Adjust Predator Proof Chicken Run to Common Predators in Your Environment

Learn about Common Predators in Your Environment

Poultry farming is responsible and demanding business whether for commercial purposes or just for the benefit of your family. A lot of breeders all around the world think first of chicken coop netting to protect their assets from any potential danger. An initial investment in the predatorproof chicken run will save your time for collecting the poultry all around the backyard. Most important, it will keep your birds safe, and it will spare you a grief after having lost chickens in some predator’s attack. Predator proofing the chicken coop is recommended on large farms as well as on backyard coops. To do it right and to have the most efficient result, first, you have to learn about animal behavior in your surroundings. If you already had a bad luck to find your birds after the attack, you may recognize the traces around the area to determine the type of predator. Not every predator behaves in the same way. Some of them hunt in the night while others prefer daylight. They also differ in their approach to poultry net. Rabbits are enthusiastic diggers, bird predators fly, and some domestic animals, such as cats, can successfully climb any fence. Snakes, for example, can slip through the holes. Predator proofing the chicken coop will deter the variety of animals without harming them.

Be Aware of the Weak Points for Predators

Common predators will be excluded from your set up by predator proofing the chicken coop. Those that feed on poultry flocks are numerous, and only long-term exclusion plan will represent a satisfying solution. Wild animals mostly approach in down and dusk. You should pay special attention to your chickens being in on time. However, if they are confined in the fortified space, you spare yourself a lot of time and effort. Predator proof chicken run is accessible at any time, and the chickens can move freely. Keep in mind that the ground or floor, if you have built one, is predators’ first choice to enter the coop. One of the best ways to secure your flock is to elevate the coop. If the coop is not elevated, the ground serves as the floor. Even if you have built a wooden floor, it will eventually wear outand allow the entry of rats and weasels. They are persistent digging animals. For the predator proof chicken run, it is necessary to bury fencing deep in the ground, far from the surface level. The second weak point for predators is windows. The best is to reinforce them with hardware cloth. In warm weather, they may be open and covered with ½ inches hardware cloth. Keep them close at night.

Feed the Chickens in the Coop

To provide predator proof chicken run is a project that demands to take a lot of other important things into consideration. Feed attracts pests and it is recommended to store it in some place safe, the best in closed metal barrels. In this way, you will prevent the spreading of smell and you certainly will hold mice and rats on the distance but you still should beware bears and raccoons which are skilled in opening even the tightly closed containers. It is not recommended to keep outdoor feeders. Wild birds and animals might feel invited o dinner. By using the same feeder as your flock, they can also spread some disease. Our advice is to make some space for the feeder in the coop. During the day, chickens can return at any time to take some ‘snack’.

Apply Hardware Cloth to Secure Sides and the Top

By the installation of the predator proof chicken run, ½ inches hardware cloth is suitable to exclude weasels and snakes. If you are dealing with these kinds of predators, such hardware cloth would be enough to secure sides and the top. A diameter of ¼ inches hardware cloth is an excellent solution for small chickens housing. You can additionally secure the coop with screens that are buried at least 2 feet in the ground. Plastic coated hardware cloth is moist resistant, and it is a better choice for outdoor projects than the galvanized. If chicken coops and runs are not elevated, the screens placed around them represent an additional reinforcement. ½ inches hardware cloth will deter hawks and other birds, as well as snakes. Advanced protection of the top is necessary against climbing predators too. Raccoons and weasels belong to such pests, and chicken wire on the top is not a good solution to deter them. They can tear through it without any difficulties. If there are bears in your surroundings, electric wire around the run would do. From time to time, you should carry out a detailed check of the whole structure. For the bears, it is a piece of cake to demolish worn out structure. Predator proof chicken runs should be always sturdy and reliable.

Quality Reinforcement is Guardian of the Poultry

At the end, the doors are entrances for chickens but for predators or maybe marauding humans as well. Padlock them with the quality lock. Raccoons can open simple locks easily with their little fingers. After you have invested significant money, time and effort to establish your chicken farm, you do not want to take your chances to lose not the only bird, let alone the flock. Chicken coops and runs are a proper housing for chickens but providing your flock with predator proof chicken run you minimize the risk of predators’ attack. You guard your animals, and some quality reinforcement will guard them too. If you do not own a farm but the small backyard chicken coop, you should not think that your chickens are not the predators’ target. Nearby woods or field are at least inhabited by weasels and bird predators that are often coming to settlements in the search for food.