The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: bigchicken on November 06, 2013, 06:36:03 pm
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While working at an old friends property I noticed she had a ladder contraption for the chicken hut she said it worked well and helpless prevent fox attacks if you were a bit late shutting then in at night. I remember river cottage making a similar thing. Seems like a good idea, does anyone have experience of this method.
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I'm not sure what you mean but mine have a ladder to go up into their roost. They are very good and put themselves to bed, up the ladder, each evening. I just go out later and shut the door.
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What I mean is a ladder to the pop hold which is about five feet of the ground and the ladder is the chickens main access to the chicken shed.
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My ladder is to the pop hole and its about 3 foot off the ground but my sister has one that is much higher and hers use that ok.
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Can't imagine most of my fatties making it 5ft up a ladder. Certainly can't imagine it keeping Mr.Foxy out either. Unless out of sight is out of mind.....
H
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I remember the river cottage ladder and coop -I think I have it in a book here somewhere. It was a small coop about 6 feet or more high, set on a single post. The ladder at the front was a simple single spar with the steps nailed on. Very flimsy deliberately so that the weight of a fox would tip it over. I remember thinking a mink wouldn't tip it. To clean out the coop and collect eggs there was a ladder to the back. The chickens had to be trained to use it and heavy breeds would struggle -no chance with our Orpingtons. Lot of fuss to avoid shutting the pop-hole at night I think.
Seen another variation with a see-saw ladder. The ladder is long and the pivot is offset so that the weight of a chicken won't upset it, but a fox would get past the pivot and the ladder would tip up, sending the fox to the ground. Again mink, cats or rats wouldn't be affected.
We had one fox strike in the UK at dusk, just before we went down to shut the pop-hole. The hen was attacked on the way back to the coop, so any sort of ladder would have made no difference. The other two strikes were during the day.
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I have been thinking on this concept as well but for a bigger, mobile 50 bird house. Pophole high up with a ladder down inside as well. I thought about electrifying the first 2 rungs with a cheap fencer and wire wrapped around. It wouldn't affect the hens as they would hop on it but a fox / cat would probably put a paw on the first rung and get a whack.
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Thanks for all the replies all in all not a method used by many and rubbished by a few no enough information for me to make any decision one way or the other.
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I guess it's all a question of risk / time. I shut my hens in at dusk most nights but sometimes we go out and they are in their houses, inside an electric net until we get home and shut them in then. Risk over convenience. We think long and hard on devising a system for larger style hen keeping where we can build a bigger house the hens can get into but is fox proof. How will you ever be sure though that a fox can't get in until you are proved wrong.
Second thing is that I think most people don't have their poultry netting working properly if they use electric. It's either under-powered, poorly earthed or the grass has grown up and it's shorting out. Plus it may also be sagging in the wind. Getting a good straight poultry net with a good whack through it is a joy but actually very hard to achieve and then maintain. I am guilty of all these issues and from time to time I leave the battery too long or the grass gets a bit long so my birds are more vulnerable. I have heard people saying that a fox will jump over a poultry net but I don't believe a fox would even try if it was standing up straight and had a good charge. The first thing they would do is have a sniff and then probably decide rabbits are tastier.
To me it's a double issue. First making sure the perimeter is secure with a good straight net giving out a good strong whack. I think this is 95% of the battle. Second, if that fails, how can you make a house that birds (with wings) can get into but a fox can't?
Lastly you have issues with leaving feeders out all night and vermin getting at them. Maybe treddle feeders can solve this problem but at the mo we have standard hat ones so if we don't go and put them in the aluminium dustbins we have in each pen we risk losing feed or contamination etc.
Interesting topic I think. But then, I'm a bit sad like that.