There are a pack of stray dogs and stray cats in the new neighborhood, and in time I'm soon we will have a visit from a fox or coyote, so we want to be prepared. We keep improving our fencing, but it still doesn't seem to be good enough.
HOW do you keep predators from DIGGING under your fence? And how to you predator proof without investing several hundred dollars in your birds? It's getting so expensive that I've considered buying eggs again after 4 years of raising hens. This morning, I saw evidence of digging under the fence. Something is after my girls again and I'm out of ideas to protect them.
Is there a temporary fix? The animal will be back tonight, I'm sure of it.
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Tried to insert a picture (darn it would not work) of hog wire Laura to make sure you have what I'm talking about - very sturdy sometimes called hardware cloth in 1/2 and 1/4 inch holes. You can certainly double fence. You can attach with hog rings and make sure you bury the bottom section "out". You can google hardware cloth 'image'.
Glad you clarified. I think our version of hog wire is closer to 4-5inch holes. Hardly holds anything in. The hardware cloth I have heard of and since our coop and run are so large, I was trying to avoid it... I think it's pretty expensive.
Thank you!!
Are your hens completely free ranged or are they cooped up with a run? We have coyotes in our neighborhood so we were forced to keep the hens closed up with a coop and a 6x10 run when we are not around. When we constructed the fence for our run we dug trenches and buried cinder blocks under where the fence would be constructed. We havent seen and signs of digging yet, but I'm confident the cinder blocks will do the trick. I would focus on securing your birds in a coop and run before predator-proofing your entire yard.
we won't be predator proofing the entire yard! oh, heck no! but we do need to replace the fence entirely at some point when we can afford it. There are loose ends that let in any curious animal far too easily. For now, we'll focus on the coop and run, but all that metal fencing still adds up. Cinder blocks are a great idea. I wonder what you think of dirt packed tires instead? I saw someone use one as a dirt bath for their hens... I'm thinking of a dual purpose, eh? If you lined the run with dirt packed tires, there'd be a dirt bath for each hen and a solid base.. Maybe it's too much work. Certainly too much by nightfall tonight, but a good idea long term.
Can you install an electrical fence on the perimeter of the property? The woman we used to buy eggs from installed one and let the hens free range during the day, but made sure they were all inside the electric fence overnight.
I wondered about that. I thought electric fencing only worked for the dogs that had the electric collars. I'm not to keen on an open electric current that I can also walk into...
Three words: Livestock Guardian Dog
And if you can't or are unwilling to do that...you might have to get ugly, with traps and/or Golden Malrin for poison. Or sit outside and wait with one of those high-powered pellet guns which are usually enough to kill cats and smaller dogs...and aren't considered a firearm. That method was successfully used to kill a tomcat that didn't want to be trapped, and wouldn't stop screaming while sitting on my son's windowsill (scaring him). Sometimes you have to be practical about which animals it's more important to protect.
oh, we're ready to get ugly. we've priced the high-powered pellet guns. and i've chased down one of the dogs with my car. sorry, folks... i love animals but not animals that kill other animals repeatedly... and threaten people when they walk down the street. Check this one out: http://www.airgundepot.com/walther-nighthawk-air-pistol-green.html
haha. ah well.
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