![]() ![]() “It depends on your flock’s needs, but we usually recommend electrified poultry netting as a way to keep your birds safe. ![]() If your flock is allowed to range, you might also want to look into protecting the birds while they are outside of the coop. If you have no power near your coop, invest in a solar LED motion light.” Plus, it gives you light if you have to go out at night to check on the flock. Motion lights around your coop are also a great way to keep out predators, “When they trigger the light to come on,” Ludwick says, “most predators will run away. This will stop pretty much any critter from burrowing. This will keep them from swooping down and taking a chicken.Īnd if you have predators that are trying to burrow their way into the run, dig an eight- to 12-inch trench around the whole run and bury hardware cloth in the ground. On all outdoor runs, Ludwick also recommends that you wire the top of the run to protect it from hawks circling overhead. Two-inch mesh wire is cheaper but could allow in minks and weasels that could potentially kill your whole flock in one night. On the outdoor runs, suggests Ludwick, “Only use either one-inch mesh chicken wire or hardware cloth. Also make sure any ventilation holes you have in the coop are screened off with chicken wire, hardware cloth, or good, tight netting. Secondly, suggests Ludwick, elevate your coop off the ground to keep it free of rodents like mice and rats. “The most important part of a secure coop,” says Jason Ludwick, owner of Coops for a Cause in Meredith, New Hampshire, “is making sure you can lock all the doors at night.” He advises using sliding bolt locks or a type of latch that locks into place, and not using handles on your doors that are easy for an animal to put its paw on and open. So, what can you do to protect your birds when such predators are constantly lurking? Protecting Your Coop Inside and Out Safety is especially important when new chicks are being transitioned to outdoor coops, where they may not yet fully know the boundaries of the yard.īut predators are in all parts of the world, and there is quite a list of potential danger coming from both above and below. For the protection of our flocks, it’s crucial that we take the proper precautions necessary to keep our precious birds safe. Thomas – Just as it is anywhere birds are kept, in the northeast, we have several predators that pose a serious threat to backyard flocks. ![]()
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