Since you asked, I’m going to tell you. Your bird netting above would keep aerial predators out. But a raccoon or possum would rip right through that. That’s speaking from experience. You really need to put both the hardware cloth and cattle fencing all around the entire enclosure including the top. This is to keep the raccoons, possums, mice, rats, rats with feathers (sparrows, quails, any small birds really) out. For one, you don’t want to lose all your feed to the neighborhood critters if your feeder is outside the coop. Again speaking from experience. Second and more importantly, it is to keep your flock from catching diseases like bird flu or hantavirus that can be transmitted to humans. Lastly, you don’t have to fabricate the expensive and laborious rebar ground protection. Simply run the cattle fencing and/or hardware cloth 18-24” longer at the bottom of the walls and fold to form a horizontal apron that extends out around the perimeter of the enclosure. That should keep out the digging predators.
What about lining the entire ground inside the run with hardware cloth? I was told not to do that because chickens will eventually scratch down until they get to it and cause bumble foot. Our issue is we have ground squirrels and gophers that would burrow up into the run to get at the chickens and eggs.
@@davidthompson9359 I would maintain a layer on top. If you keep them entertained and reasonably happy with extra treats they won't just burrow a hole. I would think if you kept 4 inches above the wire you will be fine
@@davidthompson9359 Ground squirrels and gophers are vegetarians. They won’t go after the eggs. But they might go after the chicken feed. The tunnels could be used by, for example, snakes, which would go after your eggs. There are effective and cheaper ways to get rid of gophers. But that requires killing them.
Yes, I have flashing lights around my chicken coop at night, and always have since 2018 and never had any predators at night visiting the coop. So far I consider that a win for my girls and me. I think it does the trick. Great video Thank you
Plant a thorny blackberry vine on each corner of the coop an use wire twist ties to fasten them to the fence. The thorns will prevent critters out. An provide shelter from high winds and shade an. Fruit provides needed food
I came up with the anti-dig spike strips as well a few years ago after a rottweiler bullied his way under our chain link fence and did some horrible things to our chickens at the time. Our chicken accoutrements are more budget based than yours, but all the same concepts. I salvaged a few wrought iron hand rails from a porch, cut them in half longways, and each railing made 2 sets of anti-dig spike strips. I drove them into the ground but through the bottom links in the fence to pin it down while also offering protection below grade. Works great.
So glad you thought about coming through underneath the fence. We found out the hard way. We put hardware wire under the ground about two feet all the way around and it worked.
Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but if you don’t have some kind of support for your top netting, the weight of snow will cave in the the whole thing. We learned this the hard way trying to keep up year around bird netting for our blueberries. The snow doesn’t just fall through; it eventually builds up and gets very heavy. Looks like a beautiful coop and run. Best of luck!
cameras on the inside of the coop is a great idea. we did that and I would watch the chickens at work on my computer. Always made me happy when I was having a rough day. We called it the "Chick Cam".
I was literally up every night dealing w preditors until I bought a Great Pyrenees . She is absolutely amazing; I can't possibly write enough good about this breed of dog !
It’s a constant battle that’s for sure, but to win you have to fight, and thy enemies are smart! One night we heard the chickens sounding the alarm, go check and nada. Go back to house but alarm goes off again, dang. After searching for entry points and filling in digs we felt satisfied and confident we could go to sleep now. Just as we were about to leave my brothers light caught a glimpse of something, and believe this or not a opossum was setting on the roost between two birds. He set still there the entire time as we worked to secure the house, lol!
A constant battle..? No, no it isnt. If your predator proofing is so bad, it's purely a failure on your part. You have an all you can eat buffet in your yard - to expect the hungry to ignore it is pure idiocy.
@@woIf You obviously aren't from the country! And wise arse, if you don't have to worry about why are you even building protection? Because it's a constant battle.
Excellent job! I ended up wrapping the entire run in hardware cloth and using a very thick (expensive) netting for the overhead. Also I put up a galvanized roof over the coop itself for weather protection and general cover for the girls. Then I put a 15 to 20 inch hardware cloth skirt around the entire 18 x 13 foot run. Whew!
As an experienced painter I have to say this: Generally, putting paint on fresh pressure treated lumber (or anything) often doesn't hold up very long, especially when it's in contact with the ground. Primers are an essential part of painting any substrate that's "naked" to achieve the proper bond. Metal, wood, whatever you're painting, (job specific) primer is a little extra step that'll save you in the long run from constant future maintenance. FYI.
Thanks for the tip..I primed my wood first but only bc my bf told me I need to and thought it was a complete waist of time..HOWEVER....now I'm glad I did! 👏👏🥳❤️🐓
@@ChristopherHarris-fk1iz I tell my customers to let it sit for 6-12 months minimum before putting any finish on it. If it's in the direct sun, closer to 6 months, shade go the full 12.
Great video. I'm researching for the coop I'm going to build and one thing I know for certain: I'm using hardware cloth on every wall. Anything else and animals can get in. Raccoons have hands almost as good as ours and they can easily reach into most fencing, unless it's hardware cloth. It's more expensive, but it's done right the first time and your chickens are protected.
Beautiful coop. You can also put that 1/2" hardware cloth on the ground and use the U stakes to hammer it in to the dirt to stop digging predators as well. I did that 2 feet out all around. I also put some cinder blocks on it, filled it with dirt and planted some marigolds and mint and oregano. Chickens love to eat marigolds, mint and the oregano is great for their body, a natural antibiotic. Pick some off from the flowers and herbs and give it to your chickens. I also added a metal roof over the coop to cover their ramp to get in and out of their coop and had rain barrels on each side on the outside of the fencing to catch the rain water. Put a cover over the top and a fine mesh over the hole where the rain water comes in to stop debris, or birds or squirrels from getting into it. The roof will help stop the run from getting too muddy under and around their coop, especially when you are collecting eggs.
If you have mink/ermine/weasels in the area, your spikes are not going to keep them from digging in. The smallest of them only need a gap the size of a nickel to get through and they are ruthless and will kill the entire flock for sport. We used a 2' apron of 1/2" hardware cloth around the entire outside of the coop/run then used the spikes also to secure the end and keep larger digging animals out. Most critters will go right to the edge of the fencing or wall then try to dig so the apron extends the protection beyond where most will dig, and the spikes prevent the apron from being pulled up. Also, netting is great to keep flying predators at bay, but racoons will chew through it so make sure you check it often to make sure there is no damage.
We haven’t seen any weasel like critters ever before. However I have caught a squirrel in the run before. I let my dog chase her away lol. But you have some great ideas and I think we might have to incorporate some of them. Thank you so much
@@Charlesnans We haven't had any problems with our set up, but our squirrels don't burrow much here. We do have ground hogs here though, and none of them have gotten in yet either. Anything that wants your chickens, eggs or feed will find a way to be a problem if you don't plan for them and protect from them though.
