Anyone give me some advice on chicken fencing?

Interceptor

I want to get some chickens and build a run which keeps foxes, dogs and cats out. I have a half acre and want to build a run to keep six chickens. Anyone bought or built an electric fence and where did you get it?

I have an old 8' x 8' garden shed which I will put perches and nest boxes in but I live in the boonies and have foxes and wild cats to deal with.

I can fence off a strip of grass but don't know if 6' high is high enough or what type of electric fence power supply to use.

Any advice?

kthxbai,

'cptr

Sigma Force

Foxes can scale high fences so it's not the height really that you have to worry about you need to be able to cover the top of the pen with wire too. If you can do that that will keep out the foxes. Also bury the wire into the ground as fas as you can.

Timber posts with chainlink fence should be fine. You can get much stronger runs not sure a cill dara runs bars would be narrow enough but there is another company that do runs with smaller gaps. These are hot dipped galvanised runs which last a lifetime and are designed to keep dogs in so will keep dogs and foxes out (but would still recommend a roof for the top.

Not sure where you are based but there's a crowd that do those heavy duty runs at the pet expo this weekend will be picking up a brochure.

The do work out dearer though than timber and wire.

Another alternative is an aviary type enclosure with 1/4 inch aviary wire which will keep out rodents, not as strong so may not keep out foxes. However I have an aviary with aviary wire patio base and never had any trouble and we're in the sticks.

Few options but the usual one for hen keeping is the timber and wire not familiar with elec fencing not sure how effective that would be a fox could go under or jump over it

LisaO

6' fence may be high enough if you angle top outwards to make it difficult to climb over but would still need to bury bottom at least a foot deep to deter determined foxes. If going the electric route you can buy an electric mesh fencing which is designed to keep undesirables out as much as keep your livestock in - not sure how this deals with problem of digging under though.

kerrysgold

you can also get electric mesh fencing which you could switch on at night after chooks have gone to bed to help prevent attacks.
also, half an acre and an 8x8 shed are more than enough for a few more hens, at least 10. you'd also be better off kind of making 2 runs, if they are going to be fixed, so you can let the hens in one area while the other is "resting" to let the grass recover or else you could end up with a bit of a mudbath especially with the weather at the moment. make sure the runs are a good size too, nothing worse than a small run, I can't stand these little tiny ready made hen houses with a run, they are ridiculous. not saying that's what you're doing, went a bit OT there lol. Anyway, good luck with you're chooks!

oh and as for the "wild" cats, do you mean ferals? If so, would you not try and TNR them? as well as helping them, you'll be helping yourself as they will only keep breeding and that means more cats each year to bother you and your chooks.

luckat

I've had good success in a fox-heavy suburb with a chain-link run, with the chain link going down six inches and out two feet at the bottom, and concrete blocks around the bottom, and the chain link also going over the top - don't forget about hawks, etc!

Also, don't forget to put a nice house in there for them, and one that you can get into to get the eggs and clean it out, but Ms Fox can't. And nice high roosts for the girls and boy.

You might even use one of the dog runs sold by Cill Dara, and run chain link or chicken wire under it, wired to the bottom of the run - that way you could take it to pieces and move it every now and then, so the girls could clean and de-bug and fertilise some of your ground.

http://www.cilldara.ie/dog-runs.asp

Do make sure to have something going underneath, though, or that cunning vixen will tunnel in and kill everyone.

Interceptor

Tunnels? Hawks? Good grief its more complicated than I thought! Good suggestion on the half-and-half kerrysgold - I'm going to look at how I lay out the enclosure.

@luckat - how high is your fence - I wouldn't want to replicate Guantanamo bay in my back garden...

'c

luckat

My chicken-run, which was built by ex-prisoners is about five feet on one side, slanting up to seven feet against the back wall, and it's made of chain-link fence, with a little roofed section and a door at one end.

It's going to be coming down soon, though - my neighbours didn't like my cock's crowing, and didn't really like the idea of chickens living near them during the bird flu hysteria, so as the girls died I didn't replace them, until I had just one left. She's now pensioned off down in Tipp, and when last heard of, was happily clocking on a setting of duck eggs.

Sigma Force

Another alternative is the Omlet it can be added on to for more chickens.
If you are looking for chickens there are battery hens that are always looking for homes they are still young and great layers esp. when their given a good diet and fresh air. I think there is a donation on only 1 Euro per hen as well as the people who rescue them have to buy them from the battery farm.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php

luckat

I wouldn't personally use the Omelet - too small. Not kind.

Sigma Force

Omlets are as kind as any other accomodation as you can make the run larger if you wish. Some people who use Omlets have the hens runnings around the garden during the day and then put them in there at night or when they are going off during the day. They are larger than they look on the web.