Steps have been taken! Although our chickens occasionally free range about the property, most of the time they are safely within their fenced run. We've had too many sad encounters with stray dogs, raccoons, foxes and other predators not to feel better with substantial protection for The Girls. There's a photo of the 'Chez Mays' (also known as the Coop du Jour) on the right side panel of the blog, if you scroll down far enough. Alas, the three young hens ("The Debutantes") are quite capable of flying over and out of the fence. Two can capably flap back over to safety in the evening, leaving only Dotty, the hapless Hamburg (Spangled Hamburg, to be exact - see the Dots?), confusedly circling the pen in the growing dark. One-Way Dotty only gets out. She never gets in. Every evening one of us has to hike out to the chicken run and coax her into the enclosure. It's not difficult, she runs up with huge relief, clucking and chuckling with joy - more than ready to go home - it's just a pain in the neck. And one of these nights we knew we were going to forget her and she'd be a midnight snack for Something. It has happened before.
So, this afternoon we reconfigured the panels of their run so that it has a top of chain link to match the sides. We love the ready-made chain link panels that are sold as dog runs. Most sets have either four 10'x6' or four 6'x6' panels, one with a built-in door, but Home Depot and Lowes also sell individual panels. You can generally find chain link dog run sets selling pretty cheaply in the paper or online (Craigslist and such). They make GREAT chicken runs. We use the panels like Tinkertoys, clamping them together in different shapes as we change the areas the girls can access. Now, by using them as roofs as well, the Debs and the Old Girls (you may remember the Mothercluckers) are absolutely safe and they have a run out each side of the coop! I'll have to take a new photo. We've had raccoons claw apart chicken wire, but I defy errant wildlife to tackle this run! And, Dotty, bless her, gets to stay at home.
Hi Sybil...great article..At village in Malaysia..most of their house have a chicken coop but the chickens played around their house not inside the chicken coop..they call chicken coop is "reban ayam".
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Siti! It was a delight to see your comment! I love learning a new phrase... and I love our ability reach across the world to new acquaintances! Your comment rang a bell - I think "ayam" is the word for chicken, right?
ReplyDeleteMy chickens have an uncanny sense for when I've just planted a nice tender crop of something and if they are free-ranging, they will sprint across the distance to pounce on the seedlings with triumphant glee. Last winter, I let them run unhindered and was very pleased when they scratched up all the weeds from the flower beds. Then they dug up the plants. Then the daffodil bulbs and the other, deeper flowering bulbs and.... "Enough!" I yelled, and they went back to living in their happy chicken enclosure. Now they come out for a stroll in the late twilight and scurry back in at dark.