I understand that chicken wire is not predator proof, but I've heard its OK to only put better materials 2-3 ft high along the bottom and have heard that deer netting is all that's needed over the roof. Of all predators, it seems that coons are the best to outsmart this design. Have they? Or does the minimum actually keep them out? Scott
Chicken wire keeps chickens in but nothing out. To make your coop preditor proof, you need to use hardware cloth. Read through the old posts here and you will see lots of people have lost birds to preditors that went in through chicken wire. Good luck and do the best you can to protect your birds.
Hardware cloth is #1. 'Coons can climb and can rip through chicken wire. Also, "hog rings" are great to fasten the hardware cloth pieces together. Hog rings are like a triangular staple that gets closed with a pair of "hog ring pliers" ($15). Good luck keeping your chickens safe.
Quote:I use zip ties (also called cable ties) cos you can get about a million of them for $5 or so and you don't have to buy tools.
Oops... I intended to post a reply but instead I edited the original post. So the original post is now my reply. Thanks, Scott
We used galvinzed rabbit fencing. It was a little expensive but well worth it. I will post you a picture. We also dug out around the run and coop and poured concrete. You can buy those small bags and just dump them in dry and spay water on it and mix it. If you look pass the hens you can see that we attached the galvinized wire it to the bottom of the coop also and put some of it in the ground and poured concrete. If anything starts to dig under the coop or run they will run into concrete.
Chicken wire to contain the chickens. Electric fence around the outside to protect the chickens from predators. A determined predator can break into almost any containment area. They do it for a living and they have all night to work at it. I will not have a chicken run or coop that is not protected by a hot wire. I have never lost a bird protected by electric fence. Lost a pile of'em to mink, fox and coon that weren't. Fence chargers can be purchased cheap and it is easy to intall the wire.
Even the maximum does not keep coons out. The minimum you describe definitely will not. I've had coons rip a wooden door that was bolted shut open to get what they want -- literally pulling the threaded bolts out of the side of the coop to remove the door. They are persistent, intelligent and stronger than their size indicates -- and YES, contrary to apparent popular "city slicker" belief, COONS CAN CLIMB!! Just about anything as a matter of fact. I actually had a city guy try telling us that we couldn't be losing chickens to coons because their coop is inside an 8ft fence and coons cannot climb. I took a picture of a coon hanging from the side of the fence about 6ft up the next night when the dogs had a fit and we went out to shoot it.
Olive Hill, you are right, coons can scale anything. My husband came home one day (years ago) to a racoon climbing the stucco on the side of his apartment building on the second floor. My stupid coons are killing my girls without even getting in, they are reaching through the wire and killing them while they sleep! They are locked up in a cage within the cage now every night. I put up poultry fencing but I am too afraid the coons will rip through it (it is over the top of two layers of wire though). I just hate that the only way to tell if it worked is to let my girls loose and see if they are alive in the morning. There has to be a better way!
