Henry Rifle Forums

Neighbor was reducing his flock so he gave me some hens and a rooster. I usually have a few chickens but it is a constant battle with foxes, wildcats, and coyotes. Two guineas were the last of my herd....but now...

Hope you have better luck this time.

A secure coop at night will reduce the losses. We ended the losses entirely by buying a cheap electric fence charger and running a line around the coop and run area a few inches off the ground for possums and coons, make a turn up and back around the coop about 18" off the ground, about dog nose height, another about 30" for taller dogs and full size yotes, another turn, and another pass and run the last line right up at the roof line for those who would sneak over the top, including snakes. After the initial investment and set up, no worries.

Late evening the first week, we heard a loud yelp and a crashing thru the brush... then nothing. The charger costs just pennies a day to run, and no more losses of hens.

The only real maintenance is to keep weeds and grass from growing up and touching the hot fence line and shorting it out.
You also want to remember NOT to touch the wire yourself when the switch is in the ON position.
That's a wake me up early in the morning.

My one hen lives in an enclosed and stationary chicken tractor that I built a few years ago. Last year, after I lost a second hen to a raccoon that burrowed underneath, I surrounded it with wide boards that have so far kept her safe. She lays an egg per day and I enjoy having her, but she will be my last chicken unless my back somehow gets some relief.