Best way to make a coop secure ???

[chickennuggt]

Im planning on building a new coop for my chickens and I'm new to raising chickens can anyone tell me a ways to build a chicken coop to be secure from raccoons? And i live in Michigan

 

[JWChickens]

How you secure your coop depends on your budget and your setup. If you are worried about coons at night, you have a few options. Whether you use an automatic or manual coop door, you want something you can lock/latch or that automatically locks. Hardware cloth on windows or ventilation openings works as well. You can also completely enclose your run, but depending on the size of the run, that can be really expensive.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Raccoons are good at working simple latches and pulling chickens through chicken wire so hardware cloth is a must as are good latches. I secure mine with caribiners every night as well. Depending on how bad your raccoon population is they can attack during the early morning and evening as well. An exterminator told me they leave scent trails for other raccoons to follow and if something bad happens on a certain trail the scent will serve as a warning to others to stay away. So make sure something bad happens if you catch one around. He suggested a baseball bat lol but just a big dog managed to prevent one from returning to my coop last time we had an infiltration (old setup). Also it helps if the attack isn't successful. Any predator will return if it is successful once.

 

[629864]

While our livestock guardian dogs cannot resist a free chicken snack that stupidly hops over the fence, those same dogs are (I have zero doubt) the only reason we haven't had a single predator even attempt to come near the chicken enclosure. Yes, chickens and guineas have both been taken by coyotes, but only when they venturned out of the confines of the fenced area around our house before dawn...and always on the far side well away from the dogs. During the day, our presence and the dogs' ferocious bark deter predators far beyond the fence line and the birds roam further afield with daylight. I wish I could enclose their run with hardware cloth, but our budget simply cant afford that.

 

[JWChickens]

While our livestock guardian dogs cannot resist a free chicken snack that stupidly hops over the fence, those same dogs are (I have zero doubt) the only reason we haven't had a single predator even attempt to come near the chicken enclosure. Yes, chickens and guineas have both been taken by coyotes, but only when they venturned out of the confines of the fenced area around our house before dawn...and always on the far side well away from the dogs. During the day, our presence and the dogs' ferocious bark deter predators far beyond the fence line and the birds roam further afield with daylight. I wish I could enclose their run with hardware cloth, but our budget simply cant afford that.

When I first started raising chickens (only about three years ago) We got a premade coop with a completely enclosed run (10' x 10'). We had one chicken die (strangled through the fence). We put plastic garden hardware cloth around the base of the run and it works pretty well. If I had the budget and know-how, I'd consider using horse wire (the 2" x 4" welded wire fencing) and put the much cheaper plastic fencing around the base. While the welded wire is expensive, if you wanted to put it overhead, it'd keep out flying/climbing things and the plastic fence would only be needed around the bottom where the raccoons would be reaching through the fence to get the chickens.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

When I first started raising chickens (only about three years ago) We got a premade coop with a completely enclosed run (10' x 10'). We had one chicken die (strangled through the fence). We put plastic garden hardware cloth around the base of the run and it works pretty well. If I had the budget and know-how, I'd consider using horse wire (the 2" x 4" welded wire fencing) and put the much cheaper plastic fencing around the base. While the welded wire is expensive, if you wanted to put it overhead, it'd keep out flying/climbing things and the plastic fence would only be needed around the bottom where the raccoons would be reaching through the fence to get the chickens.

Raccoons can climb too. That's how our attack happened-he waddled along the neighbors' fence and dropped into our run (tore the bird netting). Another neighbor had raccoon fur stuck four feet up her secured run.

 

[bruceha2000]

ALL openings need to be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth. Attach it with poultry/fence staples (NOT Arrow type staple gun staples, other than for positioning), wood strips screwed into structural wood or screws and fender washers.

Your coop needs VENTILATION no matter where you live. That also needs to be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth.

If your coop doesn't have a solid floor, skirt 1/2" hardware cloth down and out to keep predators from digging under walls/fences. You might want 2x4 wire fencing skirted out around a run to keep dogs/coyotes/wolves from digging under the fence.

If you have a small run the bottom foot or two needs to have 1/2" hardware cloth to keep raccoons from snagging a chicken (they like to sleep against walls). Raccoons also climb so if you have a run without a secure top you'll need to be careful.

Coons are NOT only night hunters, I had one come into the barn several hours before sunset. I saw it as I was getting scratch to call the girls in to keep them safe from a coon that had already gotten into a non secure coop and killed a hen it had found being broody on a nest of non fertile eggs the night before (3 AM) outside of the fenced area. We had no idea where she was, assumed she had become fox food a week earlier since the was the last time we had seen her. I put her in the "spare" coop (horse stall) at 3:30 AM not realizing there was a gap at the top. The coon got into the barn the next night and did the usual coon thing: ate the head, neck and crop, left the rest.

Weasels can get in VERY small holes, make sure there are NONE going into the coop. I believe weasels tend to be night time predators so as long as the chickens are locked in the coop at night they will be safe.

 

[JWChickens]

Raccoons can climb too. That's how our attack happened-he waddled along the neighbors' fence and dropped into our run (tore the bird netting). Another neighbor had raccoon fur stuck four feet up her secured run.

Yep. That’s why you either have a wire overhead or secure your coop at night. You can do with the horse wire in the overhead because chickens won’t be in the overhead, so even if the raccoon reaches through, he is not in arm’s reach of a chicken. It is super important to cover areas where chickens may get close to the wire.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My chickens were sleeping on top of their coop when this happened. I usually put them in but of course the one night I didn't... We have a totally different setup now but hard lesson learned

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It's ok he didnt get any of them. I heard Weezy screaming (it was almost human it was so creepy!) and ran out with the dog and eventually scared him away. He was a jerk-stared me down while I threw rocks at him and even pointed the air pistol. If the cartridge hadn't been empty I could have got him between the eyes