Predator Proofing

[jbahros]

My chicks are now 11 days old. They are doing well in the brooder in the basement. I just wanted to see if what I have done to predator proof their area sufficient. I have placed my coop inside a chain link dog kennel with a roof ( 12 x 12 ft/144 square feet) and put 1/4 " hardware cloth along the entire inside including the roof and a 2 inch skirt around the perimeter. I also have an attached run 600 square feet enclosed with poultry fencing and bird netting on the top to keep birds of prey away. The run will only be used when I am home and around to watch for predators. I have paid careful attention to corners with hardware cloth and have started putting stone blocks around the perimeter. Have I missed anything? We have weasels, fox, fisher cat, coyotes, and hawks around us.

Thank you very much.
Jessica

 

[DobieLover]

My chicks are now 11 days old. They are doing well in the brooder in the basement. I just wanted to see if what I have done to predator proof their area sufficient. I have placed my coop inside a chain link dog kennel with a roof ( 12 x 12 ft/144 square feet) and put 1/4 " hardware cloth along the entire inside including the roof and a 2 inch skirt around the perimeter. I also have an attached run 600 square feet enclosed with poultry fencing and bird netting on the top to keep birds of prey away. The run will only be used when I am home and around to watch for predators. I have paid careful attention to corners with hardware cloth and have started putting stone blocks around the perimeter. Have I missed anything? We have weasels, fox, fisher cat, coyotes, and hawks around us.

Thank you very much.
Jessica

Can you post pictures?
How many birds?
Do you mean a 2 foot 'skirt', not 2 inches?
Be careful about placing stone block around the perimeter as it effectively reduces your predator apron width.

 

[FLXChicken]

....the run will only be used when I am home and around to watch for predators. I have paid careful attention to corners with hardware cloth and have started putting stone blocks around the perimeter. Have I missed anything? We have weasels, fox, fisher cat, coyotes, and hawks around us.

Hi @jbahros - are you new to BYC? (I am!) Welcome!

Thanks for asking the question re predator proofing. We have the same predators in our area, too. We also have skunks, which I guess can also be a hazard, especially if they can get to eggs. I will be curious to read the advice from the awesome community here!

We are in the process of building our coop and run, and we're also using hardware cloth around the run/perimeter. We're going to put out a fairly significant skirt inches wise. We have the hardware cloth, so we figured we'd go out maybe about 18 inches. (We're new to this, by the way, so other experts here will probably give you the advice you need!)

We also made sure we put hardware cloth on the bottom of the coop, plus over the vents and the windows, of course. While I realize that one might not be able to make anything predator proof, we are going to make it super hard to get to our girls!

 

[jbahros]

Can you post pictures?
How many birds?
Do you mean a 2 foot 'skirt', not 2 inches?
Be careful about placing stone block around the perimeter as it effectively reduces your predator apron width.

8 chickens and yes 2 foot skirt around perimeter. The heavy blocks go over the mesh skirt which is secured with landscape pins. I will send pics tomorrow.

 

[jbahros]

Can you post pictures?
How many birds?
Do you mean a 2 foot 'skirt', not 2 inches?
Be careful about placing stone block around the perimeter as it effectively reduces your predator apron width.

Yes 2 foot perimeter cloth not 2 inches. Here are photos. It may be hard to see but all in dog kennel including roof I have lined with hardware cloth. The stones are on top of the perimeter hardware cloth. The run is just meant for during the day when we are around to keep chickens in and hawks out : bird netting on top.

Thanks for checking this for me.

Jessica

 

[jbahros]

Yes 2 foot perimeter cloth not 2 inches. Here are photos. It may be hard to see but all in dog kennel including roof I have lined with hardware cloth. The stones are on top of the perimeter hardware cloth. The run is just meant for during the day when we are around to keep chickens in and hawks out : bird netting on top.

Thanks for checking this for me.

JessicaView attachment 2140760

 

[jbahros]

Oh I forgot to mention 8 chicks now 14 days old, still in brooder. Here are some more pics.

 

[barn206]

Looks great! I have a neighbor/friend that used chain link for years and never had a problem... thing is that I’ve never seen small weasels around my parts. Your birds should be fine

 

[jbahros]

Looks great! I have a neighbor/friend that used chain link for years and never had a problem... thing is that I’ve never seen small weasels around my parts. Your birds should be fine

Thank you so much for checking it for me. Im looking forward to getting them acclimated but it is still a ways out. I think I may bring them out for a field trip when they are 4 weeks old if it is warm enough.

 

[barn206]

Thank you so much for checking it for me. Im looking forward to getting them acclimated but it is still a ways out. I think I may bring them out for a field trip when they are 4 weeks old if it is warm enough.

Hi
At 4 weeks they are fully feathered! They will be ready for their new coop. Still it’s a good idea to get into the habit of locking your chickens in at night. At 4 weeks old I’d also start feeding them some cracked corn with parakeet grit. It may keep them warm and fatten them up a little.
good luck !!!