Just in case a predator like birds of prey come sailing overhead. How to Make Your Chicken Coop Predator-Proof - PetHelpful A chicken tunnel, also known as a chunnel, is an extension of the chicken coop/run. Chicken tunnels for the garden or outdoor area have become a trend among chickeneers, especially in urban settings. Patricia Foremans City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Laying Hens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-recyclers and Local Food Suppliers is, as its title suggests, aimed at city dwellers who want to keep a few hens. Its sized to fit on a raised garden bed so the chickens can till up the soil with their scratching. In my experience, these fences rarely work to keep chickens in, but they will keep predators out. Photo by Kimberlee Bastien. We worked with Joe Ramey of Circo Innovations in Grass Valley, Calif. to design two easy-to-build coops that anyone from age 9 to 90 can assemble using no special tools. Now, youll need to make the ends of the chicken tunnel out of plywood pieces, which will help shape and reinforce the run. DIY Movable Chicken Runs - Grit Predator Guard introduces a pair of flashing red lights that animals assume is a set of eyes. Conclusion: How Do You Predator-Proof the Bottom of a Chicken Coop. Adding a roof the run has many benefits. Kathy (the "Chicken Chick") says that a sturdy hen house is a top priority for protection against predators. Remember that when building your chunnels, dont let your chickens have access to the garden itself because they will destroy it. Leave at least 3/4 inch of mesh overhanging at each end of the boards. Free Chicken Coop Plans also participates in affiliate programs with Clickbank, ShareASale, and other sites. Thank you Pasindu! Mark one circle in the middle, overlapping the two plywood pieces. I will definitely send this post to him. 15 Easy to Build Chicken Run Ideas on a Budget - Eco Peanut The first thing that I bought on Amazon was called Predator Guard (there are also other kinds of predator deterrent lights available on Amazon). Fowl Stuff is a Michigan company that has designed an injection-molded cover that adapts 3- and 5-gallon pails for use as nesting boxes. Their exteriors are clad in welded wire mesh, and youll need easy-to-use J-clip pliers to join the welded wire sections. Bonus! You can use whatever fasteners you have available just make sure you use them. Looking for some movable chicken coop ideas? Chicken wire doesnt last nearly as long as more sturdy options. You'll find tips for slashing heating bills, growing fresh, natural produce at home, and more. A removable panel of 2-by-4-inch welded wire mesh covers the bottom, which gives the chickens room to scratch but is easy to take off if you wish to set the coop on a garden bed and let the chickens till in their manure. Although this design is predator-proof, its not permanent. To exclude deer and other critters, and to. I think Advan Tech OSB Subfloor is a really great choice considering your chickens will be putting a lot of moisture on the floor from the top. or outdoor area have become a trend among chickeneers, especially in urban settings. Lastly, you get to sit and watch them roam and run through the tunnels. Hey all, I'm rather new to chickens, I have 16 between the ages of 4 and 8 weeks. You can have signs of predators all around you but none will dare come near the coop. It wont take long before they recognize your call and the promise of goodies will have them flocking to the coop at dusk every evening. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $5 and get 6 issues of MOTHER EARTH NEWS for only $17.95 (USA only). Predator-Proof Chicken Coop - Lay Some Eggs It may not display this or other websites correctly. You are using an out of date browser. Widely regarded as an expert in small-scale chicken breeding and raising, plus how to put chickens to work, Ussery also discusses ducks, geese and other kinds of poultry within the book. The hens patrol around the garden on the lookout for weeds, seeds, worms, tiny pieces of stones and (best of all) bugs. Make sure you check your state and local regulations to learn the best way to manage the predators you capture. Urine and feces smell will keep predators at bay at night as well. Take a look at these considerations for building a sauna for your own home including heaters, location, size, and interior. that we have seen! Greedy little pigs, thats not very likely to happen. Keep your hens safe with these 24 features youll find on a predator-proof chicken coop. Hens are great converters of kitchen waste into valuable manure for the garden, and every chicken owner we know takes a lot of pleasure in just watching the chickens noodle around in the yard. The book then takes the reader through every step of keeping backyard birds, from choosing a breed to using the eggs, as well as some philosophical asides, such as, Should I take a $5 chicken to the vet? The books style is easy and comfortable, with lots of humor tucked in. Shipping and taxes calculated at checkout. These flashing lights will startle most predators and disrupt their hunting behavior. Once you are done, you can sit back and enjoy the show. The run is tall enough to walk in and also has a roof to keep the flock safe. Start kitchen gardening at home and become an expert in choosing the best crops and preparing your garden site. Of course, if youd like to use your own materials, you can see detailed diagrams on Circos website. Tunnels provide your chickens places to do what comes naturally, and thats to scratch and pick at the ground. In just one day, they cleared our garden path to bare dirt. (rarely used, prefabricated chicken tunnels occasionally come in this shape). LaySomeEggs.com may contain links to affiliate websites, and I receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. Predators are constantly finding new ways to get to their prey, so it is important to have multiple layers of protection. Predators seek out chickens in a number of ways. By using Coke bottle greenhouses, I avoid this issue. The rectangular coop kit is less expensive because it doesn't use pre-bent hoops, and because the white pipe is less costly. Lay down the hardware cloth and cover it with a layer of topsoil. If you simply can not remember to close up your chickens at night or youre not home in the evenings, the best way to protect your flock is to take advantage of a nifty piece of modern technology: automatic chicken doors. One of the biggest mistakes you can make while keeping a flock of backyard chickens is to not provide them adequate predator protection. Bastiens flock made short work of the tall grass around this fruit tree. Instead of walking over and around your chickens tunnels around the yard, why not build up and construct an elevated pass over or bridge? While chicken wire is a more economical choice, in the long run, its a poor investment. And be sure to make at least one gate wider than the widest object (garden cart, tiller, whatever) you will. Kimberlee Bastien is a homesteader and author who traded her suburban life for a century-old farm where she and her husband challenged themselves to learn 52 homesteading skills in a year. For more information, call Circo at 877-762-7782. I personally dont use chicken wire because predators can easily tear through it. One mistake beginner chicken keepers do all the time is using chicken wire around their chicken coop and run. If budget is an issue and you're mainly concerned about raccoons reaching in, then hardware cloth up the bottom few feet of the run only. But Anatolian Shepherds, Maremmas, and Akbash dogs are also breeds you can consider that have excellent guarding instincts. Many thanks for this valuable and detailed post about Chicken Tunnels For The Garden. If keeping an extra large dog on your property simply isnt an option, you might be able to mimic having one. However, sometimes it is not feasible for the chicken to be allowed to roam freely where they want to go. Consider adding these features to predator-proof your chicken coop. This will prevent raccoons from lifting the top. If you wish to construct a moat yourself, I offer the following suggestions: So there it is. It seems that everything wants to eat chickens: neighborhood dogs, raccoons, foxes, weasels, and even chicken hawks. Make sure you construct your coop with heavy gauge hardware. Chickens love to be outside. Center it over the ends, and affix it to the top of each end cap with a large washer and a screw. The width should be a minimum of 2. For areas where you would like to put chickens wire use 1/2 galvanized hardware cloth instead. Some smaller predators, like rats, can easily chew their way through the coop floor in just one night, so it cant hurt to protect the floor too! Here are some of the things I did when I designed my chicken coop and run. You must have a safe, predator-proof chicken coop. To support the lids, add two small lips parallel to each other on both sides (see photo, below). Use Two Step Locks. It goes without saying that your chickens benefit from any form of free-ranging. Chickens love to eat insects and will reduce the number of harmful insects that invade your garden. When it comes to chicken coops, one of the most important things you can do to protect your flock is to make sure it is predator-proof. You can then wire your inner fence to your outer one, as shown in the detail drawing. Plus, nothing can beat those farm-fresh eggs! Adding lips to the 18-inch holes will allow you to utilize the cutouts as lids. To raise chickens, you don't need a lot of money or land. Hopefully, by taking these precautions to create a predator-proof chicken coop, your predator problems will be at an end and your biggest backyard-chicken-keeping-challenge will be what to name your new chicks! The hoop coop structures have the option of being a dual purpose building - livestock and vegetable production. The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. This helps them to fuel their natural instincts. This portable predator proof chicken coop DIY is low-cost and easy to make for just about anyone. Either way, youll have a blast building them. This new and improved incarnation of the portable chicken coop is designed for three to four chickens, and anybody can build it. They will need a place or two where they can quickly run to hide when they sense danger. If you fail to collect eggs every day, they are sitting in there like little orbs of bait, attracting all kinds of predators. Instead, construct your shelter with - hardware cloth. Dogs are really useful on a farm. These dogs naturally seem to be paranoid and spend time patrolling the property, barking at anything that comes on their radar, and peeing all over the place to let others know theyre there. The most common livestock guardian dog breeds are Great Pyrenees. Their natural desire is to protect their ladies. Above Ground Chicken Tunnels Fencing Right triangle (typically used along fencing), Left triangle (typically used along fencing). Just as the bridge for your chicken tunnel system, the underground passage is yet another ingenious integration of chicken tunneling. Having a few laying hens in the backyard has almost become the icon of today's. Free Chicken Coop Plans is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. They preferred the cover of pine trees and one by one, they were eventually taken by Barred owls. It's sturdy and not easily ripped open, unlike chicken wire which is not predator-proof and better left for the craft cabinet. It can be made from wood and shingles, corrugated metal, or even plastic sheeting used in greenhouses. How to Predator-Proof Your Chicken Coop - Raydient Places These are often constructed by digging a trench down 12 around the entire perimeter of your chicken run and burying the hardware cloth beneath the ground. When chickens are overcrowded it makes them susceptible to bad behavior such as feather picking and diseases and illness. It gets cold here in the winters and hot here in the summers. DIY Home Biodiesel Production: Make Your Own Fuel. They love to explore, scratch in the grass and hide under large plantings for afternoon naps. Chili has a long history in American cooking and Southwestern culinary tradition, with simple ingredients and broad appeal. We have a post on cold-hardy chicken breeds here to help you out: https://backyardchickenproject.com/cold-hardy-chicken-breeds/. Construct a Chicken Moat for Effective Garden Pest Control, Ep. I also have many backyard predators. It is important that every chicken has enough space to feel like they can move around. Predators who might dig their way in won't dig a tunnel, they'll just dig enough to get under the frame in order to get in. Having the chicken tunnel fence act as the third support wall of the tunnel, you spend less money on materials. DIY Home Biodiesel Production: Make Your Own Fuel. Deer can easily clear a single tall fence, but they cant find enough room in the six-foot-wide moat to gather themselves for a second leap. Follow when to start seeds indoors, zone 6 tips, and a calendar for your successful indoor seed starting. This material is strong and flexible, simple to work with, and is easily cut with an X-Acto or utility knife. Our expert outlines processing used cooking oil in a small DIY plant. We designed the first portable chicken coop using green pipes with the idea that urban and suburban folks may want to make their coop as unobtrusive and attractive as possible. I may also earn a commission when you buy through other links on my site. Readers, this is the second of 12 basic homestead skills well be presenting throughout the year from Kimberlee Bastiens new book, 52 Homestead Skills. How to Predator Proof the Chicken Run - Tilly's Nest With the shorter 1-by-3 boards facing in, drape the wire mesh over the ends. Various materials are used in constructing a chunnel which range from wire to netting. Having a few laying hens in the backyard has almost become the icon of todays self-sufficiency movement. Cut the circles out with a jigsaw. Is 12 to 18 inches wide enough for a chicken tunnel? Dont risk losing your backyard chickens to predators! Small coops can be encircled with electric poultry netting to keep predators away. When you build your chicken coop, be sure that you keep it elevated off the ground. The protection of the enclosure, for the most part, keeps predators at bay. After youve assembled the run, create a small door in the wire mesh so you can gather your chickens into a movable chunnel before disassembling and then reassembling the unit around the next tree. Depending on the size of your