Chicken Fencing To Keep Death And Mayhem From Happening In Your Back Yard

Chicken Fencing To Keep Death And Mayhem From Happening In Your Back Yard

It was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to let my 8 month old chickens free range in my back yard while I made a quick trip to the grocery store. My vegetable and fruit gardens were beautiful - when I left - and I was happy with myself for allowing my chickens to roam free with no fences hemming them in.

When I got home, I carried my groceries into the house and started putting everything away. I took a quicklook at the kitchen window to check on my chickens. I was horrified to see that they had completely trashed my vegetabl garden. They had pecked holes in my ripe tomatoes and had ripped vines out of the ground. I ran out the side door and as I rounded the corner to the back yard, I was almost mowed down my a hawk that had swooped down and killed one of my babies.

All in all, it turned out to be a very, very bad day. I learned my lesson that day and immediately set out to find the best fencing that I could find for chickens.

I can't emphasize enough that prior to you ever bring home new chickens, it's essential to learn how to put up proper fencing for chickens. If you forget to install fencing in your poultry yard and your chicken coop, you could lose a great deal of chickens. When you have a garden or flower beds, they are going to be left in ruins very quickly, as I soon found out,if youfail to protect them from your flock.

You need to decide what type of fencing materials you are going to use to protect your chickens. There are several options there for you depending on the amount of money you have available invest. I have seen more than a few chicken runs built using chain link and I wouldn't suggest it. Your chicks can squeeze through the links and predators can pull chickens through the wire.

The commonly used standby and most commonly used fencing is chicken or poultry fencing. This type of fencing is a mesh wiring that is kind of flimsy and has small holes in it. I usually use this fencing in conjuction with the more secure small square wiring as a second layer. I've had chickens be killed through the chicken or poultry mesh so I never utilize it without re-enforcements anymore.

You have to to construct a sturdy frame to connect your wiring to. I personally sank 4x4 posts into the ground and it is quite strong. I attach the chicken wiring on the inside and the heavier small square wiring on the outside. Having two layers of fencing installed this way leaves a fairly decent space between the two pieces of fencing materials and better protects my flock. I even have a friend who likes to be able to move her chickens around so she built an exceptionally strong frame that can be reloacated when she wants to. It truly is a pain but it can be done as I've found out!

Determine whether or not it's a good idea to actually burying a portion of the fence under the ground. I have never gone to this trouble but I know of instances where predators dug a hole under the fence and then killed the chickens. For anyone who is anxious about this, plan ahead of time and do it before you attach the wire to your frame.

When you assemble your chicken run be sure and plan for chicken access areas. I put wire doors on my chicken openings so that I can lock them up at dark. I have large chickens so it is still possible for other critters to gain access to the chicken run and chicken coop through the day but I always do a final check before I lock up for the night.

I also found electric fencing for chickens that works very well. It helps keep my chickens contained in the back yard where I want them to be and strongly discourages any predators from entering the yard. It is very strong and is not cost prohibitive to get set up. It doesn't hurt the chickens.

As an added note, I also landscaped the area around my chicken run and chicken coop. The plants offer shade and cover for the chickens and it makes the entire area look somewhat nicer. I use ever green type shrubs and plants so they are green year round.

Most types of fencing for chickens can be bought at the local hardware store. You can also go online and find a variety of product that you can have shipped directly to your door.

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