Predator-Proofing my coop and run

[kargo]

Hello. I live in Eastern tennessee. My house is on a fifty acre property, and it is surrounded by woods. We have foxes, coyotes, oppossums, raccoons, snakes, and who knows what other animals. We keep both chickens and ducks. Our first RIR was killed a few days ago. I have reason to believe that my Beagle puppy is the culprit rather than a predator, but I want to make sure my other chicks are as safe as we can get them. We are going to build their coop in a week or two, and we plan on attatching a run with a strong chicken wire fence and chicken wire or a rood on the top of the run. We are also thinking about burying wire under the run to deter coyotes and other predators from digging. What tips do all of you experts and chicken owners have? I'm determiend to do all I can for my babies.

 

[valentinebaby]

I buried 1/2" hardware cloth under my coop and run , but since I could only go down about 9", added "chop" block (natural stone wall building blocks) about every 3-4" to help predator proof. Many recommend that you bury the wire as best you can and then place a perimeter of 18"-24" wire around the coop and run. I haven't done that, but may if I start seeing any digging. I also placed 1/4" hardware cloth on the top of the run due to our owls and hawks and it's pretty secure with a ton of nails! You can see a bit of what I've done on my BYC page at the left under my BYC name. Good luck!

 

[Dixiedoodle]

We just finished my coop! I used cement for the coop floor. I totally enclosed the run with chain link fencing ( we dug a trench 2' deep and 2' wide and buried the chain link fencing to (prevent dig ins), in a 'L' shape. We added three feet high 1/2" hardware cloth to prevent 'pull-thrus'! The windows are the 'weak spots' they are only covered with 1/2" hardware cloth (thinking of buying metal grates to cover them). I have been told that my coop is 'over kill' but I am so afraid of having something 'break in' and kill my point of lay hens (reading 1000's of "predator killed my fowl' post has made be paranoid!)--so I decided from the start, that I MUST build a secure coop and run..

We have a friend who has plastic bird netting around his coop/run and it's put on with tiny little staples! He had had the chickens for 2yrs and then a fox (tracks) killed all his hens. But for two yrs he didn't have any losses! He was making fun of my "fort Knox" but now he is "eating crow"!

 

[chookchick]

You will want to use welded wire or hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, with a smaller mesh on the bottom 2'. The "apron" idea seems to work well, but with a determined, experienced dog, the best thing seems to be to use an electric wire, 6" up from the ground. Add another wire near the top for climbing predators. Here's to hoping you lost your last chicken!

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I agree with votes for hardware cloth.

If you're really determined to build a "Fort Knox" coop, make sure the coop has a cement foundation. Use hardware cloth to cover the run on all sides, including the top. You can even bury a layer of wire under the ground inside the run.

Another option would be to bury hardware cloth around the perimeter of the run, bent outwards to a length of two or three feet to discourage digging predators. Some people even cover the edges of their run with cement.