![]() ![]() A 6-foot tall fence is usually ideal for most chickens. Some chicken breeds will fly easily over a 4 or 5 feet tall fence. Most backyard chicken keepers keep mixed breeds or keep changing breeds with time. If you intend to keep a certain breed throughout your life, you can create a fence that is high enough for that breed. The breeds of chicken you keep are a major determining factor of how your fence will be. Who cares about flying when you are feeding all the time? Some chickens fly higher than others, while others like the cornish cross are not concerned about the flight. When it comes to flight, or fence jumping, for the same of this article, chickens are not created equal. The breed of the chickens, type and nature of predators, size of the chicken run or yard and the height of their human keeper determine how high or tall the fence for toys chicken run needs to be. Factors that determine the height of chicken fences. I either had to increase the height of the fence or find other ways of stopping my chickens from flying out of the chicken yard. To protect my garden from the chicken, and the chicken from predators I had to come up with a solution to this issue. They would then fly to the fence poles and out they would go. The smaller chicken would first fly to the roof of the chicken coop. The roosters would fly off the ground, to the fencing poles, and then out to the garden. Little didn’t know that the roosters would be leading the other chicken in flying out of the run. I quickly went for a fence that was 5 feet high. ![]() My assumption was that anything not short would keep the chicken in and the stray cats and dogs that used to eat the chicks out. When I set out to set up a fence around the coop, one thing I ignored was the height of the fence. Replace the floors with a thicker board if needed, and screw it to the coop securely.Īnother way to make this area even safer is to include the space underneath the nest box inside the fenced run area so critters don't have any way to access the underneath area of the coop.Sweet PDZ - Coop Refresher - Zeolite Odor Eliminator - Essential Chicken Coop Accessory Check your coop to make sure any raised floors are secure and safe. The design of the coop's nesting box isn't the problem, it's the floor of the nesting box itself. It makes cleaning easy, but it's also easy for a predator to push upwards from underneath and gain access to the coop easily. Some of these coops have a fatal flaw: the often-flimsy wooden floor in the nesting area is simply laid inside. Ready-made coops sold at feed and farm stores usually have a nesting compartment with a lift-up top to make egg-gathering easy. ![]() Using a register cover is a great way to add a secure ventilation opening: cut a hole to the appropriate size and screw in the cover, which can be opened or closed according to the weather, just like you'd open or shut a heating vent in your home. We thought that a 4" gap wouldn't be a problem. We left the space under the eaves of our coop's roof open for ventilation, without any covering. It's obviously not animal-proof!Īll ventilation openings should also be covered with hardware cloth or other varmint-proof covering. If you could see what our cats have done to the screen on our front storm door, not to mention the house dog that went right through that screen in his hurry to get outside, you'd know how flimsy screen really is. Screen is too easy to rip apart, and you'll probably want to keep the windows open for ventilation in the summer. Hook-and-eye or similar hardware is sufficient because the varmints are outside and the latch is inside.Ĭover windows with hardware cloth, not screen, to keep critters out. You can find more information on what your chickens must have inside their coop here.Ĭoop windows should latch securely from the inside. I pointed out that our goal isn't to keep chickens in, but to keep predators out. He said that they're just chickens and it would keep them in just fine. When we rebuilt our chicken yard, The Chief said poultry wire would be adequate (and cheaper). and the latches that hold everything securely closed.There are three important areas to focus on when you're ready to up your flock's security: It's the same idea as hanging your Christmas lights on a nice weekend in November instead of waiting until the snow flies in December. Now is the time to make your chicken coop as predator-proof as possible, while it's still warm enough to work outside. ![]() Winter is on its way, with an increase in hungry varmints who'd like nothing better than chicken for dinner. How to keep your chickens safe from predators These three areas are critical and are often overlooked. Chickens are vulnerable to predators, whether it's dogs, "varmints" or birds of prey. Take these steps to keep your chickens safe from predators. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |