DDU can I ask you about your chooks? You do have chooks don't you? Roughly what sort of cage do you have i.e. wooden? How many chooks & what/how much do you feed them? I searched chook houses on ebay, do you suggest a good one? Klarry what is needed to fox proof a chook house? We were thinking wire underneath and perhaps sleepers too? Are snakes & rats a problem? Any information would be good 🙂
Hi Claire I had chooks for many years. I kept them in a good sized wire fenced run with enclosed area so they had somewhere to roost at night... they like to be high up at night out of harm's way.
I always used to shut them in at night to stop predators getting to them.
They also like to have the enclosed area for laying eggs in their nesting boxes.
It helps if you put straw on the floor and the nesting boxes which keeps the area clean and you can pull it out and use it as compost on your garden.
The fencing does have to be about 6 feet high to keep the foxes out, but above all make sure they have bushes to run under to hide from the eagles and hawkes.
Keep a rooster as he will make sure he gives warning of birds, snakes and all other things including goannas and the hens will rush into their covered area or under the bushes where even you will find them hard to discover.
You will get used to his particular call and be able to rush out and chase away whatever it is.
You can keep about 12 hens to one rooster, but 6 is a nice number for eggs and neither the rooster or the hens mind :^O
Rats are another problem and if you can manage to put ratsac in an area where the chooks can't get at it that is best.
even if you build a bit of a platform in the roosting house and put the ratsac under it.
There is a lot of work involved in setting up a chook run that will keep them happy, but with a bit of effort you will have a great time with them. 🙂
