Predator Proofing Coop, Help PLS!

[IvysAnimals]

Hi.. I am really thinking about predator proofing my coop really soon before more predators start coming around. I've had ducks get taken away or injured, I really don't want to kill or relocate the animal and I want to spend more money on protecting my babies. I want to put posts in, hardware cloth, More light sensors, a top on my coop, and large rocks around the outside of my coop to give it more protection.. The pen is 10 ft wide and 40 ft long. I have 30 ducks currently, with a T.S.C pond in their pen and currently making a new and improved and elevated duck house for them so they can stay cozy and not have rats burrow under the coop.Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can predator proof and build the house for more protection and coziness? I need help on figuring out where I should put them when I'm proofing their pen? If I move it somewhere else, would that give a better chance of a predator digging under and hurting my babies? The coop in on the side of the house with the 10 ft sides coming out and the 40 ft long fencing on the sides directly from the house walls, connecting the sides. The pen is literally just a free standing coop with no protection on the bottom or top currently and it makes me really nervous and I need to help them, they don't deserve that. The pen is like a dog wire pen.. Something like this:

Does anyone know what else I can put up for protection for my babies and how I can Improve the coop? How should I build their house to make is safe, protected, and cozy? Where should I put them while I do this that is safe? I have a basement that I put them in before when it got in the negatives and their house was getting wrecked by the snow and wind, but I don't know what to do.....help pls


EDIT: I have 6 males and 17 females and a male goose... I have some babies in my pfp that I'm not sure of...I had more females but a fox got her last night and I found my Pekin injured, ( her under leg was bleeding and my male Pekin was covered in her blood, they had some scratches on their beak. The fox ripped out my Blue Runners chest feathers and took his biological dad a few days after..) the other night he got my male Blue Runner...I need help fast, my babies need help!

I let them out at 2:10 P.M when I'm home to supervise them and put them away at 7:00 P.M

 

[3KillerBs]

Could you show us photos of your setup?

My first thought is to surround it with electric poultry netting.

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Hi.. I am really thinking about predator proofing my coop really soon before more predators start coming around. I've had ducks get taken away or injured, I really don't want to kill or relocate the animal and I want to spend more money on protecting my babies. I want to put posts in, hardware cloth, More light sensors, a top on my coop, and large rocks around the outside of my coop to give it more protection.. The pen is 10 ft wide and 40 ft long. I have 30 ducks currently, with a T.S.C pond in their pen and currently making a new and improved and elevated duck house for them so they can stay cozy and not have rats burrow under the coop.Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can predator proof and build the house for more protection and coziness? I need help on figuring out where I should put them when I'm proofing their pen? If I move it somewhere else, would that give a better chance of a predator digging under and hurting my babies? The coop in on the side of the house with the 10 ft sides coming out and the 40 ft long fencing on the sides directly from the house walls, connecting the sides. The pen is literally just a free standing coop with no protection on the bottom or top currently and it makes me really nervous and I need to help them, they don't deserve that. Does anyone know what else I can put up for protection for my babies and how I can Improve the coop? How should I build their house to make is safe, protected, and cozy? Where should I put them while I do this that is safe? I have a basement that I put them in before when it got in the negatives and their house was getting wrecked by the snow and wind, but I don't know what to do.....help pls


EDIT: I have 6 males and 17 females and a male goose... I have some babies in my pfp that I'm not sure of...I had more females but a fox got her last night and I found my Pekin injured, ( her under leg was bleeding and my male Pekin was covered in her blood, they had some scratches on their beak. The fox ripped out my Blue Runners chest feathers and took his biological dad a few days after..) the other night he got my male Blue Runner...I need help fast, my babies need help!

I let them out at 2:10 P.M when I'm home to supervise them and put them away at 7:00

Here is my blue coop. It’s built on a raised bed with retaining wall block. The coop’s pedestal (4x4 green treat on concrete post supports) and run are surrounded by hardware mesh which goes 4-6” into the ground. The top of run is also mesh. We have foxes, raccoons, Possums, deer, and stray cats in our yard every night. Never once had a breach. That purple playhouse we built for our kids 22 years ago (kids now grown) will be turned into our new coop in the coming weeks for our 20 chicks arriving next week!

 

[IvysAnimals]

I thought of having a large house in the pen that I can lock them up in at night to prevent them from getting hurt, scared, or the fox seeing the ducks or the ducks seeing the fox... I think that'll work, maybe? Hopefully it'll discourage the fox or other predators from coming around and from rats burrowing under. I want to make an elevated house with a ramp, 1 window, a lockable door, and predator proof. Especially when crows come around, they can't easily spot and try and eat their eggs....

 

[cliniclvn]

We have had free range chickens for about 9 years. Their coop is wood and hardware cloth on all "8" sides! The roof is corrugated aluminum roofing. There are seams where the hardware cloth was joined with wire. Everything worked well until last Sept 13th. A bear finally breached our safety net and got all 11 hens! It was heartbreaking . So, we have added a 5 strand electric fence around the coop and built an inside "large box" where the roosts are and at the moment have 11 two month old pullets. We can close the door to their inside coop if we need to. We are so hoping we will not lose any more of our babies to the bear this time!!