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[patandchickens]

Quote:
Be aware that this is just *begging* for a raccoon, or even a dog or coyote, to go up above the stucco wire and rip through (or just collapse) that chickenwire. I would not do it, myself.

I've seen rat droppings in my shed.

Well, that does not necessarily you need to go berzerk with ratproofing. It is actually REALLY REALLY REALLY HARD to make a truly ratproof coop/run. I am not sure it's worth it unless you have a known longstanding rat problem of considerable proportions. The alternative is to just try to make things as non-rat-friendly as possible, and ratproof the *coop* (not necessarily run) and keep the food indoors. Which is a much more common, and doable, strategy.

I don't think I have enough room to put a 3' apron because of a palm tree that fell years before we moved here and is now growing at really low angle along the side of the run. Maybe a racoon could use it as a ladder!!! Oh no. Do raccoons jump very far?

Raccoons are poor jumpers, but since they will just climb your stucco-wire or hardwarecloth fence and open their way in through the chickenwire top, the palm tree is probably of no major consequence

You could at least put an extended (i.e as wide as possible) apron around the *rest* of the run, just cut it back where the palm tree is in the way.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[SurprisingWoman]

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...stucco+lath&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N&start=20

 

[cinnamongirl]

Quote:
Is it the arch that is my design flaw? Even if it's strong and sturdy? Scratch the stucco wire and maybe replace it with non-climbable corrugated plastic? That way it's perfectly vertical up to about 4 ft?
BTW I just went out and checked the location of the tree and it's not going to be an issue at all. The end of the run is maybe 3 feet away from being helpful to a non-jumping raccoon lol.
Thank you so much for your patience with all of my questions! You're great!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No, a raccoon on a chickenwire top has a decently nonzero chance of getting in no matter whether the supports are arch-style or rafter-style or whatever. It's the mesh material that's the weakness, not the shape.

Scratch the stucco wire and maybe replace it with non-climbable corrugated plastic? That way it's perfectly vertical up to about 4 ft?

You could try it. However raccoons are awfully ingenious climbers. I am not offhand sure how you would 'seal' the seams between pieces of coroplast so well that a raccoon could not get, or *make* (that stuff is pretty soft/brittle), a foothold-handhold.

If your chickens will be locked up in a *secure* coop from dusk to dawn every day without fail, raccoon-proofing is not as vital as it would be if the popdoor will sometimes or always be open at night. IMHO if the chickens are locked up at night then your main task is to avoid excessively tempting daytime predators (dogs, the occasional coon). A higher predatorproof (i.e. non chickenwire) fence would do the job. Then it can still have a chickenwire or netting top, and be *reasonably* safe, bar the occasional daytime raccoon wandering through.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​