Tried to extend the chicken run with 4' Garden Fence and failed!

[matchmeadeinheaven]

I hope no one else tries this so I thought I would share. I am not a rookie and should have known better. We only let our girls free range about 3-4hrs before dusk each day. I have lost too many to stray dogs and other predators during the day and was just trying to keep them protected. Anyone else do like we do a limit the number of hours for free ranging?

 

[aart]

A few pics and some typing would convey this much more clearly.
I would suggest Premiere1 poultry netting, electrified or not.

 

[Pghelp]

My son just finished building an extended completely enclosed chicken yard for me. We used welded wire 14 gauge even on the roof and for predator aprons. My Lakenvelder and Leghorns could easily soar over the previous 4' fence and we have hawks, cats, and raccoons who have given us problems in the past. Now our young ladies have a huge yard which enclosed a shrub and a plum tree so there is plenty of space for them to fly wherever and I no longer have to worry about then getting attacked or eaten. Lots of people make the mistake of thinking that chicken wire or vinyl fencing is secure. It's not. It might keep chickens out of your garden, maybe, but it isn't safe for enclosing and protecting your flock. Lessons learned!

 

[matchmeadeinheaven]

A few pics and some typing would convey this much more clearly.
I would suggest Premiere1 poultry netting, electrified or not.

Thanks for sharing aart I was able to find Permiere1 quickly on Amazon and we may give it a try in the future.

 

[matchmeadeinheaven]

My son just finished building an extended completely enclosed chicken yard for me. We used welded wire 14 gauge even on the roof and for predator aprons. My Lakenvelder and Leghorns could easily soar over the previous 4' fence and we have hawks, cats, and raccoons who have given us problems in the past. Now our young ladies have a huge yard which enclosed a shrub and a plum tree so there is plenty of space for them to fly wherever and I no longer have to worry about then getting attacked or eaten. Lots of people make the mistake of thinking that chicken wire or vinyl fencing is secure. It's not. It might keep chickens out of your garden, maybe, but it isn't safe for enclosing and protecting your flock. Lessons learned!

Good comments @Pghelp thanks for the reply.

 

[matchmeadeinheaven]

I hope no one else tries this so I thought I would share. I am not a rookie and should have known better. We only let our girls free range about 3-4hrs before dusk each day. I have lost too many to stray dogs and other predators during the day and was just trying to keep them protected. Anyone else do like we do a limit the number of hours for free ranging?

A couple more details for those who don't have time to watch the video. The goal was allow the chickens more space under the tree cover near their permanent run during the day. So I purchased from Lowe’s some 50-ft x 4-ft Green Garden Extruded Mesh Fencing from Tenax Garden. Then we went to Tractor Supply and purchased some 3′ plastic fence posts. It went together easy, but not a good way to make things tight. The problem was, the chickens can get 4′ in the air and would fly out.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I've done this in the past. Put a net on it!