![]() Not to mention, mice and rats can easily squeeze through chicken wire in search of spilled feed and food scraps.Ī better choice for enclosing coops and runs is 1/2-inch heavy-gauge hardware cloth or 1/2-inch welded wire mesh (typically used for livestock fencing). It’s a relatively weak mesh that can be ripped apart or gnawed open, and the openings are large enough for raccoon hands or bobcat paws to reach through and snag chickens. But chicken wire (a hexagonal-shaped welded wire that’s also called poultry netting) is not a secure material for enclosing coops and runs. Many new chicken-keepers mistakenly buy chicken wire when building their coops because, well, it’s right there in the name and it seems to make sense. But there are several security measures chicken-keepers can take to outsmart them, and they should all be considered if you plan to raise a flock or upgrade your chickens’ housing.īuilding (or Reinforcing) a Bomber Chicken Coop Though we may not like it, predators are a fact of homesteading life. In our current home in a semi-rural neighborhood, we’ve found suspicious animal prints around our coop in the morning, and seen owls roosting in our neighbor’s tree. (Some of you may remember the heartbreak of one of our original hens being killed by a raccoon another was injured in a separate incident but luckily survived.) In our previous home in the city, we frequently dealt with raccoons, skunks, and opossums passing through our yard. I’ve raised chickens for seven years and learned a lot in that time, the most important lesson being security for chicken coops. Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, owls, hawks, and even neighborhood dogs have been known to attack chickens at night or in plain daylight, especially if they free-range and you’re not nearby to deter unwanted visitors.īy their domestic nature, hens are easy prey: They have few survival skills, rarely take flight, and tend to flock together so they’re easier to target in one fell swoop. Whether you live in the city or out in the country, predators are always a concern if you have a flock of backyard chickens. The latter is more convenient, so if you’ll need to visit your birds a lot, we recommend a fence height that you can step over easily.This post is in partnership with 3-IN-ONE® Lock Dry Lube. You’ll need to get over the fence somehow - either by lifting up the fence itself off the poles and walking in, then replacing it, or stepping over the fence itself. Make sure the areas immediately next to your fence are free from these objects to prevent escapees. Chickens love to climb up shrubs, trees, boxes, wheelbarrows, feeders and, yes, their coop, and might use them to get some extra height to flap over your fence. Outpost Buildings fences are 112cm high, which is enough for most breeds to stay put. ![]() Some chickens are able to jump or fly higher than others, so make sure that your birds aren’t the more daredevil types. When designing your chicken run, it’s important to consider: Outdoor chickens are happy chickens - we just provide you with the tools to keep them safe while they range away from the safety of their kitset shelter.Ĭhickens might be flightless birds, but that doesn’t mean they can’t flap with the best of them - sometimes enough to make it over the chicken fence you’ve put up. Outpost Buildings provides the ideal chicken run fencing for defining a run - big or small - with easily installed and removed posts and durable, flexible fences. This little patch of chicken paradise provides them with the chance to be outside, rooting around the grass and leaves for bugs, lie in the sun, dig for a dust bath, or do any of the many other things that free-range chickens get to enjoy - without the associated risks. This keeps them safe from wandering out into the road, or off your land - and it keeps your garage and vege garden safe from enquiring chickens too! You don’t have time to chicken-sit your birds 24/7, so they must be enclosed from time to time.īut that doesn’t mean they have to be shut up in the coop!Ī chicken run with chicken fencing provides the best of both worlds encircling a specific area of your land with fencing to provide your hens with a decent amount of roaming space, but limiting how far they go. While most chicken owners would love for their chickens to be able to live completely free-range, able to forage to their hearts’ content and then returning to the warm and safe chicken coop when they feel like it, the realities of chicken owning are often very different.įor most chicken owners, particularly those with backyard chickens, there simply isn’t enough room or enough safety for the chickens to be able to go wherever they like, whenever they like. ![]()
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