New Swamp Flock (introduction)

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

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[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[ronott1]

to Backyard chickens!
It sounds like you have a very nice flock

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Nice to meet you
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[rjohns39]

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[jason892]

Hi, it's nice to have you here! With all the potential predators around, you'll want to be sure your coop and run are strong (hardware cloth and maybe electric fencing will be your friends).

Best of luck and thanks for joining us!

Thanks NFC! My “starter” pack of net fencing from Premier One is on the UPS truck today and my coop materials are in the yard pending a few hours of sweat. It will be a 7’x12’ cattle panel hoop house with a 1/2” hardware cloth overlay and pine front/back with the same 1/2” hardware as an underlayment. Most of the designs I’ve seen only have a 24” apron but mine will have a 4’ apron of 1/2” cloth with full length 4x4’s laid horizontally, stapled to the cloth, and staked with 3’ rebar to keep the edges down. I really think this will deter the raccoons, but any advice on stopping the feral hogs would be greatly appreciated. I’ve found lots of info on small critter deterrence but living right at the edge of a national swamp gives me lots of exposure to more “exotic” problem species...

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens

 

[fldiver97]

@jason892 - I’ve seen a few feral hogs many years ago and I know they can do a lot of damage.... I never had to deal with big predators since getting chickens, coyotes are about the largest predators around my area. I would think good electricic fencing, maybe low to the ground and a few feet up, sturdy coop and run ( not sure if you could sink posts in concrete ). I like the idea of a wider skirt to prevent digging but if you think the feral hogs may be able to work the hardware cloth loose consider laying 16x16 patio stones over the skirt or some concrete. Hopefully some of the folks that are familiar with larger predators like feral hogs, bears, mountain lion etc can share some ideas

 

[N F C]

@jason892 - I’ve seen a few feral hogs many years ago and I know they can do a lot of damage.... I never had to deal with big predators since getting chickens, coyotes are about the largest predators around my area. I would think good electricic fencing, maybe low to the ground and a few feet up, sturdy coop and run ( not sure if you could sink posts in concrete ). I like the idea of a wider skirt to prevent digging but if you think the feral hogs may be able to work the hardware cloth loose consider laying 16x16 patio stones over the skirt or some concrete. Hopefully some of the folks that are familiar with larger predators like feral hogs, bears, mountain lion etc can share some ideas

Good ideas @fldiver97