Upgrading run, open discussion on (majority upcycled) materials and improvements

[CactusAdjacent]

I've got the bones of a good run for Silkies (which is what I've got about ready to hatch) but I have almost every predator you could name and a skunk wiped out my ducks last year. I'm using the boards to make some shade in the late afternoon, planning a cover for the tent skeleton using old feed bags, and I'm thinking about trying to transplant some mulberry saplings to the outer west fence. The "coop" was made for a nursing mare but my ducks liked it. Lots of space for roosts and nest boxes, I'm open to suggestions for both.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I assume your coop door gets locked up at night? Is there netting over the top?

 

[CactusAdjacent]

I assume your coop door gets locked up at night? Is there netting over the top?

You assume correctly and no, not yet. I'm debating what to use and figuring out how to make it taller than the original fence

 

[CactusAdjacent]

Some of the outer fence area

 

[DobieLover]

You have a major problem by using chicken wire as fencing. There is nothing at all predator proof about chicken wire. The only thing it will do is keep the chickens inside. Anything can rip through that and get in there and kill your flock. You want to upgrade to 1/2" hardware cloth and you would need more upright supports to attach it to so it would be strong enough to withstand a predator attack.
Alternatively you could run several strands of hot wires around the entire fence as is and that should keep out most predators.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I don’t see your location but I ordered some great netting from https://pinnonhatch.com/ after getting netting advice here. It holds up to snow and sun very well. I have had a chain link run and used that netting over the top and had a bomb proof coop and no problems. That coop, however, was in suburbia where our only predators were raccoons (completely out of control and probably running the city council by now) and hawks. Lots of hawks. But neither of those ever made it through my netting. I had some cheap netting prior to that which a raccoon did make it through. In your case I would take @DobieLover’s advice about hardware cloth. Chicken wire keeps chickens in and nothing out.

 

[CactusAdjacent]

You have a major problem by using chicken wire as fencing. There is nothing at all predator proof about chicken wire. The only thing it will do is keep the chickens inside. Anything can rip through that and get in there and kill your flock. You want to upgrade to 1/2" hardware cloth and you would need more upright supports to attach it to so it would be strong enough to withstand a predator attack.
Alternatively you could run several strands of hot wires around the entire fence as is and that should keep out most predators.

Oh yeah no my dog bites through it like hard candy that's just left over, I'm working on Actual fortifications that will keep out more than jackrabbits

 

[CactusAdjacent]

I don’t see your location but I ordered some great netting from https://pinnonhatch.com/ after getting netting advice here. It holds up to snow and sun very well. I have had a chain link run and used that netting over the top and had a bomb proof coop and no problems. That coop, however, was in suburbia where our only predators were raccoons (completely out of control and probably running the city council by now) and hawks. Lots of hawks. But neither of those ever made it through my netting. I had some cheap netting prior to that which a raccoon did make it through. In your case I would take @DobieLover’s advice about hardware cloth. Chicken wire keeps chickens in and nothing out.

I'm in Southeast Arizona so sun is DEFINITELY my biggest concern. Sun rot and wind are the leading causes of destruction around here and overheating is just as big a concern as predators. I need more shade as well as hawk deterrents Thank you for the link!

 

[CactusAdjacent]

Tomorrow I fully remove the chicken wire and hopefully figure out how to fix this hole without it looking like something out of Fallout. Found an old gate they just left near the road after replacing it, found a roll of wire in the Stuff, working on securing that so I can make it part of the fence. Not my Stuff, it was like this when I inherited the house.