one of my chickens got killed :( how to i make the run more predator proof?

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thanks! That’s our chicken and duck coop. The guineas used to be in a 8x6 fenced off section of it, but it was too small, so we built a 8 x 16 cattle panel hoop coop last fall. I currently have a temporary run that’s electric poultry net with a 1x1” nylon cover (pics attached). I’m using the run to train guineas to the new coop, and to combine them to lay their eggs there. What do you use your run for?

Nice size!!! Love your Guineas! The way they look at you - I recognize that Guinea-presence anywhere.

I use our run to keep them safe from predators when I cannot watch them on the free range. Also, we have a couple of generations of flock members now and they take years to mingle peacefully, so the run now has two sub-pens in the protected space that house 2 sets of "babies".

Used to use the run, like you said, to get them used to their home and to keep them safe. My idea was for them to free-range from dawn to dusk but that has not worked out in reality because of the predators. We even got a very expensive fence and 2 Maremmas to guard the birds but it still has not worked out: the dogs only guard the birds when I am out with them, otherwise they find a sleeping spot and abandon the flock at the edge of the woods.

Too bad for the poor Guineas who are now locked up too much, but alive at least! Wish I had a bigger run now and working on expanding this one, but it is a lot of work and I have little time at the moment. Safety is still my number one concern for them, next to food, water, calcium, grit, and some space to not be harassed and to nest. And a clean environment, of course. I scrape the platforms and roosting bars daily and it works out ok.

They do free range almost every day for a few hours and come home willingly (minus a few arguments and a lost bird over the property fence that I have to retrieve with lots of effort every blue moon) for millet and mealworms. =] I keep them in when it is very bad weather or I am just too busy and tired to make it. The run is essential for space and dust bathing and fresh air and sunshine. Also great for the odd vacation we go on (not since 2014), when we have a pet sitter to take care of everyone. Then they do not free range at all for a week.

Adam, sorry, don't want to derail your post - maybe you get some good impressions and ideas from this conversation, though - what a run is good for and what may happen in the next couple of years if you stick with keeping a flock. There may be days you are gone (on vacation or business travel), there may be chicks you want to keep or new birds you want to introduce. All those things require some planning and space. A safe and big enough run is awesome to help out in those situations. Some work up front can save you a lot of trouble and heart-ache later. Just some ideas.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Nice size!!! Love your Guineas! The way they look at you - I recognize that Guinea-presence anywhere.

I use our run to keep them safe from predators when I cannot watch them on the free range. Also, we have a couple of generations of flock members now and they take years to mingle peacefully, so the run now has two sub-pens in the protected space that house 2 sets of "babies".

Used to use the run, like you said, to get them used to their home and to keep them safe. My idea was for them to free-range from dawn to dusk but that has not worked out in reality because of the predators. We even got a very expensive fence and 2 Maremmas to guard the birds but it still has not worked out: the dogs only guard the birds when I am out with them, otherwise they find a sleeping spot and abandon the flock at the edge of the woods.

Too bad for the poor Guineas who are now locked up too much, but alive at least! Wish I had a bigger run now and working on expanding this one, but it is a lot of work and I have little time at the moment. Safety is still my number one concern for them, next to food, water, calcium, grit, and some space to not be harassed and to nest. And a clean environment, of course. I scrape the platforms and roosting bars daily and it works out ok.

They do free range almost every day for a few hours and come home willingly (minus a few arguments and a lost bird over the property fence every blue moon) for millet and mealworms. =] I keep them in when it is very bad weather or I am just too busy and tired to make it. The run is essential for space and dust bathing and fresh air and sunshine. Also great for the odd vacation we go on (not since 2014), when we have a pet sitter to take care of everyone. Then they do not free range at all for a week.

Adam, sorry, don't want to derail your post - maybe you get some good impressions and ideas from this conversation, though - what a run is good for and what may happen in the next couple of years if you stick with keeping a flock. There may be days you are gone (on vacation or business travel), there may be chicks you want to keep or new birds you want to introduce. All those things require some planning and space. A safe and big enough run is awesome to help out in those situations. Some work up front can save you a lot of trouble and heart-ache later. Just some ideas.