predators (bears! Next, screw and glue eight of the 4-inch 1-by-3 boards about every 3 feet along the inside perimeter of what will be the bottom side of the roof. However, some dogs will go after chickens themselves, so you need to train them not to chase and "play" with them. The less space you allow, the more prone your chickens will be in the event a predator reaches in to grab your chickens. The tunnel system allows you to give your chickens a large, protected area in which to range and distribute manure while staying safe from predators. This allows the chickens a small protected area to eat and drink, even in the early morning or the evening. Bury hardware cloth 12 inches down all around the coop to protect from rodents and other burrowing animals. The fourth layer of protection could be a fence with deterrent spikes to stop predators from climbing over a fence. Photo by Ben Burghart. Do you have any suggestions for chickens that would fare well in Colorado weather and are good egg-producers? Some people have commented they thought theyd have to choose between their chickens or their garden but this solution accommodates both! And one last tip (the old free breakfast trick): Leave some old boards in the moat, and flip them over with a hoe handle each morning to expose hiding slugs. While you dont need all of these features on this list, I recommend you learn what the predators are in your area and tailor your coop to meet your needs. It is always a good idea to have a safe run enclosure for the chickens attached to their chicken coop even if they dont use it very often. Then place your hardware along the established route using . Position your trap near your coop and entice the predators with bait that is even more luring than the chickens themselves will be. If you have cats, elevate your coop floor about a foot off the ground. If its just a tunnel between the garden you'll let them used when you're out there only then you can probably get away without them. 6. When used in combination with other predator-proofing measures, they can be an effective way to protect chickens from harm. In white, it comes in 8-foot-wide rolls and costs about $10 per foot. is yet another ingenious integration of chicken tunneling. Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance, https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208, https://www.backyardchickens.com/thder-2020-version.1529488/page-7#post-25809665. I installed 4 of these little gadgets around my chicken coop, facing out in all four directions. Currently, my husband and I free range our feathered friends, which, for the most part, works out great. The completed rectangular coop kit costs around $300 less than the hooped coop, because it uses less expensive white plastic pipe, but it requires slightly more welded wire mesh. When chickens feel safe, they will be more productive with their egg laying. The eggs of free-ranging chickens are much tastier and nutrient-packed. You dont have to step over tunneling with this subterranean corridor by providing your chickens an underground connector! Dig it down just a few inches and then cover it with soil, wood chips, mulch or other plantings. About Us | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Cookie Policy / GDPR. If youre interested in knowing how to use the chicken manure from your coop into the garden, check out our article, Best Manure For The Vegetable Garden. Between the chicken tunnel and manure, youll have an incredible growing space! The chicken moat provides a clean edge around the garden, keeping down the migration of unwanted grasses, weeds and insects into our plot. Follow when to start seeds indoors, zone 6 tips, and a calendar for your successful indoor seed starting. Keeping Your Chickens Safe From Predators | Chicken Care - Eglu Smooth out the temperature range in your greenhouse by adopting one of these strategies for heating greenhouses. This is great except when youre planting fruit trees that cant compete with the grass. However, when faced with that classic country conundrum, Do I fence the garden or the chickens? I decided to make a modern adaptation of that medieval practice. Typically the chicken run should average approximately 10 square feet of space per bird. The closer the electric net spacing, the more effective it is against smaller predators. And also I like to use fresh pine shavings inside the coop. If you use this system in early spring, your chickens will also take care of any overwintering pests. What kind of fencing? An electric training collar can be an invaluable tool if your dog is bred to go after chickens (like a retriever). They may even try to range themselves right into your house because those chickens are no fools; they know where the food and treats come from. An electric training collar can be an invaluable tool if your dog is bred to go after chickens (like a retriever). CHICKEN DIY: 20 FUN-TO-MAKE PROJECTS FOR HAPPY, HEALTHY CHICKENS, STARTER COOPS: FOR YOUR CHICKENS' FIRST HOME, Large Chicken Tractor Plans for Raising Broilers. So always use metal locks that avoid rusting and require two steps to open- such as ones with a spring protected latch or a slide and twist mechanism. Raccoons are so smart that they can open any lock that a 2 year old child can. The perfect coop should be lightweight and easy to build even for a child or an older person yet it must be sturdy enough to keep predators away from the birds, and it shouldnt cost too much money. Some predators seek out chickens from the air and others hunt on the surface. Beyond the usual chicken husbandry and health information, the book also includes great tips on how to put your flock to work to build soil fertility, plus information on how to draft and pass local laws to permit laying hens. I really recommend you replace any chicken wire with 1/4 inch hardware cloth (Amazon) because it really works to keep all sorts of predators out of the chicken coop. Determine chicken predators that live in your area. Consider planting taller perennials to pull double duty as forage and cover from predators. You can install a right/left-sided triangular or square frame. At 39 1/2 inches wide and just under 9 feet long, its roomy for up to four birds, even with a third of it acting as an enclosed shelter. The fifth layer of protection could be predator deterrent lights. But one evening we had a raccoon break into our first chicken coop at dusk. We invite you to join Kimberlee and her family on their homesteading journey. Build an Affordable, Portable and Predator-Proof Chicken Coop. You didnt think having chickens could get this interesting, did you? Definitely not going to end well!). 176 Planning and Preparing a Garden for Spring. I set out to create a coop design that would be low-cost, easy to build, light enough to move easily and scaled to fit well even in small backyards, Long wrote. It will also sit on a 4-by-10-foot raised garden bed. Hoop Coops - Four Season Tools There are four basic shapes used in permanent, semi-permanent, and movable chicken tunnels. And weve quit losing hens to hawks since the moat was constructedthose raptors avoid the potential entrapment of two fences so close together. Roosters can be a great way to protect your backyard chicken flock from predators. Free 4x4x8 Chicken Coop And Run Plan For Four Chickens, FREE Chicken Coop Plan With Planter Box For Two Chickens, FREE 620 Chicken Coop Plan For Up To 15 Chickens, Free Chicken Coop Plan For Three Chickens, FREE Chicken Coop Plan for Two to Four Chickens, FREE 48 Chicken Coop Plan For 10 Chickens PDF (low design), FREE Chicken Coop Plan For 6 Chickens (or more! Watch Now: How to Truss a chicken Article Sources are hens less friendly when they have a rooster? To anyone thinking of getting one of those cute little coops. The second layer of protection could be an expertly designed predator-proof chicken coop (Amazon), which is a secure enclosure that keeps chickens safe against predators. Just like with the eggs sitting in the coop overnight, food scraps could work as a predator attractant. Erect your outer fence first, bracing it securely with diagonal posts at all corners and ends. Ussery discusses how to grow your own poultry feed, and how to use chickens in the garden to build soil health. A friend of mine raises chicken. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. However, some dogs will go after chickens themselves, so you need to train them not to chase and play with them. Just like the chunnel, this system isnt permanent. Also. The predator resistant chicken run of the Eglu Go features a protective skirt to keep your chickens safe inside The Predator Resistant Chicken Run The optional chicken run for the Eglu Go is made from strong steel weld mesh which is virtually impossible for predators to break. All were shrink-wrapped. Do's for Protecting Chickens from Predators. The area just in front of the bottom of your fence lines is wasted space. How to keep sparrows/wild birds out of run!? Try motion activated lights to spook predators away. Add 1 3/4-inch lips along the straight edges of one of the plywood semicircles by attaching two 35-inch 1-by-4 boards. Can you imagine having to try to figure out what to do with that? Leg problems. The design is simple and utilizes materials that are long lasting, recyclable, and biodegradable. When they grow to be too large, our hens would pace the perimeter searching for the smallest breach in the fence so they could scoot underneath and find freedom. At MOTHER EARTH NEWS for 50 years and counting, we are dedicated to conserving our planet's natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. Weeds, insects, rabbits, ground hogs and even deer are barred from entry by the double wall of fencing and the ever-diligent patrol flock.