Keeping chickens safe

[Thomzo]

Ok guys, I need your help here.

I start a new job on the 1st which means that I won't get home till about 6pm. Once we put the clocks back it's going to be dark from 5 or earlier.

We have foxes here and I've already lost one girl to the fox.

My remaining 5 girls have a house which is a cosy wooden shed about 9-10 ft square. They also have a pop hole through to a run of about the same size. The run is quite flimsy. It is made of timber framed panels with a single layer of chicken wire. The panels have to be moveable so that I can get to the guttering of the shed. This means that they have to be quite flimsy.

In the past I have left the pop hole open until I get home and they have been safe enough from the foxes HOWEVER...

We move to wheelie bins next month. I remember in Bristol, when they got wheelie bins, the foxes started to get hungry and were much more aggressive. I've also heard that they will push their way through chicken wire if necessary.

So - do I leave the chooks locked in to a small space all day?

Or - do I let them have access to the run and worry all day about whether they are safe or not and risk the fox getting in?

Cheers
Zoe

[yugogypsy]

Do you have a neighbor that could close the pop hole for you at night?

We do it for our neighbours whenever they go away, I call it "chook-sitting" because we usually do it for a weekend.

Talk to your neighbours, maybe someone would be willing to help out.

Lois

[BonnieT]

Hi Thomso,

I am in exactly the same predicament. I have decided that it is safer to keep mine in their smaller, foxproof (I hope) run (built into the house a bit like an arc with chicken wire on the ground to prevent digging under) run during the weekdays and let them out to freely range the garden at the weekend (I have three in a space approximately 6ft by 3 foot). It is just not worth the risk.

I have also bought an electric fence which I intend to put around the outside of the run, and will be dotting solar powered lights around it (apparently this puts the foxes off). I think only then will I feel happy leaving them alone (they haven't arrived yet) in the dark.

On the subject does anyone know if electric fences are harmful to cats (beside the obvious electric shock that is!!) Mine is a 6V one and I am sure my cat will only touch it once, but I worry because the first thing to touch it will probably be his nose (out of curiosity) and I imagine an electric shock to the face is pretty unpleasent!

Good luck - I am sure your girls would prefer to be safe in a smaller run - I guess they also have the house to scratch around in too.

Bonnie

[Thomzo]

Hi guys
thanks for the ideas. My neighbours do look after the chooks when I go away but that's a bit different to doing it every day. I might ask them though as I could always pay them in eggs.

Also, my girls are ex-bats so they may not mind being locked up. After all, it's a much larger space than they had before.

Zoe

[Millymollymandy]

I don't know the answer, but I don't think it would be very nice to leave them shut indoors for 5 days of the week. I think I would try the electric fencing option around the run so they can go outside, hopefully, safely!