Statistica recorded there were over 1.4 million domestic fowl in 2021/22 in comparison to the 1.2 in 2020/21. But what steps do you need to take to ensure your feathered friends stay safe from foxes? Keeping chickens at home is becoming increasingly popular in the search for sustainable food. If there is one tip that I wish someone had shared with me when I was a new chicken raiser, it would be this one.ĭump the chicken wire and use something actually made for chickens.We’ve got all the tips & tricks you need to fox-proof a chicken coop to keep your feathered friends safe. I used chicken wire for way too long and lost many birds along the way. Chain link on top, sides, and along the ground. I use chain link to cover my run – top, sides, and along the ground – and haven’t lost a chicken to a predator since. No predator (save a bear, maybe) can penetrate it. It is also expensive but you will not have to replace it for years and years and years. Chain link is the ultimate poultry protection device. The small spaces make it impossible for even the tiniest chick or slither-i-est rat snake to pass through. You would not use it to cover an entire run (you could, but you better have serious budget), but it is great for nurseries. Rabbit wire is the common name for 1″ weld wire (it is commonly used for rabbit hutches). Love this stuff, especially the kind coated with PVC. While I do not recommend using weld wire for high-security areas like your run, it is fine for a broody breaker or yard fence. Weld wire is also made of galvanized wire, but it is much thicker than chicken wire and will last longer. There are three better options to chicken wire, based on application. I lost my entire flock of 12 chickens in one night when two coons broke in. A raccoon or fox can slink through a hole the size of a grape fruit. And they don’t need much space to get in. Because it is so thin, predators like raccoons can (and will) break it. It is galvanized to withstand the elements, but will not over the long haul.Įventually, your chicken wire will rust and corrode. The primary reason for enclosing your chickens in their own space – a coop, run, or nursery – is to keep them safe. The only problem is that chicken wire, while visually pleasing, doesn’t do its job, at least not long term. You’ve seen it, the cute honey-comb pattern wrapped around rustic coops, the very model of American farm yard-ery. Used for everything but good for nothing. Chicken wire, also called poultry netting, is a lot like duct tape. Just don’t use it to protect animals from wily night crawlers like raccoons.Ĭhicken. You should have a roll of it around your house at all times. Bottom LineĢ″x 4″ welded wire fencing is great stuff. It’s so important I did a whole video on it. So what fencing should you use for a secure chicken coop? Chain link and nothing else. It takes only one broken weld for a raccoon to slither in and kill your chickens. The welded wire will work at first, but over time (usually a couple years) the welds will break and that will let the bad guys in. If you need to keep the really nasty animals out – raccoons primarily – do not use welded wire. Welded wire fencing really has only one weakness. What Welded Wire is Not Good For High Security Fencing You can’t see it but there is a little blueberry bush growing in there. Welded wire also makes nifty protection to keep tender plants safe from vicious weed trimmers (there is actually a little blueberry bush growing in there). Nice divider screen, right? Build a cucumber trellis with 2×4 welded wire. The same trellis after the jasmine took over. My courtyard trellis with 2×4 wire before I planted a jasmine vine on it. Tip: If you’re making a trellis in an outdoor living space like a courtyard, I recommend the vinyl-coated type. Nothing like a roll of 2 x 4 for a trellis. I’ve used it for decorative vine-covered dividers and for cucumbers to climb on. That is not true of all animals (see below). I say low security because this is for situations where an animal will encounter the fence and not try to actively dismantle, destroy, or jump over it. Want to keep rabbits, dogs, and chickens out of your garden? Use 2 x 4 welded wire. But over the years, I’ve learned what it is good for and what it’s not. One of the most common and versatile is 2″x 4″ welded wire fencing (sometimes called hardware cloth). One of the first things you realize when you start gardening or raising chickens is there are tons of wire fencing options.
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