@@KomarProject We had seen river minks at the nearest river about 1/2 mile down our gravel road…they must have been hungry b/c they wiped out our flock in 24 hours…That was the last straw for me, I bought 48 new chicks and bought the hardware cloth and recovered everything! Including the roof area gutter ventilation. Now the squirrels can’t even get to the feed. 😂
We have a baby monitor I got for $50 from Amazon. I keep it with me nonstop when home. We built a shelf under the over hang on one over our middle coops. The monitor can be turned but mainly know when there’s trouble by their going off. When the roosters go off I know something is out there. I have my gear ready to roll and when they let me know, I am out there with my trust 12g. We have lost 4 but think I was able to take care of business, for now but I’m always ready to roll out.
Dude, you’re a total goofball! Loved your video and commercial. Great advice and excellent video. I loved how you were able to overcome all challenges and come up with some pretty cool ideas.
Good craftsmanship. We've had to use vinyl coated hardware cloth with (no larger than) 1/4" holes on all sides of pen to keep out WEASELS and SNAKES. They climb and find small spaces to enter. Birds usually are found dead with no obvious wounds (pale tongues, undetectable punctures in neck) or alive but suddenly weak from blood loss. (Vinyl coated 1/4" hardware cloth can be bought online and shipped).
Hardware cloth laid on the ground...use ground staples...prevents digging. Usually placed on outside of run. Grass grows up & u don't see it. Hardware cloth & hard wire keeps out predators. That small stuff u put around bottom also will keep raccoons from reaching in & dragging out birds or parts of them.
Also, snakes go right through that larger mesh fencing. You have to do the whole thing in hardware cloth (the smaller mesh.) Snakes will come for the eggs and they will kill the chickens. What I did for ground predators (diggers) was to put a row of those 1' x 1' concrete pavers you can get at the big box store for like $1.30/stone. Just lay them on the ground along the perimeter. They will come up to the fence, try to dig and be foiled. They don't know to back off a couple of feet to start a dig. Finally, I did a "double door" with a small 3' x 3' gap between two doors. The floor of that area I did in some concrete (couple of bags of sack create will do.) That will help secure the door area and keep chickens from escaping, especially when you have kids over and such and they carelessly leave the door open.
@@RCCarDude About 3' long black snake. Normally a snake like that can't hurt a chicken, they are after eggs. However, if the chicken starts attacking it, a snake like that will wrap around the chickens neck and kill it. The chicken is to big for the snake to eat, but not to big to kill.
I really like the in ground spikes. When you movethr coup, place a 1/2” rebar stake with about 3’ sticking up. There are insulators made to put on rebar or any 1/2” diameter pole. Using the insulators you can put up the hardware cloth (aka rabbit wire) that you already have or use poultry wire (much cheaper) to make a 2’ fence around the outside parameter of the chicken run. Similar to what you have already done but make sure the new fence is isolated from ground. You can now attache a small solar fence charger to the new protective fence. Even snakes won’t cross that hot fence. I have a small solar charger that is designed for pets or small animals. It bites but it isn’t like the big ones that make you wet your pants and say very ugly words every time it pulses. I had no idea I could say that really ugly word that many times oer second. They can be cut off any time you need. You don’t have a predator that will challenge that fence. After the second run in, most predators will give your entire area around the chicken yard a wide berth and go on down the road to the neighbors. If you hear a blood curdling scream in the middle of the night, you can just turn over and go back to sleep. Oh yea, if the rebar post gives you any safety concerns, some sporting goods stores as well as Amazon sell used golf balls for cheap. Drill a hole the same diameter as your post and glue one to the top of each post. The golf balls can be painted with fluorescent paint so that you don’t accidently find the fence while checking on your feathered friends at night. You just need one more thing. There was no sign warning those with a weak heart or sensitive ears that “FOWL LANGUAGE SPOKEN HERE”.
@@DaysOfSodaAndLantana I do not have a video on this. I could probably put one together in the next few days. This would certainly deter anything approaching from the ground. However, be aware that mice and especially rats are very smart and can be a challenge. Any trees or bushes near the chicken run will give rats a path to the top of the enclosure. They can jump farther than most people realize. The title of this video would be better named as “Predator Difficult”. A thought just struck that may help. Place a fake owl on a limb near the chicken run. If you can find one that “hoots” on occasion, then all the better. Move the owl to a different location every few days. AsI said, rodents are very smart and if this owl never moves, they will figure this out. Don’t put it where your chickens can see it. Chickens know what owls are,too. If the ‘hooting’ upsets your birds, you may have to turn that off. A fake snake on top of the enclosure may also work. Again, move the snake around to different locations.
Looks great. Small suggestion : I think you should of used the backside of the coop as a wall so when you clean you dont have to trek through the run to get to the coop.
Although this is a wonderful idea, I did the same thing and I really do not mind. I interact with the girls daily and change out their water every other day so it doesn't bother me at all.
I agree. Sometimes you want to collect eggs and you’re wearing nicer shoes (just home from work, or going out for dinner) and don’t to walk through the poopy run.
We have fishers and weasels around here that slip right through chicken wire and wipe out a flock in a night. We have to use 1/2” hardware cloth rather than the wire garden mesh throughout but otherwise this looks great!
We had issues with Foxes and other predators trying to dig under. I wonder if there are no such predators here? The coop isn't secured to the ground so it would be 30 seconds of work for an animal to dig 2" under it and slip in.
I am so glad you did this video, I just saw it. WE gave 1/2 of our flock away after a devastating fox attack earlier this year. We had been free ranging for 4 years. Didn't want to go back to picking up headless chickens it wasn't a pleasant experience. You have given me some serious food for thought and Ideas about how to build something that allows them to have ample space and protection thank you.
I love the cameras, inside the coop is a great idea too. To be able to see what the chickens are doing inside on cold winter days will be entertaining. 👍👍
Speaking from experience, a small mink can get through the 2x4 welded wire. Lost 4 girls before I figured it out. Put up chicken wire 10' on the outside of the welded wire. If you have minks in your area, be careful. I had no idea about minks until the attack...
I agree with the ones saying that the aerial part needs hardware cloth. All exterior walls made from horse fencing. Then Lower sides-1/4” hardware cloth. Place Chicken wire on top of upper exterior walls butted up to hardware cloth. Instead of fabricating the in-ground protection with rebar, we used 2”x4” mesh cattle panels and cut them in the same manner. Then just hammer them into ground. Used bolt cutters to cut.
