Wish I read this Forum before I got chickens...

[gator75]

It took me a few months but after a good amount of money and labor, I finished a small coop for my mother for her mother's day gift. Mini verison of her board an batten piling house.. She celebrated by purchasing 2 Buffs with my little nephew and niece. After only 2 nights she's fended off 1 giant cayote and a skunk. WTH! She lives on the water with some woods nearby, but I never thought it would be this bad. If it continues like this... (sure it will) I guess I'll relocate it to my yard in the city limits.

The coop and run are well built and I believe are coon/cayote/skunk proof, but I don't want a fun hobby to turn into more money and constant battle with wildlife..

She'll give it more time, but can anyone give a doubter some advice?

FWIW, we had alot of chickens growing up. We bought some commercial property that came with a coop, but there was never a predator problem.

Coop and run

 

[gator75]

Feather and Peckin...

 

[blucoondawg]

Looks like a fine setup for a couple birds, the hardware cloth provides good protection from wild animals as long as you have some way to prevent them digging in, also locking them securely in the coop portion at night should help against the majority of attacks. When you live in the country our outer areas of town you will have wild animals most of whom like to eat chicken. All you can do is build your fences strong enough and if possible kill the predators. Surrounding the coop/run with another fence or an electric fence may give you added peace of mind.

 

[redsoxs]

Awesome looking coop!!

 

[bandbaustin]

how about run a hot wire around it??

 

[teach1rusl]

The hardware cloth will be your saving grace! Since its close to woods and predators, I'd suggest adding an apron of hardware cloth along the entire coop perimeter to prevent dig-unders. That's the only suggestion I could make regarding safety...
Cute coop!

OH..and I can't tell if there's a secure latch on the egg box door - do make sure there's one there!

 

[gator75]

Thanks for the kind words. The fabric goes down about 10" into the ground. The two little pullets make a lot of noise when the predators show up, so there won't be time to dig. I just know waking up every night to the break in attempts will wear on anyone. Including neighbors.


We'll see.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

If you have coons in the area,wherever you have latches,put on dog leash clips (like this).Coons can open all other kinds,but not this one.

 

[aart]

HC is good, 10" down is good.....12-18" HC out from the bottom of the coop is better cause they could dig down 10" but will give up quick and not back away to dig father from bottom of coop/run wall.

Electric fence surrounding coop/run would keep anything from getting close to it.

Ditto dog clip or caribiners on latches.

Might slow down once local predators realize they are not getting anything there.
Good Luck!