Chook Shed

[himzol]

Potterage,

Nice work, the only drawback is that anything that wants to dig it's way under (say a fox) would have no trouble. If you live in suburbia and think that there are no foxes near by, then think again.

Himzo.

[Barry_White]

Foxes can be a problem. We had 10 chickens once and a fox was getting in, dug his way under the sides of the chicken shed. He was taking a couple at a time. We ended up with one chicken so I set a dozen rabbit traps in the pen and the next morning he had set of 10 of the traps and still got the last chicken but I didn't get the fox.

The best way is to run either chicken wire or rabbit wire under the bottom and nail it on. The chickens can still peck away at the ground.

[echnidna]

I had a fox taking geese so I set rabbit traps and got the fox.
Such a little animal has huge teeth.
I despatched it to fox heaven very fast.

[LineLefty]

I've considered putting a chook shed in. When I was a kid, there was nothing as funs as catching loose chooks in the backyard.

We've got 5 acres of bush next to use and we get heaps of bobtails in the backyard, I imagine they would try and get any unsecured eggs while snakes get the chooks! I never realised security was such a big concern.

[echnidna]

Fit a layer of wire netting to cover the ground. The chooks and their predators cant dig holes through it.

[Sturdee]

Foxes can't dig into my chook run or shed as it is on top of a concrete floor. However they managed to tear a whole in the 25mm square chicken wire and get in. Had to put steel wire mesh around the bottom of the run.


Peter.

[himzol]

Since building our chateau de chook, we have had several foxes (or the same fox several times) visiting.

At first the chooks went balistic sitting on the perch and carrying on like the sky was falling .
However since they have realized that their little fortress is inpregnable I have seen them litterally peck at the foxes nose through the wire snake mesh. Have you ever seen a confused fox? I haven't seen one for a while , that's not to say they don't come around.
Mind you my friends have nicknamed our three hens velociraptors due to their ravenous and fearless behaviour (some would call it stupid, I do), like attacking magpies and blue tounge lizards.

Himzo.

[gemi_babe]

I've considered putting a chook shed in. When I was a kid, there was nothing as funs as catching loose chooks in the backyard.

We've got 5 acres of bush next to use and we get heaps of bobtails in the backyard, I imagine they would try and get any unsecured eggs while snakes get the chooks! I never realised security was such a big concern.

Have heard that if you have bobtails, you don't have snakes. Snakes don't like them and the bobtails eat baby snakes.....yay go the bobtails

[jackiew]

whitehorse council will let someone on a normal sized block keep up to 6 chickens but they have fairly tight regs on keeping them and I reckon if your neighbours didn't want you to have them they'd probably find you had infringed one or another. Talk to the local laws department of your local council first. You don't want to lay out on a hen house only to be dobbed in by a neighbour and have to pull it down.

I've seen foxes in my road (and its fairly built up round here) jumping into neighbours gardens. A fox will clear 6ft if it wants to. there are a few living on the railway embankments. If you go cycling first thing you can have a close encounter with one ... we've taken pictures of one from only a few metres away ... it was totally unconcerned by our presence.

It would be good if the foxes ignored the chickens and did away with a few of the neighbouring cats. Anyone who isn't keen on their neighbours cats should check out the letters page of the latest Australian Geographic. There is a letter there that me smile very broadly indeed

[Barry_White]

It would be good if the foxes ignored the chickens and did away with a few of the neighbouring cats. Anyone who isn't keen on their neighbours cats should check out the letters page of the latest Australian Geographic. There is a letter there that me smile very broadly indeed

If you saw some of the feral cats we get up here a fox wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with one of them. They are real survivors those feral cats.

My brother-in-law put out 75 1080 fox baits last year and 50 odd this year and every one of them were taken so there still is an odd fox about.

[Potterage]

Hi Himzol
If you look at the photo of the chook shed magnified you may see that the chicken wire runs down past the bottom of the pen and is buried in the ground! And read the post. Had the chooks for a week and so far no trouble.
Paul

[himzol]

Potterage,

Happy to stand corrected, Be bloody hard yakka burying the wire each time you move it though. Maybe Barrys idea is better, that is have the wire run under the floor.

Still think it's nice work though.

Himzo.

[Potterage]

Himzo,
I suppose it would be but so far I intend to leave it where it is, the chooks love to dig up the ground where they find all sort of goodies, if you had the wire across the floor they would not be able to dig. We usually let them out for quite a few hours each day, bang a dish with some scraps and they come running back inside the cage so they wont miss out, (dumb chooks). The wire is just layed across the ground and some mulch shovelled on top and eventually the grass should grow up through, if we get some RAIN.
Paul

[vsquizz]

Friends of ours are on a grain property at the northern extreme of the WA wheatbelt. Mrs friend always had chooks because it was a 200 k round trip to the nearest shopping centre. She kept losing chooks to foxes and tried all sorts of wiring and prevention. She was getting really annoyed with the foxes because they would come in and kill the chooks but hardly eat anything.

She came home from town oneday and heard a commotion in the chook pen and found a fox inside. The fox had torn the chook wire to get in but couldn't get out. Mrs friend was so wild to see all the dead chooks she grabbed a spade, went in the chookhouse, cornered the fox and bludgeoned it to death. We always thought she was such a mild person. You have to have guts to go tackle a cornered fox.... She said later she was in such a rage she didn't even think about the danger to herself, or going to the house to get the shotgun.

An angry man is one thing, but an angry woman with a spade:eek: . Mr Friend always used to introduce/describe her as "My lovely wife doesn't have a coarse fibre in her body, just don't mess with her chooks"

Cheers

[Peter H]

Great house!...I'm building something very similar. What material do you use for the perches and do you have them mounted by cord or chain from the roof? Also, do you have a walkway from the ground to the nesting area entrance?