Despite your age, you have youthful vitality. And you have a great art of craft, and you have a very nice sense of humor. I thank you for the work that exceeds excellence, and I ask God for success and a long life for you
I LOVE the cute names of your birds! Your video shows how much you enjoy them. Thanks for the tips! I’m adding hardware cloth to the bottom of the fence. The saying is true - everybody loves chicken.🐓
Ok. LOVE this project. Just showed this to my hubby to show him how easy it is to do! Apparently, I am "honey" as well with wanting cameras in/out of coop! Thank you for sharing. We thoroughly enjoyed this video--commercial and all! 🙂
I buy 12” wide chicken wire. Bend it to a 90 degree place it next to our fence. We have discovered animals come up to the fence and try to dig next to the fence. They never think if I just back up 6” I could get through this chicken wire. It works great and cost Pennie’s.
A heavy woven netting 2x2 works well. We used it for my friend’s chicken run. I used hardware cloth for my run fencing and buried it 10-12” under the whole run. Lot of work but in the years I’ve had it (7-8?), nothing has dug in. Subscribed
If you extended your fencing at the ground level out from the coup, you can also defeat digging threats. you can hold it down with a few bricks strategically placed or you can cut a rectangle out of old fencing and hammer it down
In our area we have to protect our coop of rats, snakes and anything that can jump our fence. I live in Puerto Rico. Loved your coup and your Timberland shoes. At least we don’t have extreme temperatures. I’m a true beginner. Learning the most I can. But we do have hurricanes. I’m on the process of designing my coop and then make it built. Thank you for everything you show us. I’ll post my coop when finished. Blessings
You are very welcome AG I wouldent even know where to start with snakes. The most we have here are gardener snakes and the chickens can handle those. Good luck with you flock !!
I am in the designing stage as well. It seems I find out more things to worry about for chickens every day! May I ask what methods you are putting into your design specifically for rats or mice? Those are what I worry about the most, because they can set up house.
@@DaysOfSodaAndLantanaPut the coop on legs to prevent them making nests underneath. Remove feed from the run area and only spread what the chickens can eat each night if giving food scraps.
A hog panel laid down on the ground under your panels would stop the digging in, but you would need solid fence panels topping your run to stop coons and possums and martins/weasels. They can and will rip the netting and invade your chicken run. This would make a lovely catio tho!
Wonderful job. Hardware cloth is great. We dug down 8" and out 10"s/bent our 48" hardware cloth at 8" mark craeting an L. Buried the 8"s and attached the 40"s to the Runn. Nothing can dig in/or under this. Its been a year and our Hens are safe.. Also, getting the Omlet Auto Door for nights when we might get home after dark. This has been a game changer for my peace of mind.
Lay your fencing down on the outside 2' wide all around. Use fence stakes (those little hooked J-Stakes) to hold the edges down and staple to the 2x4 frame. Racoons, Dogs, Coyotes, Possums, it will stop them all from digging. If a canine is getting insistent night after night trying to get thru the fence, put up some rabbit fence. A couple zaps from that should deter them. Add a Goose or two to your flock. Hawks or anything else coming in over the top will be stopped by those things. They are basically winged Donkeys.
I would highly suggest either using screws or sandwiching the welded wire between 2 boards with screws. Roaming dogs, racoons, and coyotes can pull or push the wire loose from the staples, or even break the welds. The hardware cloth around the base is crucial as well, good job there. We use chain link fence and hardware cloth on the inside and nothing can make a dent in it. Your anti-dig spikes out of rebar are a good idea, but I would still be worried about rats digging in if you have babies or bantams. A 1/2 inch or 1 inch predator apron or buried wire would be a little more error proof. We are able to slack a little on our coop/run defenses, because we have a livestock guardian dog in the field where our runs are, but with no LGD, you have to really make it robust. The aesthetics of your coop and run are fantastic btw, very well done!
@@KomarProject the biggest thing to remember is that domestic dogs are the number one killer of chickens, so you're trying to prevent them the most. Also, chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in, keeps almost nothing out.
Sweet project video! Thanks. A suggestion: When making a door....do the framing, then...build the door like it was a solid part of the door framing.( yes, even the wire screen...right over the top). Finally, literally cut the door out of the door framing. Add hinges. Result, a totally perfect fitting door...like made for the opening!
You must be using plywood. It's difficult to envision "framing" and then "door framing"... I mean, what is the difference, and "wire screen" right over the top of what?
Fantastic coop and run. I have a similar one (not as pretty as yours) for my girls but since we are in Scotland I put a roof on made of corrugated polycarbonate. Still let’s plenty of light in but protects from the rain. We used 3/4 inch 16g weld mesh. Our predators are foxes and badgers plus hawks. Love you flock. All the best. Mags.
@@KomarProject To rebuild my home, I'd add a firewood storage to an o/side wall & a door to bring the wood in. A door inside keeps you from going outside for wood. Keep mites & other pests out w/ 1 pc (no cracks) of solid stainless steel or ?? & ppl w/ a great lock. Just a thought! 💖
You need hardware cloth on the top as well. A mink can get in a hole the size of a dime and wipe your flock out fast. I put hardware cloth on the ground 2 feet around the entire run and cover with a rock garden growing things like lemongrass or whatever mosquitoes hate. I never want to deal with Fowlpox.
I used14 gauge 1"×2" hardware cloth to keep out mink and other small predators. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it to keep my birds safe. And it's also heavy enough gauge to support the weight of the adult bobcat that jumped from a tree onto the top of the run - it left after trying unsuccessfully to breech the run. And I'm in the MidWest and we absolutely have bears, wolves and mountain lions. I have vid and photos of them. Took photos of 5-inch wolf tracks just last week - conservation agent said it was probably just passing through, but still...it was definitely here.
You are very innovative and good at blbg stuff. Snakes & fox & cayote are also a problems where we live, so I gotta use alotta hardware cloth. Once I skipped the top and just used feathernet electric fence from Premier Fence that envclosed trees & bushes. Provided lotsa places for them to duck & hide along with a couple roosters.
My dad taught me a value trick on the first time i helped built a new chicken coop. Simple put most people only fence 5 sides. If you dig 3 /4 inches deeper place thin nose fencing for the diggers.. if you ever use animal cage to trap a raccoon or other predator couldn't sealed.
You might want to put a sturdy wire mesh across the bottom of the enclosure to keep animals from burrowing in, those rebar spikes are still wide enough for something like a fox or weasel to squeeze through. There are a lot of smaller predators that squeeze through tight spaces.
Glad to see the half by half hardware cloth around the bottom. Most sources online will tell you that skunks need a 4 inch hole to get through but this is wrong, smaller skunks can get through the 2 by 4 welded wire. Also, excellent work on the bird netting around the tree. It looks very professional. As for the dig defense around the bottom, if it were to be a more permanent chicken run, you could get that hardware cloth about a foot taller and bend an L at the bottom and bury it about 4 inches under the ground with the leg of the L facing outwards so that if anything tries to dig in it will hit the wire and not be able to go further down.
