May 5, 2008

Netting for chicken yard roof

Got this letter today....

Allison,
Several years ago, I purchased your video and intended to have chickens in my backyard in western Oregon. I think I saw it/ heard it referenced on public broadcasting. My husband was very skeptical and our space was very tight, so no chickens. Now, I live on 3 acres in northwest Minnesota with a chicken coop already on the property! I need a new video because I left mine behind in Oregon for the skeptic...definitely outlaw behavior.
I do have a question for you. There are eagles and hawks everywhere! I will need to make a covered area for the outdoors. How high and how much ground space should I allocate for 10 -15 chickens? I can't remember if this was covered in the video.
I loved the bumper sticker!
Thanks,
Lisa

Dear Lisa
Yes, you will have to cover your yard to prevent hawk incursions. I also have the same problem at my place. First, your pen should be at least 10x10 feet. I had some existing panels and mine is 12x24, which is great and does not feel crowded with 25 birds.
I covered the top of my first chicken yard with chicken wire, which worked fine and occasionally hawks would bounce off of it when they didn’t realize it was there. When a tree branch fell on the yard it collapsed, beyond repair and the wire became trash. 8-(
So this time when I built my pen I used PVC framing for rafters above the panels and stretched heavy duty poultry netting over it. So far so good, no problems with hawks coming in. Even better, the netting and PVC are easy to repair when and if another branch comes to visit.
The netting NET31HD we got is available at
http://www.strombergschickens.com/products/aviary_supply.php
I would not hesitate to buy the same stuff again. We just stretched it and tied it on with baling twine, the roll was long enough so that we can replace the netting in a few years if it wears out.
Cheers for chickens!
Allison

 

 
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