Predator proofing with lots of ledge ?..ideas would be appreciated

[melissa508]

I have been having problems with coyote killing my animals & aparantly around here animal control or the other agencies dont do a thing...but they have PAC agents-they charge $300-500 to remove a single coyote...no way am i paying that.
My dogs were doing a good job of keeping critters away, but now they are roaming further away & arent always near the barn.

So i need to do some coyote proofing of my runs. The big problem is my property is all ledge. Putting up a fence for the birds was a nitemare, the only fence poles we could get in the ground (and barely at that) were the bang in type with pointy stake type bottoms. Some of them are held in place with rope tied to opposing trees, otherwise they wouldnt stay up or go far enough into the ground.

We ended up using chicken wire since the poles wouldnt support heavier fencing. Now its time to make some changes & im looking for ideas. One thing we have an abundance of here is rocks of all sizes.

The coyote got under the fence in an area where the birds had a small dirt bathing hole that was right up to the fence, then it bent the fence up since it couldnt dig into the ledge. So how can I use the ledge to my advantage- and when i say we have alot of it I mean in the barn area its impossible to dig a hole...so digging down & using hardware cloth is not an option here.

Another problem is some of the birds have learned to fly over the fence- so i guess im going to need to cover & enclose the whole area , 3 sides are 30ft long & the 4th is the barn.

 

[Booswalia]

Why not cover all 6 side?

 

[jafo]

This is probably a little too much for you to do, or would want to, but if it was me, with all that ledge, and I wanted a decent run for the birds, then I'd look into pouring a "knee wall" out of concrete. It does'nt have to be very tall, 12 to 18 inches tall, and only 3 or 4 inches wide. It can be "pinned" to the ledge for stability, and you could insert pipes to accept the fenceposts. Posts could be of any type or size for hieght, as long as they fit the inserts. If you and your hubby could build the form(s) for the knee wall, then you could have the concrete delivered, usually for around a hundred or so dollars a yard (give or take) Two yards will build a pretty big (long) knee wall. Other'n that, you could rent a jackhammer with a 2-3 inch drill bit, pound a bunch of post holes, then put in posts. Good luck. Keep us "posted" hehehe!

 

[teach1rusl]

You could literally frame the entire run. We've built ours into panels (and then screwed them together). That means there would be a 2 x 4 (or whatever...maybe landscape timber) along the bottom of each panel too. Since you don't have to worry about animals digging under, that might work for you. We did go through a LOT of 2x4s though. Each framed panel used 5 of them, because we did 8ft sections long, so put one in the middle for more support. But since one section is against the barn, you would only be doing three sides. Good luck!

 

[elmo]

Use an apron fence. The apron part lies flat on the ground outside the run. Since your ground is rocky, you won't be able to attach the apron to the ground with stakes, but you can use rocks too heavy for a coyote to move to weigh the apron down. The coyotes won't be able to get lift up the apron and they won't be able to dig under it, either.

 

[PeepsInc]

The apron fence is a good idea. You can also cut some cedar posts to boarder the bottom of the fence. Then just tack the fence to them.

 

[2txmedics]

There are many ways to maybe help with this...maybe cyinder blocks all along the fence line...added by a safety measure of putting chicken wire atttached via those tiny clamps to the fence, and then burying it alittle into the ground, or folding it under the cyinder blocks or brick layers around the edge....???

My Ma had the same problem they got OSB, and just edged the bottom of the fence line about 25" high...and screwed it to the fence from the inside.

This also kept her chickens safe, as the hens had a habit of sticking there necks out of the fence link and sleeping, and this stopped that.

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, run an apron (pin it down with piles o' rocks or concrete rubble or pavers, where bedrock is near the surface) and you're good to go in terms of digproofing.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
this is what I was thinking although I think it could be even shorter . . . maybe only 6 inches- to save money.

 

[anngili]

I like the apron fence idea, too. One thing I'd really recommend as an addition to that is a good electric fence. For an area that large you'd be able to do it at a pretty reasonable cost. If you make the apron fence a "ground wire" when the coyote hits one of the hot wires just above it he'll decide pretty quickly that there must be a dinner that's easier to get somewhere else. I use one that I can run from an auto battery so I can use it even where I don't have electricity.

I'd definitely also enclose the top of the run, if only to keep hawks out. If you have coyotes, you're probably going to also have some aerial predators around. (My dad lives in a major US city and has a pair of Great Horned Owls nest almost right above his chicken coop; wishful thinking!).