I agree with a using a buried hardware cloth curtain, but it eventually rusts out at ground level. I think the welded spikes are genius, and a perfect welding project for a beginner (like me!)
A cheap solution is the lay chicken wire flat on the ground around the exterior, best if actually barred an inch or two underground, it's also a great solution if you have a problem with dogs digging holes under fences.
@@KomarProject Flash tape and the flashing red lights do seem to deter owls WHILE THEY ARE FLASHING. And that is the hole in using them. They stop flashing too early in the a.m. before the owls stop hunting. So they are good additions AFTER you have a secure house and run. NOT replacements for a secure house and run.
That’s actually quite nice, I honestly never knew that there are creatures that could dig underground and then come out just to eat the little chickens
Bart the chicken coop da villa still looks as good as the day you built it as for the additions we'll all I can say is it's just turned coop da villa into Fortknox coop da villa, that things almost impenetrable by any predators known to man !!!. This video just like many of your previous videos had me doubled over in laughter what with Rupaul and Tony Montana let alone Mack N Cheese 🧀 🤣 who or how on earth do you come up with these name choices 🤔 nomatter just brilliant!!! As always buddy 💯% 👍 🇬🇧.
We had chickens when I was a kid we installed chicken wire around a perimeter with a tree in the middle for the chickens to roost at night, chickens are birds after all. As for predators digging under the fence well the ground was so hard under 4 inches of soil you needed a pick and bar to dig a few inches, it was coyote proof.
I perused CL and found 150' of chainlink fence for free! cleared away the grass out side the run, put 8" of fence inside the run, then replanted the grass outside the run to make walking easier. Nothing can dig through that chainlink except mice and worms
Good plan; however, if you have Great Horned Owls they may be able to dive through the netting on the top. Also, we have rat snakes that could easily get through the 2x4 wire. One more round MIGHT deter them - maybe. (Supposedly, snakes can only extend 2/3rds of their bodies. However, they can climb a lot better than most of us realize.)
Raccoons and the like can get through the netting. The half-inch mesh you put on the bottom is inadequate to keep out snakes, and you will need 1/4 inch to keep out snakes. If you could stick a pencil through it a snake can get in. For mine, I buried some like the commenter below stated; however, I like the way you did it.
Definitely want to build something like this once I settle down somewhere. Right now priority for my folks I advise is preventing wild birds from getting to the chickens as bird flu is really bad right now. Same with getting folks to vaccinate for rabbit hemorrhagic virus with their rabbit hutch/runs and building a run that prevents contact with wild rabbits.
I realize this video is a yr ago and things might have changed since then. But if you use a roller and paint your wire fence black, you’ll be able to see through it without obstruction. The silver makes it hard to see in or through it. Try it, pretty awesome.
I use electric fence around bottom middle and top of cage and for best results ground the fencer to the cage itself. Any predator gets a taste of that juice all of a sudden loses their appetite for chicken and forget their way back. Best protection and less expensive
Bart I just discovered your channel. You are a charming host and accomplished craftsman with great ideas. Your chickens are cute too ;) Consider me a new fan!
I ALSO have a Roo-Paul! I named him because he spent his first 8 months as a hen in disguise that didnt crow. He looked like my white pltmouth rock. I'm serious: no special saddle feathers, no giant comb/waddle, just "another" hen!
Two staffies stop anything bothering our chooks. They are straight up and straight outside through the pet door unless they have settled in the kennel, then any fox is dead. They pee all around the fences as a warning so any foxes know exactly what they are getting themselves into. A chook got locked out last night and spent the night right next to the pet door, it's definitely not stupid that one.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
Since you asked, I’m going to tell you. Your bird netting above would keep aerial predators out. But a raccoon or possum would rip right through that. That’s speaking from experience. You really need to put both the hardware cloth and cattle fencing all around the entire enclosure including the top. This is to keep the raccoons, possums, mice, rats, rats with feathers (sparrows, quails, any small birds really) out. For one, you don’t want to lose all your feed to the neighborhood critters if your feeder is outside the coop. Again speaking from experience. Second and more importantly, it is to keep your flock from catching diseases like bird flu or hantavirus that can be transmitted to humans. Lastly, you don’t have to fabricate the expensive and laborious rebar ground protection. Simply run the cattle fencing and/or hardware cloth 18-24” longer at the bottom of the walls and fold to form a horizontal apron that extends out around the perimeter of the enclosure. That should keep out the digging predators.
What about lining the entire ground inside the run with hardware cloth? I was told not to do that because chickens will eventually scratch down until they get to it and cause bumble foot. Our issue is we have ground squirrels and gophers that would burrow up into the run to get at the chickens and eggs.
@@davidthompson9359 I would maintain a layer on top. If you keep them entertained and reasonably happy with extra treats they won't just burrow a hole. I would think if you kept 4 inches above the wire you will be fine
Correct. I have had raccoons shred thin overhead wire.
@@davidthompson9359 Ground squirrels and gophers are vegetarians. They won’t go after the eggs. But they might go after the chicken feed. The tunnels could be used by, for example, snakes, which would go after your eggs. There are effective and cheaper ways to get rid of gophers. But that requires killing them.
Chickens eat mice, rats and birds as well....from experience!
Yes, I have flashing lights around my chicken coop at night, and always have since 2018 and never had any predators at night visiting the coop. So far I consider that a win for my girls and me. I think it does the trick. Great video Thank you
That's a great idea! Solar?
Chicken wire and fencing keep chickens IN . Hardware cloth keeps predators OUT.
Hardware cloth has done wonders keeping moles out of my yard too
Yessssss
Hardware cloth stopped all animal attacks in my coop, as well as bird netting in my open run.
You should Livestream your chicken camera inside the coop 😅
@@nickcarroll8565j
Plant a thorny blackberry vine on each corner of the coop an use wire twist ties to fasten them to the fence. The thorns will prevent critters out. An provide shelter from high winds and shade an. Fruit provides needed food
I came up with the anti-dig spike strips as well a few years ago after a rottweiler bullied his way under our chain link fence and did some horrible things to our chickens at the time. Our chicken accoutrements are more budget based than yours, but all the same concepts. I salvaged a few wrought iron hand rails from a porch, cut them in half longways, and each railing made 2 sets of anti-dig spike strips. I drove them into the ground but through the bottom links in the fence to pin it down while also offering protection below grade. Works great.
So glad you thought about coming through underneath the fence. We found out the hard way. We put hardware wire under the ground about two feet all the way around and it worked.
Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but if you don’t have some kind of support for your top netting, the weight of snow will cave in the the whole thing. We learned this the hard way trying to keep up year around bird netting for our blueberries. The snow doesn’t just fall through; it eventually builds up and gets very heavy.
Looks like a beautiful coop and run. Best of luck!
cameras on the inside of the coop is a great idea. we did that and I would watch the chickens at work on my computer. Always made me happy when I was having a rough day. We called it the "Chick Cam".
Lol I did that for my wife and called it the chick cam because I would out of state 10 months out of the year to make her happy
I was literally up every night dealing w preditors until I bought a Great Pyrenees . She is absolutely amazing; I can't possibly write enough good about this breed of dog !
I have a friend who has one and it’s the best dog I’ve ever met. I always had labs and shepherds, but now I think Pyrenees will be my favorite.
It’s a constant battle that’s for sure, but to win you have to fight, and thy enemies are smart!
One night we heard the chickens sounding the alarm, go check and nada. Go back to house but alarm goes off again, dang. After searching for entry points and filling in digs we felt satisfied and confident we could go to sleep now. Just as we were about to leave my brothers light caught a glimpse of something, and believe this or not a opossum was setting on the roost between two birds. He set still there the entire time as we worked to secure the house, lol!
A constant battle..? No, no it isnt. If your predator proofing is so bad, it's purely a failure on your part. You have an all you can eat buffet in your yard - to expect the hungry to ignore it is pure idiocy.
@@woIf You obviously aren't from the country! And wise arse, if you don't have to worry about why are you even building protection? Because it's a constant battle.
Excellent job! I ended up wrapping the entire run in hardware cloth and using a very thick (expensive) netting for the overhead. Also I put up a galvanized roof over the coop itself for weather protection and general cover for the girls. Then I put a 15 to 20 inch hardware cloth skirt around the entire 18 x 13 foot run. Whew!
Yes, me too, I don't want snakes in my run.
Is the skirt laying on the ground to keep raccoons, rats, etc from trying to dig under? I’ve heard people mention this
How deep do you put the hardware cloth, my install will be under the entire run
Make a video please.
Once you get them safe, put up a swing, add a xylophone and thread some fruits and veggies on a rope to keep them busy and happy.
As an experienced painter I have to say this: Generally, putting paint on fresh pressure treated lumber (or anything) often doesn't hold up very long, especially when it's in contact with the ground. Primers are an essential part of painting any substrate that's "naked" to achieve the proper bond. Metal, wood, whatever you're painting, (job specific) primer is a little extra step that'll save you in the long run from constant future maintenance. FYI.
Plus, chickens love to peck at paint. Make darn sure it don't peel.
Thanks for the tip..I primed my wood first but only bc my bf told me I need to and thought it was a complete waist of time..HOWEVER....now I'm glad I did! 👏👏🥳❤️🐓
And if pressure treated let it dry out before painting until it takes up water.
@@ChristopherHarris-fk1iz I tell my customers to let it sit for 6-12 months minimum before putting any finish on it. If it's in the direct sun, closer to 6 months, shade go the full 12.
Great video. I'm researching for the coop I'm going to build and one thing I know for certain: I'm using hardware cloth on every wall. Anything else and animals can get in. Raccoons have hands almost as good as ours and they can easily reach into most fencing, unless it's hardware cloth. It's more expensive, but it's done right the first time and your chickens are protected.
Beautiful coop. You can also put that 1/2" hardware cloth on the ground and use the U stakes to hammer it in to the dirt to stop digging predators as well. I did that 2 feet out all around. I also put some cinder blocks on it, filled it with dirt and planted some marigolds and mint and oregano. Chickens love to eat marigolds, mint and the oregano is great for their body, a natural antibiotic. Pick some off from the flowers and herbs and give it to your chickens. I also added a metal roof over the coop to cover their ramp to get in and out of their coop and had rain barrels on each side on the outside of the fencing to catch the rain water. Put a cover over the top and a fine mesh over the hole where the rain water comes in to stop debris, or birds or squirrels from getting into it. The roof will help stop the run from getting too muddy under and around their coop, especially when you are collecting eggs.
I'm so glad you added hardware cloth. I was having panic attacks with that goat fencing. Weasels are also a call for hardware cloth.
If you have mink/ermine/weasels in the area, your spikes are not going to keep them from digging in. The smallest of them only need a gap the size of a nickel to get through and they are ruthless and will kill the entire flock for sport. We used a 2' apron of 1/2" hardware cloth around the entire outside of the coop/run then used the spikes also to secure the end and keep larger digging animals out. Most critters will go right to the edge of the fencing or wall then try to dig so the apron extends the protection beyond where most will dig, and the spikes prevent the apron from being pulled up.
Also, netting is great to keep flying predators at bay, but racoons will chew through it so make sure you check it often to make sure there is no damage.
We haven’t seen any weasel like critters ever before. However I have caught a squirrel in the run before. I let my dog chase her away lol. But you have some great ideas and I think we might have to incorporate some of them. Thank you so much
Are underground squirrels problem to
@@Charlesnans We haven't had any problems with our set up, but our squirrels don't burrow much here. We do have ground hogs here though, and none of them have gotten in yet either. Anything that wants your chickens, eggs or feed will find a way to be a problem if you don't plan for them and protect from them though.
Miner's cats too! They're also known as ringtailed cats but look like a cross between an otter and a raccoon. We lost 11 chickens to them in 2017
@@KomarProject We had seen river minks at the nearest river about 1/2 mile down our gravel road…they must have been hungry b/c they wiped out our flock in 24 hours…That was the last straw for me, I bought 48 new chicks and bought the hardware cloth and recovered everything! Including the roof area gutter ventilation. Now the squirrels can’t even get to the feed. 😂
We have a baby monitor I got for $50 from Amazon. I keep it with me nonstop when home. We built a shelf under the over hang on one over our middle coops. The monitor can be turned but mainly know when there’s trouble by their going off. When the roosters go off I know something is out there. I have my gear ready to roll and when they let me know, I am out there with my trust 12g. We have lost 4 but think I was able to take care of business, for now but I’m always ready to roll out.
Dude, you’re a total goofball! Loved your video and commercial. Great advice and excellent video. I loved how you were able to overcome all challenges and come up with some pretty cool ideas.
Thanks John! I try to have fun with the build and in life, keeps things interesting and keeps me from getting old
Good craftsmanship. We've had to use vinyl coated hardware cloth with (no larger than) 1/4" holes on all sides of pen to keep out WEASELS and SNAKES. They climb and find small spaces to enter. Birds usually are found dead with no obvious wounds (pale tongues, undetectable punctures in neck) or alive but suddenly weak from blood loss. (Vinyl coated 1/4" hardware cloth can be bought online and shipped).
