Thoughts on this setup?

[chickenmomma16]

Okay, so we are getting to where raising meat birds is an option for us next spring. I’m very comfortable with raising standard large fowl chickens but these meaties are a new type of beast for us.
So far this is my plan:
I was able to get some electric poultry netting (48” x 164’) and a solar charger. I hope the have hubby make a moveable 10 x10 (or longer) cattle panel hoop coop type shelter for the meaties, similar to our currentruns. I have an indoor brooder already for the first couple weeks. If I plan on using the poultry netting, whats the best way to protect from aerial predators? A LGD is not an option.
How many birds could I comfortably raise in that setup?
What else should I be concerned with, with this set up? Will it even work well? Be honest!

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Hello!

I'm sorry, I've never raised meat birds. I don't think I could help you.... but I just wanted to stop by to wish you good luck and I hope you have a good experience!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't raise Cornish X, just dual purpose, but I do use that electric netting from Premiere1. Your Cornish X will be bigger, but my dual purpose can walk right through that netting until they are 6 to 7 weeks old. Their down and feathers insulate them. I would not count on that netting keeping them confined until they are a few weeks old.

The other side of that is that you can cover a lot of area with that netting and Cornish X are supposed to be really lazy. They may not roam that far even if they can get through. Just because they can get through doesn't mean they will.

My netting stopped all land based predators, including climbing predators. I don't know of any way to guarantee against flying predators. I've lost one bird to a hawk and one to an owl since I got the netting.

 

[chickenmomma16]

I don't raise Cornish X, just dual purpose, but I do use that electric netting from Premiere1. Your Cornish X will be bigger, but my dual purpose can walk right through that netting until they are 6 to 7 weeks old. Their down and feathers insulate them. I would not count on that netting keeping them confined until they are a few weeks old.

The other side of that is that you can cover a lot of area with that netting and Cornish X are supposed to be really lazy. They may not roam that far even if they can get through. Just because they can get through doesn't mean they will.

My netting stopped all land based predators, including climbing predators. I don't know of any way to guarantee against flying predators. I've lost one bird to a hawk and one to an owl since I got the netting.

just out of curiosity, did you lock them up each night in a coop or did you leave everything open and only protected by the electric netting?

 

[Compost King]

I don't know of any way to guarantee against flying predators.

I use bird netting to contain flighty birds but it stops flying predators too, unless the area in question is so large that its not worth the price and effort to put it up.

 

[iwltfum]

I use bird netting to contain flighty birds but it stops flying predators too, unless the area in question is so large that its not worth the price and effort to put it up.

I've had owls and ravens prey on birds within poultry netting in a fairly confined space. Usually younger smaller birds, but I still keep one of those yellow blow up balls around that have giant eyes on them and shinny speckles whenever I have smaller birds in netting. Seems to have done the trick this season. A few years back, I had a clutch of 60 teenage new hampshire reds in a paddock and with a brooder house and some other things to hide under and 20 or 30 of them got picked off by ravens in just a couple days. Once I let them out of the poultry netting to free range with the laying flock, they were totally fine.

I also raise my thanksgiving turkeys in poultry netting without any protection other than a few A-framed pallet lean-too's. Every year an owl gets one or two while they are still young, but once they grow to a certain size, the owls won't mess with them. Sorry if this is rambling and doesn't have alot to do with your question @chickenmomma16 , I just wanted to throw some of my experiences with the netting out there since I've been using it for a number of years.

Here's a picture of the deterrent I use. If you're having an issue with aerial predators, it's a decent investment. You can get them at homedep or wally's or lots of small feed stores probably, etc. The hanging cd's around their yard thing never worked for me.

Cheers!

 

[Compost King]

I've had owls and ravens prey on birds within poultry netting in a fairly confined space. Usually younger smaller birds, but I still keep one of those yellow blow up balls around that have giant eyes on them and shinny speckles whenever I have smaller birds in netting. Seems to have done the trick this season. A few years back, I had a clutch of 60 teenage new hampshire reds in a paddock and with a brooder house and some other things to hide under and 20 or 30 of them got picked off by ravens in just a couple days. Once I let them out of the poultry netting to free range with the laying flock, they were totally fine.

I also raise my thanksgiving turkeys in poultry netting without any protection other than a few A-framed pallet lean-too's. Every year an owl gets one or two while they are still young, but once they grow to a certain size, the owls won't mess with them. Sorry if this is rambling and doesn't have alot to do with your question @chickenmomma16 , I just wanted to throw some of my experiences with the netting out there since I've been using it for a number of years.

Here's a picture of the deterrent I use. If you're having an issue with aerial predators, it's a decent investment. You can get them at homedep or wally's or lots of small feed stores probably, etc. The hanging cd's around their yard thing never worked for me.

Cheers!

I had no idea they could tear through that stuff, do they use their beak or talons?

 

[Ridgerunner]

just out of curiosity, did you lock them up each night in a coop or did you leave everything open and only protected by the electric netting?

Mine are locked in the coop at night.

The only time I lost one to an owl, I got home late, around 11:00, from seeing a play. The owl landed in the area, walked into a shelter where I had some juveniles, and drug one out. That was my fault. The dual purpose chicks were probably around 10 weeks old.

The only one I lost to a hawk was in the middle of the afternoon. Not sure but I think it was a pullet just starting to lay. I had a mature rooster in with them but he was hiding along with the rest of the flock.

I think there is a lot of luck involved. I don't know why I went close to a decade without any bird of prey attack then had two within a few months if each other. I don't think I did anything different.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use bird netting to contain flighty birds but it stops flying predators too, unless the area in question is so large that its not worth the price and effort to put it up.

Agree. You need to factor in how often you move it too. A net 164' long could make a square 41' x 41'. Pretty big area. I got an extra 50' section and one side of my area was made by the coop and main run so I had a really big area. And I had fruit and nut trees in it so covering would have been a challenge.

 

[Compost King]

Agree. You need to factor in how often you move it too. A net 164' long could make a square 41' x 41'. Pretty big area. I got an extra 50' section and one side of my area was made by the coop and main run so I had a really big area. And I had fruit and nut trees in it so covering would have been a challenge.

Some solutions only work in specific situations, It's why none of us have the exact same set up.