Gilliannas1973
In the Brooder
Hello BYC! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. We are building our coop this weekend and have a few questions about predator proofing. We live in the city and have a big(ish) backyard for our area. We have seen raccoons in our neighborhood and would also like to keep out dogs and small animals like mice and voles. I would very much appreciate opinions on the following plan. We really do not want to lose any chickens to predators! We only have 5 babies and a chicken massacre sounds very traumatic for children to have happen in their small city yard.
Our coop is 4x5' and our run 4x9'. The coop is raised and so the chickens will access the space under the coop for a run also. We live in Minnesota (not sure how that affects things but just being diligent in explaining all the facts..).
Our plan for predators:
- bury 1/4" hardware cloth under the entire coop/run
- have an apron of hardware cloth 18" outside the coop/run
- use welded wire fencing for the sides of the run (along with that layer of hardware cloth)
- install 1/2" hardware cloth as screens for the windows so that we can open the windows during the day (the windows will be made of wood/glass)
- the run will have a roof
- use locks or caribeeners on all doors
More questions:
- If we bury the hardware cloth under the run how far down should we go in order to keep the chickens from digging into it? We don't want anyone to have hurt feet.
- Is there something we can do to save money but still be effective against predators?
I would appreciate any feedback people have. I've learned so much from this group already! But I am def. a newbie here in the chicken world.
Thank you !
Our coop is 4x5' and our run 4x9'. The coop is raised and so the chickens will access the space under the coop for a run also. We live in Minnesota (not sure how that affects things but just being diligent in explaining all the facts..).
Our plan for predators:
- bury 1/4" hardware cloth under the entire coop/run
- have an apron of hardware cloth 18" outside the coop/run
- use welded wire fencing for the sides of the run (along with that layer of hardware cloth)
- install 1/2" hardware cloth as screens for the windows so that we can open the windows during the day (the windows will be made of wood/glass)
- the run will have a roof
- use locks or caribeeners on all doors
More questions:
- If we bury the hardware cloth under the run how far down should we go in order to keep the chickens from digging into it? We don't want anyone to have hurt feet.
- Is there something we can do to save money but still be effective against predators?
I would appreciate any feedback people have. I've learned so much from this group already! But I am def. a newbie here in the chicken world.
Thank you !