What Could Harm Your Chickens?

Keeping your chickens protected is key if you want to keep your chickens for the long term. Without protection, it's highly likely that at some point or another, a predator is going to maim or kill your chickens.

Consider the book “Building A Chicken Coop”

What predators do you have in your area? Coyotes, foxes, dogs, rodents?

Yes, they may attempt to dig underneath any fence and get into your chicken coop that way.

If you have no idea about potential chicken predators, you may want to consult your neighbours or local area extension service to see what they’ve experienced.

Safe Siting of the Chicken Coop

It’s important to identify a good location to place your coop. In additional to siting and landscaping, having the chicken coop close (so you can see it easily is good) will help you keep your chickens safer.

If you've are entertaining the notion of building a mobile chicken coop, you can easily transport it to various locations on your property and don't have to make a longer-term siting decision as if you'd chosen a permanent chicken coop style.

Fencing The Chicken Coop

You area may have high numbers of a certain type of predator that are best defended against with a certain type of fencing.

For example, if you’re going to deter digging predators, you might consider building the house low enough into the ground that burrowing underneath it is difficult.

For larger predators, expect to use a strudy fence, otherwise you fence is just 'decoration' rather than protection.