A lot of folks seem to think their coop is secure once the door is closed at night

I've been keeping a small flock in my yard for about five years now, and I've lost two hens to predators. Both times, the coop door was shut tight. The problem was the run. I see so many people, especially new keepers, use chicken wire for their run fencing. It's cheap and easy to work with, but a determined raccoon can rip right through it. After my second loss, I switched everything over to hardware cloth, specifically the 1/2 inch kind. It's more expensive, about $80 for a roll, and a pain to install, but I haven't had a single breach since. I even buried it a foot deep around the perimeter to stop digging. It's not just about locking them up at dark, it's about making their whole daytime space a fortress. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a real difference in predator pressure?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthew8644mo ago

Man, my buddy learned that the hard way when a fox got through his chicken wire last spring.

claire_butler14mo ago

Chicken wire is basically just for keeping chickens in, not predators out. Raccoons will tear it apart like paper. Hardware cloth was a total game changer for my setup too. The key is getting the 1/2 inch size, not the wider stuff. Burying it or laying it flat as an apron stops diggers cold. It's a weekend project that saves so much heartache later.

cameronb522mo ago

Also a lot of folks forget to secure the bottom of the door frame. Raccoons will squeeze through a 3 inch gap under a door like it's nothing. I put a strip of hardware cloth along the base of mine with a wooden batten over it to keep it tight. Makes it so nothing can dig under or push through while you're moving birds in and out.