PROTECTING CHICKENS FROM DIGGING PREDATORS

[elleschicks]

Hi there! I am brand new to chickens, we don't even have ours yet but we just bought the coop and are getting pretty excited, only thing is once we welcome these pretty girls into our family we don't want any harm to come to them. We live on a river and are worried about otters/minks/ect getting into our pen by digging underneath it , so we were wondering if anyone had any advice on keeping them out and chickens safe!

If something isn't clear or I am missing info let me know I am very new to this lol!

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Skunks and foxes are more likely to put effort into digging than mink, but in any case if you are living next to a river you are going to have ALL the fun, furry carnivores around. Just make sure you use some poultry wire or hardware cloth (1/2' or smaller is the best) around the entire run, including the top, dig it down about 6" and out 6-12", and bury the wire again. That should deter most critters. Raccoons will climb right over if you don't have the top wired in.

Also, just make sure your coop is super tight and has a latch so not even a mouse could get in. Weasels are very small and could fit through the same sized hole as a mouse but do a LOT more damage. Raccoons are adept at unlatching things, so my advice is to at least use a carabiner where a lock should go. That has worked for me in the past and isn't as annoying as a padlock.

Good luck!

 

[elleschicks]

Skunks and foxes are more likely to put effort into digging than mink, but in any case if you are living next to a river you are going to have ALL the fun, furry carnivores around. Just make sure you use some poultry wire or hardware cloth (1/2' or smaller is the best) around the entire run, including the top, dig it down about 6" and out 6-12", and bury the wire again. That should deter most critters. Raccoons will climb right over if you don't have the top wired in.

Also, just make sure your coop is super tight and has a latch so not even a mouse could get in. Weasels are very small and could fit through the same sized hole as a mouse but do a LOT more damage. Raccoons are adept at unlatching things, so my advice is to at least use a carabiner where a lock should go. That has worked for me in the past and isn't as annoying as a padlock.

Good luck!

Thank you so much, this was very helpful we didn't even think of racoons!!

 

[Sea Wolf]

Make sure your coop is locked at night. As above with the wire. Bury the wire below the surface bent in an L shape with the bottom of the L facing away from the coop and the run. Have that at least a foot long and 2 is better. The diggers go for where the wire touches the ground at the edge of the run and they will meet with wire no matter where they dig. Most of your predators show up at night and, as long as your birds are safely locked inside the coop, they are safe.

 

[aart]

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[tlatham72]

I'm working on this aspect of my coop design right now, especially the digging predators. I made a list of all of the predators I could think of in upstate SC. I'm up to 19! Damn if chickens aren't at the bottom of the food chain. Going the extra mile to keep my girls (when I get them) safe too. I'm moving to the country next week and there's so much wildlife I hadn't considered!