Starting Fresh

[DobieLover]

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Hubby says the coop is 8 x 8 x 6. The run is open at the top to include the two trees. That cant be covered. I used around 300+ feet of fencing to do it.

I can't see your ventilation. How did the coon get in? There must be no gaps larger than 1/2" anywhere in the coop.
What material is the run fencing made from? Coons can easily pull apart chicken wire.

 

[WunnySharbit]

Just a head's-up: Raccoons can flatten their bodies and squeeze into cracks as small as 3"!
IMO, A must-watch is the Nature program "Urban Raccoons". The little buggers can strategize and adapt to anything!

 

[DratzDurpen]

I had 12 chickens and a turkey in there but I gave half of them away to a family who had lost theirs to a dog attack

 

[DratzDurpen]

I can't see your ventilation. How did the coon get in? There must be so gaps larger than 1/2" anywhere in the coop.
What material is the run fencing made from? Coons can easily pull apart chicken wire.

The run is made of field fencing with the squares big enough the chickens cant get out. It's open at the top though so anything that climbs or digs can get into the run.

Now the coop itself was supposed to be more secure but the ground froze up before I could bury fencing there. And I dumbly misunderstood how big a coon actually is. Because the vent slots are 4 to 6 inches wide. .

I do have some hardware cloth that I plan on covering these slots up with.

 

[Kessel23]

Definitely get the Marek's vaccination. Your old birds could have had it and you might not have even noticed, adult birds will often become infected and not show symptoms of the disease. My flock was infected for at least two years without me knowing, after I figured out I had Marek's I remembered having a problem cockerel 2 years ago that showed similar symptoms to the young birds I had at the time. I got 25 layer breeds and 5 are left, all the rest died from Marek's besides a few at the start from Coccidiosis.

 

[DratzDurpen]

Where the arrows point are where the vent slots are

 

[DratzDurpen]

A friend of mine said he would help me out with new chicks. They wont be ready till the 26th but that's ok with me gives me time to get my brooder things ready again. but I think this is what my order is gonna look like. I substituted the golden polish with a black giant

 

[Stephine]

Absolutely get the Mareks vaccine, it is more important and useful than the coccidiosis one. Cocci you can easily treat, not Mareks.
Good luck!

 

[Stephine]

Looking at your order I am a bit worried about the lone polish, since they are prone to being bullied. Maybe get a different breed instead in this mix?
When you cover all your openings with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, make sure to get a solid gauge, and use plates and screws or wood framing (sandwiching the wire cloth) and screws. Stapeling is not sturdy enough.
The run, in this design offers no protection whatsoever, all it does is keep chickens contained. Critters can go right through farm fencing, the openings are so big. At a minimum add electral wire at the too and bottom on the outside of that fence. Or just get electric poutry netting (easier to set up, movable). But you‘ll still have hawk exposure... The trees won’t stop a sharp shinned hawk (if you have those) but will offer some protection from the bigger hawks, so that is good! I would add a few hiding spots to the run (old low table for example).

 

[DratzDurpen]

Looking at your order I am a bit worried about the lone polish, since they are prone to being bullied. Maybe get a different breed instead in this mix?
When you cover all your openings with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, make sure to get a solid gauge, and use plates and screws or wood framing (sandwiching the wire cloth) and screws. Stapeling is not sturdy enough.
The run, in this design offers no protection whatsoever, all it does is keep chickens contained. Critters can go right through farm fencing, the openings are so big. At a minimum add electral wire at the too and bottom on the outside of that fence. Or just get electric poutry netting (easier to set up, movable). But you‘ll still have hawk exposure... The trees won’t stop a sharp shinned hawk (if you have those) but will offer some protection from the bigger hawks, so that is good! I would add a few hiding spots to the run (old low table for example).

I was thinking over the polish tbh and I know they can get picked on. I think I'm going to avoid them for the flock and go with something else.. do you know how am eletric fence costs on your electric bill?