post your chicken coop pictures here!

[caychris]

LOL Okay - Wonder how it made it to contiguous when continental was the semantics used in the earlier decades since Alaska wasn't attach to the U.S. border anywhere.

I used contiguous earlier

when I was comparing finland I think.

 

[sunnysideup2]

I also had a brake in but they dug under wire, 2x4 wood and the wire was in the ground, foxes got ours we have picture of it coming up to gate, foxes take the chicken and save some they took for when the babys need more to eat, a raccoon just kills for the kill, they always leave them dead, we did have 2 that got away from foxes have no wing and feathers on back and neck gone, but it in the rabbit cage and took care of it for 3 weeks then put it back in yard.

 

[sunnysideup2]

My coop is very solid and nothing could get in by breaking in. Could a fox dig under? the coop is sitting on 4 x 4's. I didn't think there were predators in my neighborhood, but a fox was killed (hit by car) right by my driveway. It goes to show you can't be too careful. I can't bury wire because the ground is full of gravel. The girls free range and are locked in before dark.

 

[Latestarter]

My coop is very solid and nothing could get in by breaking in. Could a fox dig under? the coop is sitting on 4 x 4's. I didn't think there were predators in my neighborhood, but a fox was killed (hit by car) right by my driveway. It goes to show you can't be too careful. I can't bury wire because the ground is full of gravel. The girls free range and are locked in before dark.

A fox (or other predators) will attempt to dig under fencing or even boards at the base of a fence, but if your ladies are locked inside a "building" (with a floor of some sort I hope) you shouldn't have to fear a digger... Even if they did attempt to dig under the coop, they would still have to get through floor boards to get into the coop. I expect you'd notice the excavation before the culprit would have a chance to finish that attempt. Just as an aside, foxes, coyotes (and neighbor's loose dogs/cats) also "hunt" during daylight hours, especially when hungry or feeding pups/kits. It's always a risk we take when free ranging our birds, unless you're right there with them the entire time they're out.

 

[clucknbell]

 

[Latestarter]

Very nice! Those are some high livin' chicks

Welcome to the thread, and

 

[sunnysideup2]

A fox (or other predators) will attempt to dig under fencing or even boards at the base of a fence, but if your ladies are locked inside a "building" (with a floor of some sort I hope) you shouldn't have to fear a digger...  Even if they did attempt to dig under the coop, they would still have to get through floor boards to get into the coop.  I expect you'd notice the excavation before the culprit would have a chance to finish that attempt.  Just as an aside, foxes, coyotes (and neighbor's loose dogs/cats) also "hunt" during daylight hours, especially when hungry or feeding pups/kits. It's always a risk we take when free ranging our birds, unless you're right there with them the entire time they're out.

 

[sunnysideup2]

There is no floor to the coop. I just out down weed block and shavings. The attached run is just grass. I think I'll attach hardware cloth as a flooring and cover it will soil. The chicken area is next to the house so I have good visibility. Of course there is still some risk to them being out. Their area is surrounded by privacy fence and they have plenty of shrub cover.

 

[Latestarter]

There is no floor to the coop. I just out down weed block and shavings. The attached run is just grass. I think I'll attach hardware cloth as a flooring and cover it will soil. The chicken area is next to the house so I have good visibility. Of course there is still some risk to them being out. Their area is surrounded by privacy fence and they have plenty of shrub cover.

OK, I would recommend that you buy hardware cloth of the 3 foot dimension... No sense burying it inside the coop... Place it up the outside wall a minimum of 8 inches and make SURE it is FIRMLY attached (I would staple or screw with washers then place a trim board over that and nail/screw it at close and regular intervals). then run the remaining 2 feet out along the ground away from the coop and bury under a few inches of dirt. Any predator wanting to dig under the coop will start right at the coop edge, not 2 feet out from it. You have to make sure it is firmly attached so they can't pull it away from the coop where it's attached, and then go under it. You can plant grass over it and mow as normal, or whatever you'd like... maybe decorative gravel? Didn't you say you had very rocky soil?

 

[Melabella]

I made this tiny brooder/coop out of two desk I bought for $5 and $15

Loving this!