New from Texas :)

[Dashdiddly]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and very new to raising chickens. In fact, we haven't even bought any chicks yet..lol. We are still in the process of coop building.
We have a large, fenced yard and are planning to let them be free range with a large coop for sleeping. We live in a heavily wooded area, full of all sorts of mischievous critters, including a pack of coyotes that live nearby. YIKES! We REALLY want to make sure the chickens will be safe, so we are planning to secure the lower portion of the fence with mesh as well as put us an electric wire around their coop.
Will that be enough protection? Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I look forward to getting to know you all and learn more about our new venture as backyard chicken ranchers..lol

Stevie

 

[Joshua G]

Welcome to backyard chickens.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[drumstick diva]

Chicken wire is no good for protection - it will keep chickens inside but, won't keep predators out. They can cut thru it like butter. 1/2" hardware cloth will put up a good defense and is well worth the money. You have to repel diggers ,& climbers,. Predators from the air - put a good top on your run. The electric wire is good but may need 3 wires, one around bottom, one middle, one near top. If you have Bears, all bets are off, they do what they please.

Besides the usual subjects, the most common predator is neighborhood dogs running loose. Please go to the predator section to learn more about the various enemies and their MO.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

You can read more about chicken predators and how to protect them here: Chicken Predators & Pests. Best of luck with your chicken adventure and fingers crossed those coyotes won't cause you problems!

 

[liz9910]

drumstick diva gave you great advice! Good luck to you.

 

[Dashdiddly]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice! I'll be reading up on predators and make sure to be as prepared as possible before I actually bring the chickens home.