Hardware cloth laid on the ground...use ground staples...prevents digging. Usually placed on outside of run. Grass grows up & u don't see it. Hardware cloth & hard wire keeps out predators. That small stuff u put around bottom also will keep raccoons from reaching in & dragging out birds or parts of them.
That’s the second time somone has mentioned that. Might have to incorporate it
Really beautiful chicken coop and run! I love your idea for underground protection - better than what you usually see.
Also, snakes go right through that larger mesh fencing. You have to do the whole thing in hardware cloth (the smaller mesh.) Snakes will come for the eggs and they will kill the chickens. What I did for ground predators (diggers) was to put a row of those 1' x 1' concrete pavers you can get at the big box store for like $1.30/stone. Just lay them on the ground along the perimeter. They will come up to the fence, try to dig and be foiled. They don't know to back off a couple of feet to start a dig. Finally, I did a "double door" with a small 3' x 3' gap between two doors. The floor of that area I did in some concrete (couple of bags of sack create will do.) That will help secure the door area and keep chickens from escaping, especially when you have kids over and such and they carelessly leave the door open.
What size snakes? I've seen chickens gobbling up garter snakes like twizzlers and I'm in the northeast.
@@RCCarDude About 3' long black snake. Normally a snake like that can't hurt a chicken, they are after eggs. However, if the chicken starts attacking it, a snake like that will wrap around the chickens neck and kill it. The chicken is to big for the snake to eat, but not to big to kill.
I really like the in ground spikes. When you movethr coup, place a 1/2” rebar stake with about 3’ sticking up. There are insulators made to put on rebar or any 1/2” diameter pole. Using the insulators you can put up the hardware cloth (aka rabbit wire) that you already have or use poultry wire (much cheaper) to make a 2’ fence around the outside parameter of the chicken run. Similar to what you have already done but make sure the new fence is isolated from ground. You can now attache a small solar fence charger to the new protective fence. Even snakes won’t cross that hot fence.
I have a small solar charger that is designed for pets or small animals. It bites but it isn’t like the big ones that make you wet your pants and say very ugly words every time it pulses. I had no idea I could say that really ugly word that many times oer second. They can be cut off any time you need. You don’t have a predator that will challenge that fence. After the second run in, most predators will give your entire area around the chicken yard a wide berth and go on down the road to the neighbors. If you hear a blood curdling scream in the middle of the night, you can just turn over and go back to sleep.
Oh yea, if the rebar post gives you any safety concerns, some sporting goods stores as well as Amazon sell used golf balls for cheap. Drill a hole the same diameter as your post and glue one to the top of each post. The golf balls can be painted with fluorescent paint so that you don’t accidently find the fence while checking on your feathered friends at night.
You just need one more thing. There was no sign warning those with a weak heart or sensitive ears that
“FOWL LANGUAGE SPOKEN HERE”.
Do you have a video showing this? Would it work on rats and mice?
@@DaysOfSodaAndLantana I do not have a video on this. I could probably put one together in the next few days. This would certainly deter anything approaching from the ground. However, be aware that mice and especially rats are very smart and can be a challenge. Any trees or bushes near the chicken run will give rats a path to the top of the enclosure. They can jump farther than most people realize. The title of this video would be better named as “Predator Difficult”.
A thought just struck that may help. Place a fake owl on a limb near the chicken run. If you can find one that “hoots” on occasion, then all the better. Move the owl to a different location every few days. AsI said, rodents are very smart and if this owl never moves, they will figure this out. Don’t put it where your chickens can see it. Chickens know what owls are,too. If the ‘hooting’ upsets your birds, you may have to turn that off. A fake snake on top of the enclosure may also work. Again, move the snake around to different locations.
@@katiedotson704 Thank you very much for your reply and all of your information.😊
Looks great. Small suggestion : I think you should of used the backside of the coop as a wall so when you clean you dont have to trek through the run to get to the coop.
That’s a great idea. Put the door on the back side !!
Although this is a wonderful idea, I did the same thing and I really do not mind. I interact with the girls daily and change out their water every other day so it doesn't bother me at all.
Right id just have a wall also so when it rains the whole run doesnt get muddy
I agree. Sometimes you want to collect eggs and you’re wearing nicer shoes (just home from work, or going out for dinner) and don’t to walk through the poopy run.
We have fishers and weasels around here that slip right through chicken wire and wipe out a flock in a night.
We have to use 1/2” hardware cloth rather than the wire garden mesh throughout but otherwise this looks great!
We had issues with Foxes and other predators trying to dig under. I wonder if there are no such predators here? The coop isn't secured to the ground so it would be 30 seconds of work for an animal to dig 2" under it and slip in.
I am so glad you did this video, I just saw it. WE gave 1/2 of our flock away after a devastating fox attack earlier this year. We had been free ranging for 4 years. Didn't want to go back to picking up headless chickens it wasn't a pleasant experience. You have given me some serious food for thought and Ideas about how to build something that allows them to have ample space and protection thank you.
I can't help but smile every time I see your Coop Da Villa !! I might have to steal that idea !
I also have netting over the coops. I used light weight netting and, yes, trees. Your idea of cutting planking in rings is great. Making me think! 😃
Them chickens are living the good life.
And we are finally reaping the benefits
@@KomarProject I’ll be by for breakfast tomorrow
OMG absolutely love you guys! Our chickens are part of the family! Beautiful job learned a lot from your video, thank you for sharing.
Wire shelving around the perimeter ground works for digging. Very approachable for most people
I love the cameras, inside the coop is a great idea too. To be able to see what the chickens are doing inside on cold winter days will be entertaining. 👍👍
Yes we love messing with the chickens lol
Petco,
Sells no dig animal barriers that look like what you just built.
So does Tractor supply and Home Depot.
2 pack for around $40.00
Speaking from experience, a small mink can get through the 2x4 welded wire. Lost 4 girls before I figured it out. Put up chicken wire 10' on the outside of the welded wire. If you have minks in your area, be careful. I had no idea about minks until the attack...
I agree with the ones saying that the aerial part needs hardware cloth.
All exterior walls made from horse fencing.
Then Lower sides-1/4” hardware cloth.
Place Chicken wire on top of upper exterior walls butted up to hardware cloth.
Instead of fabricating the in-ground protection with rebar, we used 2”x4” mesh cattle panels and cut them in the same manner. Then just hammer them into ground. Used bolt cutters to cut.
Despite your age, you have youthful vitality. And you have a great art of craft, and you have a very nice sense of humor. I thank you for the work that exceeds excellence, and I ask God for success and a long life for you
I LOVE the cute names of your birds! Your video shows how much you enjoy them. Thanks for the tips! I’m adding hardware cloth to the bottom of the fence. The saying is true - everybody loves chicken.🐓
Ok. LOVE this project. Just showed this to my hubby to show him how easy it is to do! Apparently, I am "honey" as well with wanting cameras in/out of coop! Thank you for sharing. We thoroughly enjoyed this video--commercial and all! 🙂
Bu kümesin fiyatını ne kadar
Do you think those chickens know how lucky they are?! Nice job as usual.
