post your chicken coop pictures here!

[MeepBeep]

And we have never seen a raccoon around here

Don't confuse lack of sighting with non-existence, game cameras can be real eye openers to many that never see what goes unseen in the dark... I'm betting you have several raccoons in your area, they just keep to the shadows...

Also it's not just raccoons that will destroy chicken wire and gain entry, almost all larger and even some small predators will... If not raccoons a stray domestic dog can tear through chicken wire in no time, while smaller predators like weasels will dig under in seconds...

For me it's never a question of if a predator will attack, it's simply a question of when they will attack... Might me tomorrow, might be next year, never let your guard down or get over confident...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thank you for the advice!  We were going to put another set of lumber on the outside of the chicken wire so it is sandwiched between two pieces of wood.  Do you think that would be sufficient?  And we have never seen a raccoon around here but we do have a HUGE fox that got one of my ducks a few weeks ago...

Unfortunately it's not a matter of them pulling the wire up from the wood, they can rip through the actual wire itself in minutes or even seconds. That fox is likely to be able to get through in no time.

 

[cmccullough1390]

Thank you for the advice!  We were going to put another set of lumber on the outside of the chicken wire so it is sandwiched between two pieces of wood.  Do you think that would be sufficient?  And we have never seen a raccoon around here but we do have a HUGE fox that got one of my ducks a few weeks ago...

The problem is chicken wire is easy for predators to tear apart not just at the edges you need a more durable wire hardware cloth work well it's a welded wire and comes galvanized so it might cost more but last a long time and keep your flock safe

 

[TheBlaireCrew]

Ok, thank you for that advice. I had no clue the animals could get through the actual wire!

 

[cmccullough1390]

Ok, thank you for that advice.  I had no clue the animals could get through the actual wire!

Of course we would only advise for the safety of your birds raccoons and foxes shred chicken wire it's thin braided and just not good quality wire hardware glitch is galvanized steel usually 19 gauge or better

 

[MeepBeep]

Ok, thank you for that advice.  I had no clue the animals could get through the actual wire!

You are not the first and you won't be the last to make that mistake...

Chicken wire was designed from day on to contain roaming chickens as rural farms and urban neighborhoods collided, it was never designed as a predator protection barrier...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ok, thank you for that advice.  I had no clue the animals could get through the actual wire!

No problem and it's not your fault, many people have made the same mistake!!

And you could even use welded wire and just put hardware cloth on the bottom 2 feet to lower costs, although for such a small run it might be just as easy or cheap to use hardware cloth for the whole thing.

You can actually order it online too, Amazon and some other sites have it cheap too.

I found this site to be the cheapest.

http://www.windscreen4less.com/hardware-cloth.html

Just make sure you get 1/2 inch hardware cloth and not 1/4 inch, they carry both.

 

[cmccullough1390]

They lasted the night perfectly and got yummy treats.

 

[Birdydeb]

Awwwww.... That first night is soooo nerve wracking. I enjoyed it so much I did to myself twice this summer. Once with chickens and the second time with ducks. Now you can breathe a few times and enjoy them!

 

[cmccullough1390]

Awwwww.... That first night is soooo nerve wracking. I enjoyed it so much I did to myself twice this summer. Once with chickens and the second time with ducks. Now you can breathe a few times and enjoy them!

It is and there is no way to make it better that first night lol they're thriving and so happy with their new space