There’s nothing more devastating than waking up to chicken carnage. Chickens are so wonderful, sometimes it seems like every creature wants to eat your hens. Unless it’s time for the stew pot for an old layer, chances are you don’t want them eaten! Make predator proof chicken coops when designing you birds’ home to keep your ladies safe.
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How To Predator Proof Your Chicken Coop
There are myriads of animals that think chickens make a nice snack, but the most common ones in a city setting are going to be raccoons, rodents, and dogs. Thankfully, 1/4 inch hardware cloth will stop both of them. Make sure there are no holes in the coop larger than 1/4 inch to keep mice and rats out.
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Staple down your hardware cloth across vents and windows, then drill strips of wood across the edges. I’ve had raccoons move concrete blocks to get to my chickens. Those things are strong and can rip staples right out!
Raccoons are also smart. Basic latches aren’t going to stop them. If you can put a padlock on your chicken door that should stop them for sure, but at the very least use a latch that requires several different motions to open. Here are the type of latches we used on our first coop.
Our current coop has a similar style. Both work great. What you are looking for is a latch that requires multiple steps to open.
To discourage rodents it’s best to have your coop raised off the ground, but make sure the space underneath doesn’t become a cozy home. It seems to be a delicate balance of height there. I think the perfect chicken coop for me would have a concrete floor, but that’s not happening any time soon.
Related Posts:
- The Best Chicken Coop For Hot Climates
- 55 Best Chicken Coops For Practical People
- What Is The Best Chicken Bedding To Use In Your Coop
- How To Clean Your Chicken Coop The Right Way
Nothing is Foolproof
Perfect predator proof chicken coops only works if you remember to close the door! I forgot to close our coop door one night and woke up suddenly to the hens screaming in panic. My husband rushed outside into the dark and looked inside. It was too dark to see, and I ran for a light and passed it to him.
He flashed the light inside and was eye to eye with a raccoon. I think it was the scariest moment of his entire life. There was actually an entire family of raccoons in our yard, but miraculously we didn’t lose any hens that night.
Predator Proof Your Chicken Run Too
Daytime predators are most likely going to be hawks or dogs. Put sturdy fencing around your property (or at the very least your chicken run) to deter dogs. Placing bird netting over the top of your run will protect your hens from hawks.
If you can’t do that for the whole area, have a more secure inner yard where the flock can spend time when you aren’t available to watch, and let them range farther with supervision. Also, if they have trees, or bushes to hide under they can avoid being snatched by a hawk.
What types of chicken eating critters hang out where you live?
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SB Group Nepal
Wednesday 27th of September 2023
Thank you so much for sharing. Keep it up and update more information.
Debbie S. S.
Monday 10th of July 2023
This is one of the best articles by far regarding predator-proofing chickens’ house and runs! Hardware cloth is the greatest element one can use and do bury it 6” all around edges or wildlife will dig around anything to get inside. If it’s too expensive then perhaps people need to seriously consider whether or not they are committed to keeping backyard chickens. It only took a few 1/2” openings we did not cover properly for “our” black snakes to discover the building is not 100% fool proof. Corners and narrow spaces between the roof, walls and doors are a challenge for us as we are working with existing corrugated metal and hardwoods so wherever we did not properly attach the hardware cloth is now going to be re-attached as described here to cover such small spaces and gaps. BTW if you must do more please do not ever kill any snakes. It is beyond cruel to put a snake through the slow tortuous death after swallowing a golf ball or other items. Also do some research for local wildlife volunteers through your state wildlife resources who will help by removing the snakes to safe property. Facebook has snake-ID pages, for example. Thanks for your well-written relative articles based in experience and factual information!
Kathryn
Monday 17th of July 2023
Thank you! Sometimes a determined predator will still find its way in despite our best efforts, but we should always do as much as we can.
Cindy
Thursday 5th of September 2019
I just have a question----We live in the city & have had a raccoon attack our coop twice. We had 4 younger girls (bought as chicks) & only 1 survived (Bunny-as we got them @ Easter) & the following year our 2nd round of 4 was attacked,same as last time but my husband killed the raccoon & saved 1 of the girls. She was severely injured & very close to death but we nursed her back & happy to say Noodle (her name cause I'm a chef) is just fine! We got them at Easter as well, but still no sign of any eggs. Could the attack prevent her from ever laying??? She's an ISA Brown & Bunny, her older sister is a Rhode Island Red. Which BTW, she stopped laying too! Not sure what's happening but would love your input! Thanks!
Kathryn
Tuesday 10th of September 2019
Stress can cause chickens to temporarily stop laying. I've never heard it causing a permanent stop. Maybe they're hiding their eggs really well?
Steve
Monday 17th of September 2018
Nice article. I live in PA, we have every kind of predator minus cougar, bear, & wolf. Trial and error led to a predator proof run and coop. 6 x 12 chain link dog run, hardwire metal cloth for 2.5 feet for bottom half all around perimeter, and chicken wire top and bottom encloses. Being a chicken tractor it moves so fresh grass for the 5 australop.
Kathryn
Friday 21st of September 2018
Nice! Sounds like a great set up.
Ami
Thursday 11th of May 2017
One more tip I've picked up over the years is bury a strip of chicken wire six inches down and twelve to twenty-four inches out all the way around the coop. This keeps critters like weasels and dogs from digging under your coop. And my G-ma swears by crystallized predator urine to keep cats, raccoons, and (depending on the kind of crystals) coyotes away. Acts as though the predator has marked its territory, and some animals will avoid the area. She uses Wolf crystals, but there are different ones that will repel different pests, so you may want to research some before you buy.
Kathryn
Saturday 13th of May 2017
Thanks Ami, those are great ideas!