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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