Thank you.
It's not as safe as I would like it. It's not wire dug in the ground all around it safe but it is double stakes for each corner and every foot along the ground safe plus bricks on the nesting box hatch safe. We move it around the yard every week or so. During the day they have 3 dogs and a barn cat that monitor the yard. At night the dogs will patrol if they hear something. If something wanted in could they get in? Probably but not without me being alerted when I
Thank you.
It's not as safe as I would like it. It's not wire dug in the ground all around it safe but it is double stakes for each corner and every foot along the ground safe plus bricks on the nesting box hatch safe. We move it around the yard every week or so. During the day they have 3 dogs and a barn cat that monitor the yard. At night the dogs will patrol if they hear something. If something wanted in could they get in? Probably but not without me being alerted when I'm home.
There's an easier way to keep the predators out than digging in wire.
Just lay a 2 foot wide strip of chicken wire or some other mesh flat on top of the ground outside the run. Attach it firmly to the fence -- you can do this with zip ties or tie-wire. Now scatter some dirt and seed it to match the surrounding lawn or whatever else is growing around your fence. In time the grass will grow through the chicken wire and it will become invisible.
Any digging predator -- coyote, fox, jackal, feral dog, rat -- depending on where you are will attemot to dig down at the fence -- not 3 ft out. It will try in a few places, fail, and give up.
You can get rid of climbing predators -- cats, coyotes, whatever -- with a strand of electric fence wire. It should be about 6 inches away from the fance, near the top. You can install it on little wooden arms nailed to each post. Make sure to look all around your perimeter to make sure there isn't a wall, fence, tree that a climber can jump in from.
Airborne predators -- owls, hawks, etc. -- can also be foiled. Criss-cross a roll of fishing line in both directions and diagonally. Make sure it's nice and tight and strong enough to take a hit. Any bird of prey that swoops in will hit the fishing line and quickly change its plans. It 8s useful to remember that chickens are originally jungle birds that forage on the ground under a canopy of trees. Find some tin sheets, plywood, old tables, etc. or build somethings from scratch that your chickens can run under for cover if alarmed. These things also enrich the environment, give the roosters something to argue over, and otherwise make life in the chicken run more interesting Remember to check these places for eggs if you do this.