stocking rate and fence height in enclosed acreage

[Bsver]

I have an egg business from free-range hens. I have lost about 25 hens in 4 daytime fox attacks over last few weeks. My coops are very tight for the night, but daytime is the problem. I had them in electronetting in the am but loose in the afternoon. Foxes are coming in broad daylight when we are around. We are considering fencing a field with high tensile fence. Two questions: how high should it be to discourage daytime predation? And, more importantly, I don't want my field to look like my runs do. Any sense of how many chickens per acre so that their poop and scratching don't leave a wasteland?! Thanks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have a good answer on the height of the fence. Foxes can climb trees surprisingly well but I don't know how they do on fences.

As far as density, it is hard to say. I'm sure there is not a set answer for every one. Part of it depends on your climate, soils conditions, type of grass or vegetation, and how many chickens you have. Probably some other variables. Regardless of how big it is, you will get some bare spots. You probably have some now.

You have a few things at work. Part of it is that the chickens will eat the green stuff. Obviously there are limits as to how much they can eat. They tend to hang out in certain places, near the food and water, in the shade, near protection from hawks, maybe near the coop. These places become bare first. This is the process that will make all your field look like a run if the density is too high. Moving your food and water around can help.

They will pick out places for dust baths. Nothing will grow there.

They drop a lot of poop. Since they hang out in certain places, the poop load in certain places gets high enough to kill out the vegetation. Mature trees and bushes often survive this but other vegetation doesn't. The area right around the coop is normally a high poop load area since they start from there and start dropping the load as they spread.

I'm not going to try to guess a number. I cannot. I'd suggest looking at how much space they are really using now and try to make a judgment.

There are possibly some other fox control options available to you other than the fence. Maybe others can weigh in. I know from my childhood that foxes can decimate a flock. Foxes are not easy. I wish you luck.