Bennie, Yes, totally agree with you about reasons to have a run, I just haven’t seen many other people combine the run and free range for guineas! It’s great that you’re so concerned about your birds. We have too many predators for chickens, but, knock on wood, our guineas have done pretty well with them. My main problem right now is keeping them from crossing a road and getting hit!

Adam, the run ideas that others have described sound great and are probably best for your situation. However, you can combine the T post with heavy wire, hardware cloth, and an apron if you like your current set up. In your case, the heavy wire would be on the outside of the t post to provide maximum protection against a predator pushing the wire off the post. In the picture below, the heavy wire is a cattle panel and is on the inside, in order to support the arch. You need the hardware cloth to keep smaller predators out, and some kind of overhead covering to prevent climbing predators and hawks. It’s morbid but true that “Everything loves a chicken dinner”...

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Adam, yes, like others have said, a quick way to deter ground predators is electric fence and that can be set up quickly and be very helpful while you are building something else inside the electric fence perimeter. There are several types for sale where the e-fence is woven into a netting material and you can put it up quickly with step-in posts.

Keep in mind, though, that racoons are fantastic jumpers and can go up vertically 8' I read somewhere. Also any nearby tree or shrub helps them to get over an e-fence. Look at it with the eyes of a racoon and see if you see a way in.

We had an electric "fence" I built around our coop at the beginning (more like mounted wires - see picture below) and we had several 'yelps' at night at first and the birds had turned over all the feeders inside the coop jumping up in fright - but the racoon/fox/? did not get in and did not try again it seems.

After a few of those episodes (maybe every critter in the area had to give it a go) we had not more nightly surprises. I used a horse fencer and strung hot and ground a couple of inches apart around the bottom, roof, door, windows, etc. That worked, too. Power came from a cord from the house with a little box with a safety interrupter mounted outside the coop.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Bennie, Yes, totally agree with you about reasons to have a run, I just haven’t seen many other people combine the run and free range for guineas! It’s great that you’re so concerned about your birds. We have too many predators for chickens, but, knock on wood, our guineas have done pretty well with them. My main problem right now is keeping them from crossing a road and getting hit!
...

Ouch, yes! Getting hit on the road is very bad! They don't always die right away either and can suffer terribly. We had one on the Guinea forum whose 'mom' was a medical person and saved the bird even after the leg turned gangrene and had to be amputated. That bird still lived for years. Guineas are attracted to the road due to the heat and bugs on roads. They cannot understand traffic just like we cannot fly. Saying it is up to them to watch is nonsense. (some people do, I cannot understand that attitude) It's just like throwing someone off a three story high roof and saying it is their fault if they hit the ground and get hurt - they should have just spread out their wings and landed softly. Guineas don't have the brains to understand cars and traffic like we do.

We are lucky since we are away from any major roads - our little neighborhood only has 5 houses and a long way to the main road. Our Guineas used to go to the neighbors, though, and before we had a fence I did two things that were somewhat effective:

1. I would be on them like stink on s#$% and not let them go in that direction - it took a while, but they do have habits and routes they follow and I discouraged that route to the neighbors long enough for them to establish another route as their routine.
2. I put up one of those black construction fences that is about 3' high and has wooden posts rolled into it to drive into the ground with a sledge hammer. Constructions sites use it to help keep runoff on site - you can get 100' or so rolled up at Lowes for not too high a price. I put that on the edge to our neighbor's place. While Guineas can easily fly over 3', they prefer to walk and don't like a 3' high fence that is non-see-through, so it helped to keep them from going over it.
3. Now we have a permanent fence there and they hardly ever fly over.
4. Not letting them out very much/long also helps to keep them from wandering too far, but I cannot recommend that as a good solution. They are happier when they are out, I think. I just learned that one by default. The days when I could let them out from dawn to dusk, they went furthest and got into the most trouble, especially when they were out that much every day and started feeling more and more comfortable with their surroundings and going further.