I think they do lol. They love me when I come in
They are spoiled rotten!
I buy 12” wide chicken wire. Bend it to a 90 degree place it next to our fence. We have discovered animals come up to the fence and try to dig next to the fence. They never think if I just back up 6” I could get through this chicken wire. It works great and cost Pennie’s.
A heavy woven netting 2x2 works well. We used it for my friend’s chicken run. I used hardware cloth for my run fencing and buried it 10-12” under the whole run. Lot of work but in the years I’ve had it (7-8?), nothing has dug in. Subscribed
If you extended your fencing at the ground level out from the coup, you can also defeat digging threats. you can hold it down with a few bricks strategically placed or you can cut a rectangle out of old fencing and hammer it down
In our area we have to protect our coop of rats, snakes and anything that can jump our fence. I live in Puerto Rico. Loved your coup and your Timberland shoes. At least we don’t have extreme temperatures. I’m a true beginner. Learning the most I can. But we do have hurricanes. I’m on the process of designing my coop and then make it built. Thank you for everything you show us. I’ll post my coop when finished. Blessings
You are very welcome AG
I wouldent even know where to start with snakes. The most we have here are gardener snakes and the chickens can handle those. Good luck with you flock !!
I am in the designing stage as well. It seems I find out more things to worry about for chickens every day! May I ask what methods you are putting into your design specifically for rats or mice? Those are what I worry about the most, because they can set up house.
@@DaysOfSodaAndLantanaPut the coop on legs to prevent them making nests underneath. Remove feed from the run area and only spread what the chickens can eat each night if giving food scraps.
A hog panel laid down on the ground under your panels would stop the digging in, but you would need solid fence panels topping your run to stop coons and possums and martins/weasels. They can and will rip the netting and invade your chicken run.
This would make a lovely catio tho!
ce n'est pas un poulailler c'est un hotel pour volaille c'est splendide magnifique quel beau travail BRAVO
I love it that you chose rare breed chickens.
That's really nice, I need to build something like that, I really love the idea of being able to take it apart and move it.
Wonderful job. Hardware cloth is great. We dug down 8" and out 10"s/bent our 48" hardware cloth at 8" mark craeting an L. Buried the 8"s and attached the 40"s to the Runn. Nothing can dig in/or under this. Its been a year and our Hens are safe..
Also, getting the Omlet Auto Door for nights when we might get home after dark. This has been a game changer for my peace of mind.
If you put a border of concreet tiles around the fence, (1 m wide), that is also very good for animals that dig dipper than the spikes.
Lay your fencing down on the outside 2' wide all around. Use fence stakes (those little hooked J-Stakes) to hold the edges down and staple to the 2x4 frame. Racoons, Dogs, Coyotes, Possums, it will stop them all from digging. If a canine is getting insistent night after night trying to get thru the fence, put up some rabbit fence. A couple zaps from that should deter them. Add a Goose or two to your flock. Hawks or anything else coming in over the top will be stopped by those things. They are basically winged Donkeys.
That’s a great tip. I though of doing that but was afraid my lawnmower would catch it at some point. You can also dog them under ground a bit too.
I would highly suggest either using screws or sandwiching the welded wire between 2 boards with screws. Roaming dogs, racoons, and coyotes can pull or push the wire loose from the staples, or even break the welds. The hardware cloth around the base is crucial as well, good job there. We use chain link fence and hardware cloth on the inside and nothing can make a dent in it. Your anti-dig spikes out of rebar are a good idea, but I would still be worried about rats digging in if you have babies or bantams. A 1/2 inch or 1 inch predator apron or buried wire would be a little more error proof. We are able to slack a little on our coop/run defenses, because we have a livestock guardian dog in the field where our runs are, but with no LGD, you have to really make it robust. The aesthetics of your coop and run are fantastic btw, very well done!
Thank you so much for the great info. We are still learning everyday and any ideas are much appreciated
@@KomarProject the biggest thing to remember is that domestic dogs are the number one killer of chickens, so you're trying to prevent them the most. Also, chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in, keeps almost nothing out.
Sweet project video! Thanks. A suggestion: When making a door....do the framing, then...build the door like it was a solid part of the door framing.( yes, even the wire screen...right over the top). Finally, literally cut the door out of the door framing. Add hinges. Result, a totally perfect fitting door...like made for the opening!
You must be using plywood. It's difficult to envision "framing" and then "door framing"... I mean, what is the difference, and "wire screen" right over the top of what?
Fantastic coop and run. I have a similar one (not as pretty as yours) for my girls but since we are in Scotland I put a roof on made of corrugated polycarbonate. Still let’s plenty of light in but protects from the rain. We used 3/4 inch 16g weld mesh. Our predators are foxes and badgers plus hawks. Love you flock. All the best. Mags.
Thank you Mags!!! Ya we have similar predators but we don’t have badgers. At least I never seen them before. Stay safe
@@KomarProject To rebuild my home, I'd add a firewood storage to an o/side wall & a door to bring the wood in. A door inside keeps you from going outside for wood. Keep mites & other pests out w/ 1 pc (no cracks) of solid stainless steel or ?? & ppl w/ a great lock. Just a thought! 💖
You need hardware cloth on the top as well. A mink can get in a hole the size of a dime and wipe your flock out fast. I put hardware cloth on the ground 2 feet around the entire run and cover with a rock garden growing things like lemongrass or whatever mosquitoes hate. I never want to deal with Fowlpox.
I used14 gauge 1"×2" hardware cloth to keep out mink and other small predators. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it to keep my birds safe. And it's also heavy enough gauge to support the weight of the adult bobcat that jumped from a tree onto the top of the run - it left after trying unsuccessfully to breech the run.
And I'm in the MidWest and we absolutely have bears, wolves and mountain lions. I have vid and photos of them. Took photos of 5-inch wolf tracks just last week - conservation agent said it was probably just passing through, but still...it was definitely here.
Lol like you I LOVE playing with my chickens wattles they are so cute and soft like earlobes but better! 😅❤
It looks so much better than that multi colored one… it looks so nice matching the coop and the fence. ♥️♥️♥️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Amazing chicken coop you have made and you have put a lot of effort to show how you made it.thank you.
Thank you so much
You are very innovative and good at blbg stuff. Snakes & fox & cayote are also a problems where we live, so I gotta use alotta hardware cloth. Once I skipped the top and just used feathernet electric fence from Premier Fence that envclosed trees & bushes. Provided lotsa places for them to duck & hide along with a couple roosters.
