- Mar 19, 2014
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I lost my best roo recently to a fox. It was a huge loss for me, as he was my big baby, and I took it hard. So in the past 2+ weeks, I've been on a quest to build something to secure chickens in (or the ducks and geese we acquired this year) to protect them. No more free-ranging, simply because of the predators.
I did buy a spring trap to catch the fox with, and already have two catch-and-release traps that have been working on Possums and Raccoons for a while.
So this is what I finished today:
This is the pen, which is 10'L by 10'W by 5'H , PVC pipe and welded wire. Welded wire can't be "pushed around" like chicken wire, so it's pretty effective against wildlife. All corners are pipe elbows with side outlets. The gate frame is made with PVC and 90 degree elbows, and the support post beside it is simply two Tees added about 18 inches from the corner.
Almost everything is attached to everything else via zip-ties. I found that they actually do work well in holding things together, when they held a tarp over my 6-foot by 10-foot Sumatra pen despite rain AND pine needles and leaves falling onto it. But I did go with 8-inch ties because they also had the thickness I wanted for zip-ties.
Note the painted blue zip tie below one of the couplings on the frame. More on that later.
Every part of the frame is PVC, including this gate. The gate does "bump" the pen's frame a bit in the lower left, but it doesn't really hinder it's movement. It can open either in or out. For now I'm just going to tie it shut with nylon rope, but I'll probably put an actual latch/lock on it later.
This is a close-up of a gate hinge. It's actually a PVC coupling sitting around the pen's corner pole, and screwed directly on to the gate itself. More on this to follow.
This is one of the first steps in making the gate hinge. I screwed two holes in the side OPPOSITE the one that will attach to the gate. The purpose of these holes is just to give the drill bit access to the inside of the coupling for attaching it to the gate.
I used a dremel to "sand" the inside of the coupling down. This got rid of the ridge where two pipes meet if it's used in actual plumping applications, and opened it up enough to allow the coupling to move freely around the corner pipe.
The zip ties ended up being the perfect height to hold the couplings UP, and thus keep the gate up off the ground. So I glued the one zip tie in place (the blue "paint" I mentioned earlier is PVC cement) to hold it in place to help hold the hinges and gate up high enough. This was an alternative to my original place which was to place a second coupling below the "hinge" couplings, without sanding the inside, and by gluing them in place.
This is the completed gate in working order.
Once the entire frame was done and all of the welded wire fencing attached, I had to add a "roof". I've successfully used tarp over the sumatra pen, as mentioned before, so I decided to do the same here. This is probably the one part that will need replacing over time, as the sun dries it out and it cracks and/or rips. But tarp is cheap!
The very center will have a slit placed in it to allow water to drain so it doesn't weigh the tarp down and cause it to sag. However, I've been thinking about the possibility of placing an actual drain-fitting there, and running a pipe from the center of the tarp into a bucket for an automatic waterer on rainy days. Another option would be to use it to fill an actual rain bucket completely outside of the pen. But for now, as long as the water drains out of the tarp, it should be okay.
Unfortunately, the pen is 10x10, but there are no stores around here that sell tarps that are 10x10. So I had to get a 10x12. The extra two feet went over the back, and will help keep rain from coming in that side once I add in a shelter and/or nest boxes along that side.
Another view of the 2-foot overlap along a straight edge.
So the end result is not only something that should keep predators out, but also something VERY lightweight that can easily be moved around the yard. If it gets too wet and tries to turn into a mud puddle, I'll just move it elsewhere.
It was a little bit of a challenge because I had no shared plans or blueprints to build this. I knew the pipes were 10-feet long. I knew I'd make it 5-feet tall by cutting those in half. Everything else went off of those measurements - the welded wire is five feet tall, the tarp was 10-feet wide, etc. The gate was a little harder because I had to "eyeball" the measurements for the gate's frame, based off of the space left between the pipes for the pen itself, and the length and height that the elbows would add to the gate. I also knew I couldn't have too much room between the gate and the pen, or the chickens would get out there. Part of the reason it bumps the lower left corner is because I did NOT account for the uneven cut my nephew made on one piece (somehow he cut a piece of pipe off at almost a 30-degree angle). But in all, it worked out.
There are some finishing touches I plan to do, but it's fully functional now. Those extra bits include cutting most of the excess off of the zip ties, and then using my soldering gun or my dremel to melt or sand the cuts down to eliminate sharp edges. I'm also thinking of doing the same thing with all of the cuts made on the welded wire. But the welded wire cuts all sit OUTSIDE of the pen, so there is no harm to the poultry I plan to put in them.
And then a neighbor made another suggestion to help hold the pens down against any uneven ground, and help avoid problems during March when we get REALLY strong winds. He suggested adding a plug at the bottom and a valve at the top, and filling it with water when I wanted the pen to "stay put". And if I wanted to drain it, just empty the water through the plug in the bottom to make it lightweight again. I'm still thinking about this, and deciding where to install it, what fittings to use, etc., but it's a great idea.
And one more thing that I may add is a "spike strip" of sorts along the bottom edge. I have a good bit of welded wire fencing leftover that I could cut to expose several sharp ends along one side. I thought about semi-burying those around the entire perimeter to stop predators from attempting to dig in. But that's more of a fixture for an immobile pen that won't be moved around. So that idea is still up in the air at the moment.
