My hen was chased by a bocat,, and lived to tell the tale... (and what we did to prevent more)

[meetthebubus]

One morning a commotion came in the chicken run enclosure I ran out to see my hen Mowhawkie jumping five feet in the air with a bobcat at its tail.

we ran out and scared off the animal who tuned tail and ran off to the mountains once it saw us coming, We found Mowhawkie who had ran to a bush and hidden out of breath and took her back to her family.

I was surprised this had happened, apparently we have wild animals that can jump as much as 20 feet so no tall fences would work, so my husband came up with the 360 enclosure it's probably about 1/4 acre or so, so they can free range of sorts but its completely enclosed and NOTHING is getting in, not even the raptors, hawks and eagles that have flown by since.... of course the roosters still sound the alarm, but we can sleep knowing our feather babies aren't going off with some hungry animal.

I have a link to the video I made of the enclosure I would say its rough, not fancy really or looking like a cute little cottage which are adorable, but it works for us and the entire thing only cost a few hundred dollars when said and done..

here's a link to the video if you want to see a tour of what we did...

 

[eggbert420]

 

[drumstick diva]

If you have raccoons in your area, they can get in. They can bite through chicken wire and reach through the fencing with wider openings and bite off anything they can grab.

They, and other preds can also dig their way in. Some hot wire(electrified ) around the base may help with that.

 

[meetthebubus]

If you have raccoons in your area, they can get in. They can bite through chicken wire and reach through the fencing with wider openings and bite off anything they can grab.

They, and other preds can also dig their way in. Some hot wire(electrified ) around the base may help with that.

well, it's double fenced on the bottom with not just chicken wire, but strong galvanized steel fencing, the ground around the fence has been built up and hardened, and most digging predators are at night, where the bubus are then in their enclosed coop home and so they would have to dig through hard compacted dirt twice which i don't see them doing...the fencing is buried a bit into the hard ground, not even field mice have gotten in and rabbits stay out of it as well which are the best test to see if smaller prey and pests can bother, nothing is foolproof but in my opinion its the best to give your hens room and keep them safe.

 

[eggbert420]

well, it's double fenced on the bottom with not just chicken wire, but strong galvanized steel fencing, the ground around the fence has been built up and hardened, and most digging predators are at night, where the bubus are then in their enclosed coop home and so they would have to dig through hard compacted dirt twice which i don't see them doing...the fencing is buried a bit into the hard ground, not even field mice have gotten in and rabbits stay out of it as well which are the best test to see if smaller prey and pests can bother, nothing is foolproof but in my opinion its the best to give your hens room and keep them safe. 

I watched the video. I dont think you will have any problems with raccoons.