 

[adam12321]

It's a little hard to tell from the photos, but any type of growth next to an open top run can assist predators in getting in - raccoons, cats, etc. The fence certainly doesn't seem tall enough to keep a jumping dog out? I think you have to measure your risk here - will you have many stranger dogs in your backyard? Perhaps you insist they be leashed. Do you have other types of predators in your neighborhood that you need to protect against? You might want to cut back that bush so that it doesn't assist other predators, or impede your fence building.

there wouldn't essentially be any strangers dogs in our backyard, also its tall enough to stop predators from jumping in I thought of placing a net above the run so nothing could jump in would that be efficient enough to stop predators from coming in?

 

[adam12321]

Adam, yes, like others have said, a quick way to deter ground predators is electric fence and that can be set up quickly and be very helpful while you are building something else inside the electric fence perimeter. There are several types for sale where the e-fence is woven into a netting material and you can put it up quickly with step-in posts.

Keep in mind, though, that racoons are fantastic jumpers and can go up vertically 8' I read somewhere. Also any nearby tree or shrub helps them to get over an e-fence. Look at it with the eyes of a racoon and see if you see a way in.

We had an electric "fence" I built around our coop at the beginning (more like mounted wires - see picture below) and we had several 'yelps' at night at first and the birds had turned over all the feeders inside the coop jumping up in fright - but the racoon/fox/? did not get in and did not try again it seems.

After a few of those episodes (maybe every critter in the area had to give it a go) we had not more nightly surprises. I used a horse fencer and strung hot and ground a couple of inches apart around the bottom, roof, door, windows, etc. That worked, too. Power came from a cord from the house with a little box with a safety interrupter mounted outside the coop.


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thanks for the tips! I might try that sooner or later. but for now, would it be efficient to place a net above the run so nothing could sneakily jump in and kill them?

 

[adam12321]

Make sure their are no holes, cover the top of the run and buy some dig defense so animals can't dig under the fence.

thanks!

 

[adam12321]

Welcome!
I'm sorry for you bird, and this is how many of us learn that we need to build better!
Your pen is totally not safe and needs to be redone, because your birds will be getting out, and most predators, not just this dog, can get inside.
A safer run would be taller, walk-in height, with a roof, and a dig-proof base. Best is with no openings larger than 1/2" diameter anywhere, and tough enough that a big dog can't just push through it. Most predators can climb, so a cover is best too.
Ask for more ideas, and plans, and budget, and move forward.
Mary

hi mary! I've thought of maybe placing a net above the run?
would that be a good idea?

 

[adam12321]

I am wondering how many chickens you have for that tiny coop?
What you have constucted truly, is an enclosure to confine your chickens inside. This enclosure does absoultly nothing to keep preditors out.
Once the chickens get larger they will be out of that also
Do you lock your chickens inside the coop at night?
Im sorry you lost your chick.

hi! I do lock them at night, I have 3 now no including the dead one yes, i agree the coop is small and i do plan on making it bigger in the future, also they're out most of the day so its enough for them now... open for suggestions!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

thanks for the tips! I might try that sooner or later. but for now, would it be efficient to place a net above the run so nothing could sneakily jump in and kill them?

Hi Adam, you’re new to BYCs, and pretty new to chicken keeping as well, aren’t you? Welcome to BYCs by the way!

I’m not sure how urban your environment is, but new chicken owners tend to be quite surprised by how much wildlife gets drawn to chicken coops, even in the suburbs. Raccoons and opossums transform from those rarely seen funny/cute creatures that tried to steal your cat food to vicious predators with blood on their muzzles... Same for your neighbor’s friendly cats and dogs.

Your friend’s dog penetrated your fence very easily, so there are likely many more predators waiting for their chance. As an exercise in acquiring paranoia, you can go almost any day to the Predators and Pests forum and read the latest harrowing tale of chicken keepers who are dealing with sadness and guilt over the loss of their poultry. It’s a sad exercise, but it’s actually very useful to see what protections have failed and what predators made it through. A net or other overhead covering will protect against hawks, but a raccoon, fox, or opossum will either go right through your current fence at the corners and maybe the bottom, or may take a few minutes to chew through a nylon net. If you are always home when your birds are out, a net might give you a few moments to respond to your bird’s cries at seeing a predator. However, if you are away from home, listening to loud music, asleep, etc then you won’t know to react. Checking out some predator posts and then coop construction posts and articles on this site would really help out you and your birds! Wishing you the best of luck with your chicken keeping adventures.