All in all, I'd say it was a success. And the cost for each pen is only about $150.
I did buy a spring trap to catch the fox with, and already have two catch-and-release traps that have been working on Possums and Raccoons for a while.
So this is what I finished today:
This is the pen, which is 10'L by 10'W by 5'H , PVC pipe and welded wire. Welded wire can't be "pushed around" like chicken wire, so it's pretty effective against wildlife. All corners are pipe elbows with side outlets. The gate frame is made with PVC and 90 degree elbows, and the support post beside it is simply two Tees added about 18 inches from the corner.
Almost everything is attached to everything else via zip-ties. I found that they actually do work well in holding things together, when they held a tarp over my 6-foot by 10-foot Sumatra pen despite rain AND pine needles and leaves falling onto it. But I did go with 8-inch ties because they also had the thickness I wanted for zip-ties.
Note the painted blue zip tie below one of the couplings on the frame. More on that later.
Every part of the frame is PVC, including this gate. The gate does "bump" the pen's frame a bit in the lower left, but it doesn't really hinder it's movement. It can open either in or out. For now I'm just going to tie it shut with nylon rope, but I'll probably put an actual latch/lock on it later.
This is a close-up of a gate hinge. It's actually a PVC coupling sitting around the pen's corner pole, and screwed directly on to the gate itself. More on this to follow.
This is one of the first steps in making the gate hinge. I screwed two holes in the side OPPOSITE the one that will attach to the gate. The purpose of these holes is just to give the drill bit access to the inside of the coupling for attaching it to the gate.
I used a dremel to "sand" the inside of the coupling down. This got rid of the ridge where two pipes meet if it's used in actual plumping applications, and opened it up enough to allow the coupling to move freely around the corner pipe.
The zip ties ended up being the perfect height to hold the couplings UP, and thus keep the gate up off the ground. So I glued the one zip tie in place (the blue "paint" I mentioned earlier is PVC cement) to hold it in place to help hold the hinges and gate up high enough. This was an alternative to my original place which was to place a second coupling below the "hinge" couplings, without sanding the inside, and by gluing them in place.
This is the completed gate in working order.
Once the entire frame was done and all of the welded wire fencing attached, I had to add a "roof". I've successfully used tarp over the sumatra pen, as mentioned before, so I decided to do the same here. This is probably the one part that will need replacing over time, as the sun dries it out and it cracks and/or rips. But tarp is cheap!
The very center will have a slit placed in it to allow water to drain so it doesn't weigh the tarp down and cause it to sag. However, I've been thinking about the possibility of placing an actual drain-fitting there, and running a pipe from the center of the tarp into a bucket for an automatic waterer on rainy days. Another option would be to use it to fill an actual rain bucket completely outside of the pen. But for now, as long as the water drains out of the tarp, it should be okay.
Unfortunately, the pen is 10x10, but there are no stores around here that sell tarps that are 10x10. So I had to get a 10x12. The extra two feet went over the back, and will help keep rain from coming in that side once I add in a shelter and/or nest boxes along that side.
Another view of the 2-foot overlap along a straight edge.
So the end result is not only something that should keep predators out, but also something VERY lightweight that can easily be moved around the yard. If it gets too wet and tries to turn into a mud puddle, I'll just move it elsewhere.
It was a little bit of a challenge because I had no shared plans or blueprints to build this. I knew the pipes were 10-feet long. I knew I'd make it 5-feet tall by cutting those in half. Everything else went off of those measurements - the welded wire is five feet tall, the tarp was 10-feet wide, etc. The gate was a little harder because I had to "eyeball" the measurements for the gate's frame, based off of the space left between the pipes for the pen itself, and the length and height that the elbows would add to the gate. I also knew I couldn't have too much room between the gate and the pen, or the chickens would get out there. Part of the reason it bumps the lower left corner is because I did NOT account for the uneven cut my nephew made on one piece (somehow he cut a piece of pipe off at almost a 30-degree angle). But in all, it worked out.
There are some finishing touches I plan to do, but it's fully functional now. Those extra bits include cutting most of the excess off of the zip ties, and then using my soldering gun or my dremel to melt or sand the cuts down to eliminate sharp edges. I'm also thinking of doing the same thing with all of the cuts made on the welded wire. But the welded wire cuts all sit OUTSIDE of the pen, so there is no harm to the poultry I plan to put in them.
And then a neighbor made another suggestion to help hold the pens down against any uneven ground, and help avoid problems during March when we get REALLY strong winds. He suggested adding a plug at the bottom and a valve at the top, and filling it with water when I wanted the pen to "stay put". And if I wanted to drain it, just empty the water through the plug in the bottom to make it lightweight again. I'm still thinking about this, and deciding where to install it, what fittings to use, etc., but it's a great idea.
And one more thing that I may add is a "spike strip" of sorts along the bottom edge. I have a good bit of welded wire fencing leftover that I could cut to expose several sharp ends along one side. I thought about semi-burying those around the entire perimeter to stop predators from attempting to dig in. But that's more of a fixture for an immobile pen that won't be moved around. So that idea is still up in the air at the moment.
All in all, I'd say it was a success. And the cost for each pen is only about $150.
