What do you use on the top of your outside pen to keep predators away?

[Mortey]

We are getting some chicks at the end of the month are doing the fencing for their outside run. We were thinking of doing the "floppy fence" method along the sides and then fishnet to go over the outside area.

What do you use?? And what works best?

 

[OldGuy43]

Since you ask, nothing, and we have a lot of hawks around here. Never had a problem. Well, I do have one of those phoney owls, but I seriously doubt that does any good. I just like the way it looks, but than I have a phoney vulture in the bathroom.

 

[FireTigeris]

I use hardware cloth at 1/2 inch on my run- its permanent.

I'd be worried about a predator cruching the whole thing chicks included.

Fishnet/deer netting will not protect from dogs,cats,coons, or anything that climbs - it will protect from hawks

 

[FireTigeris]

I've lost birds form hawks in FL.

 

[Mortey]

I am mostly worried about racoons - has anyone used the floppy fence method? I hear it works great for gardens to keep racoons away.... thought I would give it a shot??

 

[dirtbath]

What is the "floppy fence" method? I have a raccoon that comes up to my back deck every night to snoop and i'm worried about my little chickers.

 

[1muttsfan]

I use heavy poultry netting like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-HEAVY-KNO...125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4161bbb285

It is well worth buying the heavier net - I watched a large hawk bounce off it last fall

 

[speckledhen]

This is only the bantam pen. The main pen is uncovered. The smaller Orp pen has mason's line with CD's dangling from it to bounce and throw reflections and make a dive hard for them. That does nothing for anything else. A tight predator proof coop at night keeps everything else except for bears at bay.

 

[Me & Jack]

I have used the deer netting, too, and have never had a problem. But I always locked my birds in the coop at night, so I've never had a problem with predators, either. Never seen any evidence that anything tried climbing into the pen -- such as damaged netting. So far it's working for me -- it's cheap and easy, too.

 

[Mortey]

Thanks everyone - I think I am just being a nvervous first timer lol!