Poultry protection: how to secure your henhouse

Multi-talented chickens can lay you brekky, supply manure for the garden and dig up weeds, but when it comes to predators, they are sitting ducks. With few defences, chickens are understandably nervous about being eaten. While ensuring your henhouse is impregnable may cost a few extra bucks, it gives you security, spares you the trauma of a predator attack and allows your hens to enjoy long and unstressed lives.

Henhouse hit list

The hen Hilton should be able to withstand your fiercest local predators. Numero uno for many areas is the fox, but also consider wild and domestic dogs, cats, and native species such as phascogales, quolls and pythons. Aerial hunters include raptors like falcons and hawks, while crows steal eggs and chicks. It’s amazing chooks live as long as they do!

It’s also advantageous to exclude vermin: mice, rats, and introduced birds such as sparrows and pigeons. These steal feed, leave dirty droppings and carry parasites and diseases.

Note that all native species are protected in Australia under state and territory wildlife laws, making it illegal to kill, harm or remove them without a licence. Given we must live alongside native predators, protective housing is an effective and legal strategy.

Henhouse or coop

The henhouse must be unassailable against terrestrial and aerial hunters, including those who can spend their nights trying to dig or work their way in.

• A metal frame and wall panels are tougher against predators, easier to clean and provide fewer refuges for mites than timber.
• The floor must be solid so it cannot be tunnelled into. Options include an attached timber floor, or a concrete slab or pavers extending beyond the walls.
• Avoid mesh floors in raised henhouses; they can damage fowls’ feet and allow predators underneath to stalk chickens, scaring them to death.
• Line all windows with rigid galvanised mesh affixed to the inside not outside. An aperture of 5mm will block rodents. Soft hexagonal chicken netting is unsuited to henhouses; it keeps chooks in, not predators out!
• Seal small cracks or crevices; rodents can squeeze through 6mm and pythons through 12mm apertures.
• Doors should sit flush in frames, with tamper resistant locks.
• Check henhouse regularly for signs of wear and tear or forced entry.

Poultry run

A run is a safe daytime enclosure, usually comprising a frame with mesh walls attached to the henhouse. A 2m-plus fence may seem sufficient, but agile climbers like foxes can readily scale this.

• While rigid galvanised mesh is strongest for walls, hexagonal chicken netting is often chosen for lightness and flexibility. Predators can tear it, so attach it to reo (reinforced mesh) or weld-mesh fence panels for better protection.
• A roof of mesh, polycarbonate or fibreglass will keep out climbers and predatory birds. As a simple frame for an arched mesh roof, use star pickets topped with arches of polypipe.
• If the run is tricky to roof, a floppy-top fence can deter climbing predators. This is a tall fence topped with 30–60cm of loose overhanging mesh angled outwards. The curvature and springiness are designed to prevent animals from finding purchase and scaling the fence. A similar approach is an angled-top fence, where the top section set at 45 degrees to prevent climbing. Both combine well with an electric wire along the top.
• To prevent predators burrowing under, bury an attached galvanised mesh skirt of 40–60cm in the ground, angled outwards. Lodge rocks or bricks along the base of the fence. Inspect regularly to make sure the wire hasn’t rusted underground.
• Lock the chickens in the henhouse at night so hens remain safe if the run is breached.

What’s your level of protection?

• HENHOUSE AND FREE RANGE: Chooks are only protected at night so best for low-predator, high-supervision environments.
• HENHOUSE AND WIRE RUN: Offers greater daytime protection, including against raptors if run is roofed.
• DEEP LITTER HENHOUSE OR DAYTIME SHED: The highest level, recommended for rural areas or where owners work late or travel.

Landscaping

Landscaping needs to provide shade and protection for chickens (and humans) without offering cover for predators.

• Mow grass and remove woodpiles, leaf piles and clutter that could serve as hiding spots.
• Prune a clearance underneath shady bushes to stop lurkers.
• Ensure 1m or more gap between trees and the henhouse so there’s no aerial superhighway for climbers or for pest birds carrying mites.
• A clear line of sight to the henhouse will facilitate surveillance.
• An electric wire or netting is an effective barrier against terrestrial hunters. Ensure grass or vegetation can’t touch and weaken or short the circuit.
• Motion-activated or solar-powered predator-deterrent lights around the perimeter may deter nocturnal hunters.
• Secure compost bins, feed bins and other sources of potential food for predators and rodents.

Protection for you, too

Ultimately, a hungry predator will break all the behavioural rules to feed itself and its offspring. The best protection is an unassailable henhouse – money well spent for peace of mind. As a bonus, you can work late or go away for the weekend knowing chooks will be safe and sound.

Chicken tractors

While movable tractors exist to allow hens to scratch the earth, they are a snack box for predators unless a galvanised mesh floor is attached. Safest option is to use them with a night henhouse.

Special mention: foxes

Foxes are so adaptable and wily that foiling them has become the benchmark of good predator-proofing. Although nocturnal, they are often active at dawn, dusk and even during the day. Foxes scale fences, dig under walls and tear soft wire netting. They travel up to 15km a night within their home range patrolling for food, so if you leave the coop door unlocked, foxes will notice. A coop that successfully excludes foxes is officially rated Fort Knox!

LIFE LESSONS

• Expect foxes to be opportunistic and ignore rules: one attacked my suburban flock at lunchtime despite nearby people, barking dogs and the civilised hour.
• Foxes are said to be repelled by strong smells such as male urine, chilli or garlic sprays. By all means try them, but they haven’t worked for me.
• Predators quickly become habituated to a radio left on.
• I’ve found predatory birds pay little mind to owl statues or silhouettes.
• A rooster will strive to protect the flock but is no match against a fox or dog.
• In rural areas, patrolling livestock guardian dogs that bark loudly can be effective against predators. Pets or indoor dogs won’t do the trick.
• Intermittently flashing sensor lights may help repel foxes in country areas.