Need some advice on free ranging and predators

[Howard E]

To OP Brian, I'm curious about the origins of that fence. What prompted the necessity of razor wire? And how big of an area is enclosed within this fence? What is the spacing of the fig trees? How many trees?

Is the fence on the property line? Either way, you can enhance even that by the addition of electric fence wires at the base and at the top......basic livestock type E fence. That way not much is going to dig under or crawl over it.

Combine that with an open air coop (wide open air) with an electric door, and you will have done about all you can, given the situation you are trying to adapt to. You may get losses but that seems to be an occupational hazard for these birds.

Normal laying hens may not be the best choice. Perhaps guinneas?

Perhaps you could get some mail order feral chickens sent to you from Key West, FL? They somehow manage to stay alive roosting in the trees. (kidding)

 

[Brianmelton]

To OP Brian, I'm curious about the origins of that fence. What prompted the necessity of razor wire? And how big of an area is enclosed within this fence? What is the spacing of the fig trees? How many trees?

Is the fence on the property line? Either way, you can enhance even that by the addition of electric fence wires at the base and at the top......basic livestock type E fence. That way not much is going to dig under or crawl over it.

Combine that with an open air coop (wide open air) with an electric door, and you will have done about all you can, given the situation you are trying to adapt to. You may get losses but that seems to be an occupational hazard for these birds.

Normal laying hens may not be the best choice. Perhaps guinneas?

Perhaps you could get some mail order feral chickens sent to you from Key West, FL? They somehow manage to stay alive roosting in the trees. (kidding)

Hello the property was used to store engineering equipment. We have around 200 varieties planted and trees are 8’ apart. We are only keeping 6 hens and the 3 weeder geese. Looks like we are going to have a coop built and use the electric door.

 

[tenenbaum]

Hello first post here. My name is Brian and I live in Fresno Ca. I have 19 chicks and 3 weeder geese (goslings). I am raising them at my home until they are big enough to be transferred to our fenced orchard. The plan is for them to help with the bugs and the weeds. So here is the dilemma. I cannot be there everyday as it’s across town. I can be there every couple days though. The property is fenced by a 9’ razor wire fence. Basically like a prison. I cannot find more then a 2”gap in any of the gates. I feel like it’s pretty secure to be able to let them free range. However in concerned about owls and hawks and maybe whatever else I cannot think of. Any suggestions on what to do as far as a coop? Is it necessary in this situation? Can animals dig under the fence? TIA
Attaching a pic of the fence.View attachment 2085852

I free range my hens and we have hawks where I live. I have never seen an owl or a raccoon here so hawks is my main problem. There were a few close calls with the hens before. A hawk came to attack, the hens screamed and hid under the bushes, and we ran outside to save them. This was alarming for me. To protect the hens, as a hawk deterrent I hung a bunch of old compact disks from the big trees & the gutters. I took two disks and put them together in a way that the shiny parts face out and attached a string from the middle hole (looks like this). I also ordered a mix of shiny things made to deter birds (some of them are wind rods, some are owl shaped etc.) and hung them again all over the place. All this stuff looks bad but they have been really effective and we haven't had any hawk attacks for months. The yard looks like a disco with all the reflection from the stuff hung moving around! Also, last week I added an owl decoy on top of the grapevine trellis, which is about 8 feet long. Seeing how much the hens enjoy being free (within the confines of the yard fence of course), I can't get myself to limit them to a run. With all the deterrent, the trees, shrubs & vines providing cover I think they are safe enough. Given that you are talking about an orchard I assume there is enough cover from above. If not it might be good to plant some bushes. In addition I would recommend adding the CDs, other shiny stuff, and owl decoys. There are more expensive solutions involving motion sensors triggering alarm sounds or actuators to move things around to scare birds, but I am not willing to invest in something that elaborate. Of course getting a rooster would also help. I am amazed with the Saigon game fowl breed and would have wanted to get one but I can't have a rooster where I live. I bet a rooster of that breed would scare away most daytime predators.

 

[nao57]

Wow, so many amazing ideas.

I liked the idea of cover like bushes and shrugs. Plus, that helps alleviate heat exhaustion oriented problems. I'm glad that you mentioned water also. It also looks like your pic looks like heat vulnerability in that location later in the year could be an issue. But I did like that you had blinds set in the fencing! Thumbs up.

I'm thinking you could rig up a cheap homemade electric fence. Farmers have been doing these for years using car batteries on wire. (You aren't trying to induce a kill shock, but just a slight jolt to scare. But you might need to check legalities of this or if warning signs are required in your area for this also to protect yourself. Plus, I don't know what's legal in your state. But I remember as a kid they used to be pretty common around here.

The automatic door might not be a safe deterrent though its a cool idea; because if it opens for a chicken wouldn't it open up also for other things if they can fit through them? (Smaller opening reduces some predator risk; this has been proven by beekeepers and others, so it should apply to chickens or ducks also. For them, its one of the most practiced anti-predator tactics on their huts to reduce entrance size at the first sign of predators or at predator season.)

Regarding digging under the fence, for that, I've seen people say that to counter that you put down like a foot wide (or so, depends on what you are deterring) strip on the outside edge of the fence to prevent stuff burrowing in. To be honest this isn't my idea, but I remember hearing quail cage builders talk about it, as how they fix and prevent predators coming in. But they were quick to say the strip is better on the outside because other problems can be caused to your animals if its on the inside.

 

[NatJ]

The automatic door might not be a safe deterrent though its a cool idea; because if it opens for a chicken wouldn't it open up also for other things if they can fit through them?

Different kind of automatic door. The ones for chickens are controlled by a timer or a light sensor. They close at night (to keep out predators while the chickens sleep), and open in the morning.

 

[nao57]

Different kind of automatic door. The ones for chickens are controlled by a timer or a light sensor. They close at night (to keep out predators while the chickens sleep), and open in the morning.

OK. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Brianmelton]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to listen and respond. We have kept 6 hens and the 3 weeder geese. We are now looking at coops.