Red,

We have chickens and guineas that free-range during the day but are locked up securely in a predator-proof chicken coop at night. In our case, a chicken tractor is not an option because our property slopes and is uneven. In order for a chicken tractor to work, you have to have pretty level ground or small predators like foxes and ringtailed cats can slip in underneath the bottom of the chicken tractor.

The book makes it sound geat, and I suppose it is if you have level ground. Unless you have lots of shade, though, you'll have to put a tarp or something over at least part of the top of the chicken tractor or the chickens will overheat in the summertime haere in our hot climate.

If you don't want to make your own, you can buy them. I see the ads all the times in my poultry magazines. Some of the ones you can buy are quite attractive. You might look at the ones in the ads, and see a design you'd like to copy if you build your own.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Tractor/Chicken Ark Gallery

I was planing to use electric netting for movable pens. Red

Will you have some type of top over the electric netting? Most electric netting is 4' tall and the coyotes around here jump right over it.

I am going to use electric netting this year to try to keep the racoons out of the corn.

Dawn

We used electric netting with our meat goats and then with sheep,but by that time I had anatolian shepards in the goats.Then had a guard dog with sheep. I was reading where deer figured out double fences so I might have to get another anatolian to keep the deer out of the garden and predators away from chickens.I believe you could bond a dog to guard the garden and chickens.I have regular electric netting around my garden now to keep rabbits out Red

Red,

I love Anatolian Shepards, but since I have eight dogs already, the last thing we need is another dog. (sigh) Our dogs are good guard dogs (they HATE strangers) and they are loving pets, but they can't be trusted to guard the chickens.

Deer are smart and adaptable. Since last July I have trained them to travel through a specific part of the property by leaving little piles of hen scratch there. Naturally, this deer trail is as far from the garden and house as I could make it, and now I have wild turkeys coming to eat the hen scratch so that's a nice bonus.

We haven't had any plants around the house nibbled by the deer this year and that's a good sign considering I have hollyhocks (a favorite of the deer here) in a flower bed that's not fenced. This is the first year in ages that the deer haven't touched the hollyhocks. However, one of my neighbors who drives by daily around sunrise says he sees our resident herd of 9 deer (4 does, 5 yearling fawns) near my garden daily although they haven't bothered any plants that stick out through the fence. If the deer breach this 7' tall fence, then we're going to add two more feet to make it 9' tall. Rabbits have never bothered the garden much although they probably could squeeze through the fencing if they want to.

Last week a coyote came dashing out of the woods, ran into the open door of the chicken coop, grabbed a chicken off the nest box and took off with it, and I was right there in the garden just a few yards away. Two days later a neighbor's small dog disappeared from their yard. Sometimes, no matter what you do, the varmints win. One of our neighbors has shot 5 coyotes on his ranch in the last couple of months, but we seem to have plenty of them left here preying on our animals. Some years we don't lose but one or two birds to predators the entire year, but this year the predation has been awful.

Dawn

Dawn, I live in a semi rural location and the coyotes have the audacity to come right in to more inhabited areas, and seem to be getting bolder all the time with their raids on chickens and pets.
Coyotes breed so prolifically, and they seem to be constantly in a state of near starvation. Sneaky critters they are.
If I had enough room, I'd get a pair of greyhounds to deal with them, as I've seen done over in central Oklahoma.

I am interested in the term " electric netting". I am not sure what that is but a few years ago I tried 1" chicken wire 24 inches high, the running electric wire around the garden. I tried different chargers trying to keep the squrel and coons out of my corn. I still lost much of my crop. I am growing some corn again this year ( we have moved but only about 1/2 mile). If anyone has a good suggeston I am all ears.
I need to explain a little more about what I tried. After I installed the 24" chicken wire I installed electric wire about every 3" (hot, ground, hot groung) like that for about another 18" up the post. I drove rebar into the ground then sliped pvc tubing over the rebar. The 1/2 pvc was my spacer post and Tee post were my support post. I tried small pet chargers in the 600 volt range all the way up to the hot ones of about 5000/6000 volts. I also tried the pulse type weed burners. The best I was kill a bunch of my birds, which just made me sick.

I have a much smaller garden now, 750 to 800 sq.ft. and have been thinking trying the pulse type again with a different wire set up. If anyone can be of help please speak up.

Thanks, Larry
P.S. I am new to this forum and new to the computer world
so ANY and ALL help is needed.

Larry here is a place that could help you with your electric netting and answer your questions.www.premier1supplies.com. Red

Larry,

There are many types of electrified animal netting (fencing) in various sizes. Most often, it comes prefabricated with the fencing already attached to posts. Sometimes it comes in a kit form complete with a charger (they call it an energizer), and other times you have to purchase the charger separately. It is great for a temporary or movable/portable fence that you can use to move poultry, around the yard so they can pick an area clean of bugs and weed seeds and then move on to another area. You also can use it to keep critters out of the garden.

Just click on the link below and it will take you to a page on Premier's website that features their 42" tall electrified poultry netting. Once you're at that website, you can move around in it and see all their products.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Premier's 42

Red and Dawn, thanks for the link. I have learned something today. The system seems a little high priced for me. If I try to critterproof my garden I may try with the supplies I have left over from my last system. At this house the ground is much flatter and I can mow all around it so the wet weeds wont be grounding the system out.

I like to grow corn and okra but I have a hard time pulling and getting rid of the stalks. Thanks again, Larry