Another question for y'all -
What' the minimum height for the fence? I plan on allowing the chickies and duckie to range pretty close to free - as in I want to confine them to a very large area. So far, I have one bird that can ****** FLY - my Silver Cuckoo Marans - she takes off like a B52 given the chance. I don't know yet how high or how far she can sustain because while the pantry is large, it's not that large.
I've no issues with wing clipping so I can help mitigate escapes with that. Ideally, because of my mental design of the area, I'd like to do picket fencing but you just can't get that in anything tall. I'm not worried about aerial predators so much because the area isn't conducive to any raptors being able to land to snag a meal as there are 8 apple trees and a very large California Bay Laurel (anyone need fresh, organic bay leaves??) blocking their flight path. Another obstacle is that our ground is HARD and rocky as all get out. I mean that it may as well be some bits of grass here and there growing on concrete. The DishNetwork guy gave up after over an hour and cut the pole in half when he came to install it. That being said, I'd really like to not have to sink posts down a foot or so. Especially considering that many years worth of unrelated and bizarre events had rendered my right arm little more than decorative. My husband will murder me if I make him do all that work for the chickens he doesn't want!
The coop will be Ft. Knox secure so nighttime predation will be at a minimum. Out here, the daytime predators are of the kind that no fencing will matter. I just don't see anything short of solid steel panels keeping a bear or a cougar out. Besides, if I see either of those things, I'll be thrilled for the chicken-diversion while I run for my 30-30 Mauser!
We have coyotes and elk that I've seen (as well as sea lions but that's a looooong waddle up the hill for some chicken). The elk might destroy the fence just 'cause it's where they might want to be and the coyotes are really only in the area at night.
Basically, nighttime predation isn't a real concern due to the construction of the coop. Yes, I know it's still a possibility but it's not worrying. As for the large animals - the elk, bear, and cougar - my husband and I both work from home and the people who live up at the top of the hill from us are all retired. We have a "Holy Crap! That Thing Will Kill Me" phone system set up. They'll most likely see it first and call down to us to let us know. Our two dogs have done a great job of cutting down on the frequency of midnight coyote visits simply by peeing everywhere.
So... Yeah... Rambling... Fence? Anyone?
