.3 or 4 feet, depending on length and width. Get some 2"x4" welded wire and attach to the boards with 1.5" staples, the kind you hammer in. There can't be any seams. Build it right, or be prepared to lose birds. You will also need a coop (which you mentioned).

You can leave the chicken wire in place. Many of us use layers of wire. I have 2"x4" welded wire sides, plus a strip of 1/2" hardware cloth that rings the bottom two feet of the entire run. You have a good start. It just needs to be beefed up a bit.