My dad taught me a value trick on the first time i helped built a new chicken coop. Simple put most people only fence 5 sides. If you dig 3 /4 inches deeper place thin nose fencing for the diggers.. if you ever use animal cage to trap a raccoon or other predator couldn't sealed.
You might want to put a sturdy wire mesh across the bottom of the enclosure to keep animals from burrowing in, those rebar spikes are still wide enough for something like a fox or weasel to squeeze through. There are a lot of smaller predators that squeeze through tight spaces.
Have a radio playing 24/7 is a simple an easy thing to help keep predators away
My neighbor installed a motion detector that turned on a radio that played Mexican music. Kept deer out of his garden!
well done & you have some cool looking chickens
Thank you. We love them
Won’t you be my neighbor?! 🎼🎶
That coop is amazing!
Hahaha yes I will
Glad to see the half by half hardware cloth around the bottom. Most sources online will tell you that skunks need a 4 inch hole to get through but this is wrong, smaller skunks can get through the 2 by 4 welded wire.
Also, excellent work on the bird netting around the tree. It looks very professional. As for the dig defense around the bottom, if it were to be a more permanent chicken run, you could get that hardware cloth about a foot taller and bend an L at the bottom and bury it about 4 inches under the ground with the leg of the L facing outwards so that if anything tries to dig in it will hit the wire and not be able to go further down.
I agree with a using a buried hardware cloth curtain, but it eventually rusts out at ground level. I think the welded spikes are genius, and a perfect welding project for a beginner (like me!)
A cheap solution is the lay chicken wire flat on the ground around the exterior, best if actually barred an inch or two underground, it's also a great solution if you have a problem with dogs digging holes under fences.
It's all so nicely done! Maybe a couple of scarecrows might help beef up security, although it doesn't look like you left out anything!
We thought about putting up owl decoys as a scarecrow
@@KomarProject Flash tape and the flashing red lights do seem to deter owls WHILE THEY ARE FLASHING. And that is the hole in using them. They stop flashing too early in the a.m. before the owls stop hunting. So they are good additions AFTER you have a secure house and run. NOT replacements for a secure house and run.
It looks great, I would suggest adding a second lock uncase someone forgets to lock it up whe they leave.
I love your chickens, They are so cute. Your work and recommendation are informative. Love it. Thanks for sharing
It's coming along nicely. Gott love the eggs. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Keep making. God Bless.
Thanks, you too!
Weasels got my niece's chickens. She lived in a suburb, where you would not normally expect to see predators that size.
That’s actually quite nice, I honestly never knew that there are creatures that could dig underground and then come out just to eat the little chickens
Bart the chicken coop da villa still looks as good as the day you built it as for the additions we'll all I can say is it's just turned coop da villa into Fortknox coop da villa, that things almost impenetrable by any predators known to man !!!. This video just like many of your previous videos had me doubled over in laughter what with Rupaul and Tony Montana let alone Mack N Cheese 🧀 🤣 who or how on earth do you come up with these name choices 🤔 nomatter just brilliant!!! As always buddy 💯% 👍 🇬🇧.
We had chickens when I was a kid we installed chicken wire around a perimeter with a tree in the middle for the chickens to roost at night, chickens are birds after all. As for predators digging under the fence well the ground was so hard under 4 inches of soil you needed a pick and bar to dig a few inches, it was coyote proof.
This is the baddest coop very sharp and the run u made I agree u did everything u cud. Nice build great content. Thanks
Love your energy and tips! Thank you very much! Bless you and your Family.
You are so welcome and thank you
Yeeaahhh, this is why I live in the city because we ALL have different talents.
Thank you. We are starting our chicken Clucking journey.
I like your chicken run as well as your upgrades. Thank you for sharing.
Your workshop is amazing! :)
I perused CL and found 150' of chainlink fence for free! cleared away the grass out side the run, put 8" of fence inside the run, then replanted the grass outside the run to make walking easier. Nothing can dig through that chainlink except mice and worms
thats a great tip. lots of people dig under it as well.
IMPRESSIVE!!! Awesome!!!
Like the Timberland commercial. Snakes can still get in.
Beautiful coop!!
Thanks for sharing.
Glad to see I'm not the only one with cameras in coop. Lol
I got one in the run too
Timberland Pros are the best……
Good plan; however, if you have Great Horned Owls they may be able to dive through the netting on the top. Also, we have rat snakes that could easily get through the 2x4 wire. One more round MIGHT deter them - maybe. (Supposedly, snakes can only extend 2/3rds of their bodies. However, they can climb a lot better than most of us realize.)
Raccoons and the like can get through the netting. The half-inch mesh you put on the bottom is inadequate to keep out snakes, and you will need 1/4 inch to keep out snakes. If you could stick a pencil through it a snake can get in. For mine, I buried some like the commenter below stated; however, I like the way you did it.
What a great coop! Thanks for your video.
Definitely want to build something like this once I settle down somewhere. Right now priority for my folks I advise is preventing wild birds from getting to the chickens as bird flu is really bad right now. Same with getting folks to vaccinate for rabbit hemorrhagic virus with their rabbit hutch/runs and building a run that prevents contact with wild rabbits.
I realize this video is a yr ago and things might have changed since then. But if you use a roller and paint your wire fence black, you’ll be able to see through it without obstruction. The silver makes it hard to see in or through it. Try it, pretty awesome.
I use electric fence around bottom middle and top of cage and for best results ground the fencer to the cage itself. Any predator gets a taste of that juice all of a sudden loses their appetite for chicken and forget their way back. Best protection and less expensive
Nice run. The chickens will love it.
For the ground spikes it's basically dig defence. We have it around our yard too keep my dog from pulling a houdini
Bart I just discovered your channel. You are a charming host and accomplished craftsman with great ideas. Your chickens are cute too ;) Consider me a new fan!
I ALSO have a Roo-Paul! I named him because he spent his first 8 months as a hen in disguise that didnt crow. He looked like my white pltmouth rock. I'm serious: no special saddle feathers, no giant comb/waddle, just "another" hen!
That’s awesome!!!! We had the same thing with Patricia. Now it’s Patrick. Took about 8 months too
You’re awesome wish we had a handyman such as yourself at our home in Hawaii!!
Well you just gained another subscriber. From Texas love your work y’all.
Two staffies stop anything bothering our chooks. They are straight up and straight outside through the pet door unless they have settled in the kennel, then any fox is dead. They pee all around the fences as a warning so any foxes know exactly what they are getting themselves into. A chook got locked out last night and spent the night right next to the pet door, it's definitely not stupid that one.
I wish my house wasn’t on a hillside so I could build a bunch of animals areas! Lol but this is amazing!