How deep should a fox barrier be on a chicken coop?
RDPD asked:
We are planning to build a chicken coop and run and note that it is recommended to place a solid barrier below ground level to prevent foxes and other predators from digging their way in. How far below ground level should the solid fox barrier be? ie how deep might they dig? Should we also place a chicken wire roof over the run as well or is that not necessary?
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We are planning to build a chicken coop and run and note that it is recommended to place a solid barrier below ground level to prevent foxes and other predators from digging their way in. How far below ground level should the solid fox barrier be? ie how deep might they dig? Should we also place a chicken wire roof over the run as well or is that not necessary?
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4 comments Wednesday 08 Apr 2009 | admin | Frequently Asked Questions
I have chickens. I have a building with a 8 x 12 foot coop inside, with a small door(a piece of plywood on a rope than slides up and down to open and close it) to an outdoor run. The run is made from an old dog kennel(chain link fence). We have fox and coyote around here, and have never had anything try to dig under the fence. If you really are concerned about it, I would say two feet deep would be more than enough. The other option is just to be sure they are closed up inside each night. I do let the hens free range sometimes, and last summer I forgot to close them in at night, and they went out early the next morning and six were eaten by the coyotes!!
We had some pheasant netting so we did cover the outside coop with it, but I am not sure that was really necessary either. Most people dont put anything over the tops of their runs around here(Minnesota, USA). Good luck, chickens are fun!!
To avoid having to dig really deep, you can put the barrier at a 45 degree angle and reduce the size of the barrier by half, say 6 inches. Also, if you’re worried enough to be thinking about an underground barrier, definitely go with the roof. I find that shade cloth from a hardware store works well, but you could do halves on the roof.
We had 8 chickens and just recently have lost 3. The first two were victims of a falcon. The third a victim of a gray fox. As I write this, the fox has made a den underneath our shed and is sleeping there now. I am trying to figure out what to do with him and my chickens. We let them free range in the yard and lock them in their coop at night. However, this fox attacked one of the chickens during the day and so did the falcon (while we were home and our 2 dogs in the yard). I called Fish and Game. They told me that I should dig at least a foot below ground level for the solid barrier or we could put electric fencing up. The wire roof over the run is a must as a hawk or falcon could easily get to your chickens without this protection. We didn’t know any of this as we are new to raising chickens. We are learning as we go along. Hopefully you and others can learn from our experience/mistakes. Good luck with your chickens. They are fun to raise and the eggs are delicious.
To be safe I’d say about half a metre-ish
Foxes are very good at digging and rarely give up on the scent of a prey.
They’re adaquet climbers so decent roofing would be a good idea also.
Garbage can attract them so dispose of it carefully in a bin rarther than just a bag.