How To Safeguard Your Backyard Chickens From Predators?
With the escalating price of eggs, there's a growing trend of raising backyard chickens. Not only do chickens aid in controlling ticks and grubs, but they also provide fresh eggs, eliminating the need to purchase store-bought ones. Plus, chickens make for excellent pets for people of all ages.
Free-range chickens enjoy a diversified diet of bugs and grasses, which helps reduce the amount you spend on chicken feed. This varied diet results in richer tasting eggs, which studies have shown to contain higher levels of beta-carotene and magnesium.
Apart from dietary benefits, having your chickens roam freely keeps their coop cleaner as they spend more time outdoors, getting ample exercise. This contributes to their overall health. However, free-range chickens are vulnerable to predators.
Tips for Creating a Safe-Free Range Space
If you're venturing into keeping chickens, you'll first need a chicken coop. It should be elevated and insulated to keep out cold drafts during winter. Full-grown chickens don't require heat lamps as their feathers provide insulation. In extremely cold conditions, they huddle together for warmth. Baby chicks, on the other hand, require warmth and are typically started in a home or garage space.
Avoid crowding the coop. Each chicken should have about three to five square feet of space in the coop. Outside, they require approximately ten square feet per chicken. For instance, if you have ten chickens, you'll need 100 square feet of space outside and 30 to 50 square feet in the coop.
Chickens enjoy foraging and are perfect for disposing of vegetable scraps. You can throw your fruit and vegetable peels and ends into their free-range space for them to snack on.
Store chicken feed in a rodent-proof container. Rats and mice are attracted to chicken feed, but ensuring it's not left out in the open can keep these pests at bay. A rodent-proof, water-proof, waste-proof chicken feeder is also beneficial.
Use Flexible Fencing to Keep Your Chickens Safe
Easy Pet Fence may be designed for keeping traditional pets within their yard, but it's also perfect for protecting your free-range chickens. The dig-proof and chew-resistant fencing prevents foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and other predators from burrowing under it, and the flexible fencing is impossible for predators to climb.
Our fences are simple to install. You don't need a post-hole digger or a shovel. Drive the no-dig sleeves into the ground anywhere between 10 to 20 feet apart, with 15 feet being ideal. We provide a driving cap for easy installation. Insert the posts into the no-dig sleeves and use the included self-locking ties to attach the fencing to each post. Secure the steel tension cable to the top of your mesh fencing to hold your fence in place. If you have trees around your property, you can also use the trees to secure your fencing.
Our kits also come with an optional no-dig barrier that attached to the bottom of the fence to deter digging. Consider placing the dig-proof section on the outside of the fencing where predators will attempt to dig under the fence to reach your chickens. Normally, youPredatory animals like raccoons, coyotes, and foxes make raising chickens tough. Read more from Easy Pet Fence to learn what you can do to keep them safe.'d place this extra section against the inside fence line, but moving it to the outside creates a barrier that deters predators from trying to dig under your fence.
The no-dig barrier is secured to the ground using included 12-inch kinked ground stakes. The design of the kinks combined with the rust-resistant galvanization process keeps them lasting long. Drive them into the ground using a mallet or hammer.
Can't Chickens Fly Out?
Typically, chickens don't fly higher than six feet, but there are exceptions. In certain circumstances, such as when frightened or chased, they can fly higher and further. This is why we recommend a seven-foot fence for optimal protection. A higher fence not only prevents your chickens from escaping but also discourages predators from attempting to jump over.
However, the placement of objects within your chicken's enclosure can affect their ability to fly out. Items like chairs, planters, coops, or tables could inadvertently act as launching pads for your chickens. If they climb onto these objects, they could potentially reach the top of the fence and escape. To prevent this, it's crucial to keep such objects away from the edges of the fenced areas.
Also, consider regularly clipping your chickens' flight feathers. This does not hurt the chicken if done properly, and it greatly reduces their ability to fly. However, this should be done with care, understanding, and after proper research or consultation with a vet or poultry expert.
It's worth noting that while a higher fence helps keep your chickens safe, it should not replace active supervision and management. Regularly checking on your chickens, ensuring they have enough food and water, and providing them with a secure coop for nighttime are all important aspects of keeping your backyard chickens safe and happy.
How Do You Protect From Birds of Prey?
Investing in a fence that coyotes, foxes, and neighborhood cats and dogs can't penetrate helps keep your chickens safe. However, you'll still need to consider threats from hawks and owls.
Hawks and owls will naturally target your free-range chickens. Having a rooster can help fend off predators, but there are other protective measures to consider. Consider covering the chickens’ area with a mesh tarp. For a 20’ x 20’ area, cover the entire yard with a 20’ x 20’ mesh tarp. Bird netting, available in sizes up to 100’ x 100’, can be easily strung across the top of your fencing and secured with cable ties to deter birds of prey.
If this isn't feasible, stretch thick fishing line from one side to the other in diamond patterns. Cover enough space to prevent a hawk or owl from fitting through the open sections, thereby protecting your chickens. Although a hawk may seem small, its wingspan often stretches a few feet, so you can leave squares that large to deter the predators.
Do you have a dog? If your dog is friendly with your chickens, let them interact. A dog's presence can deter hawks and owls. Dogs and chickens usually get along well. Introduce them gradually and supervise their time together while they get used to each other.
When you purchase flexible, dig-proof fence kit from Easy Pet Fence, you ensure your chickens' safety. As our kits come with all of the hardware and most of the tools you need for the installation, you won’t need more than your standard household tools for a DIY setup.
Visit us online and start designing your fence. We have comprehensive installation instructions if you need help. You can also call us with any additional questions or to have a professional installer install a Easy Pet Fence fence for you.