Easy Dog Or Fox Proof Fencing (poor Man's Method)

[Mark]

Mark submitted a new Showcase Item:

Easy Dog Or Fox Proof Fencing (poor Man's Method)

Here is an alternate way to dog or fox proof a chicken pen without the need to use concrete or dig fencing underground.

The video explains the outline of why I decided to use this method over traditional ways and basically how I managed to do it and the materials used.

Happy to discuss this further (just go to the discussion) and also answer any questions people may have about this dog/fox proofing chicken pen project.

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Read more about this showcase item here...

 

[stevo]

Good idea, i might do this on a short section on mine.

a bit of a coincidence with the dog attack topic. I am dog sitting the neighbours dog this weekend and brought it over for a short while yesterday. It has been over here before with the chickens and it wasn't interested at all, but yesterday it chased one and grabbed a mouthfull of feathers, i checked the chicken and there's no damage just a few feathers. The silkies seem to be all fluffy feathers and not much to bite on to. I jumped in as fast as i could and grabbed the dog, The dog is smaller than the chickens so i thought it'd be fairly safe, i was wrong. You're right about feeling bad about it, i was pretty peeved off with the dog, and peeved off with myself for trusting it. It could have gone bad if the dog actually grabbed it.

I like the chicken noises that you make in the background Mark

 

[Mark]

Good idea, i might do this on a short section on mine.

a bit of a coincidence with the dog attack topic. I am dog sitting the neighbours dog this weekend and brought it over for a short while yesterday. It has been over here before with the chickens and it wasn't interested at all, but yesterday it chased one and grabbed a mouthfull of feathers, i checked the chicken and there's no damage just a few feathers. The silkies seem to be all fluffy feathers and not much to bite on to. I jumped in as fast as i could and grabbed the dog, The dog is smaller than the chickens so i thought it'd be fairly safe, i was wrong. You're right about feeling bad about it, i was pretty peeved off with the dog, and peeved off with myself for trusting it. It could have gone bad if the dog actually grabbed it.

I like the chicken noises that you make in the background Mark

Nothing worse than a dog attack on a persons chicken pen - I felt like I'd let my birds down

But then I was more pissed off about people who don't keep their dogs in their own property. My dog is so well trained that it won't go out of my property boundary even if my gate is open but other properties in my area don't even keep their gates shut! When I go for a jog, there's two properties I run past which I regularly have to fend off dogs trying to bite me. The other day, I had to escort two women riders, I came across on my jog, past a property because they were too scared to go back after begin attacked whilst riding past so I jogged beside them and fought the dogs off ( I can be pretty intimidating ).

Although my pen is now dog proof, this spring (after it all drys up) I'm going to build an internal paddock fully fenced and dug in so my hen can free-range out of their pen without me being home. This is going to be a huge project. Why not dog proof my boundary fence line? I would, but it adjoins a property owned by Brookfield Multiplex (property developer group) who hire contractors to maintain the fence, plus it probably needs surveying again, plus the back fence is just a little too far. Another internal paddock is the way to go for me and my chooks. I can't wait to get started and create another project here in the forum.

As you say... too many projects

 

[stevo]

So now I have an image of you growling at the dogs while protecting the bike riders, so the bike riders probably think you're a bit crazy


Not sure what I would have done if I caught that dog after it killed 6 chickens, as you said it took great restraint... it think it'd be a 50/50 chance of it being dropped off in Murgon.

Have you seen this site : https://www.derwenttraders.com.au/ all kinds of animal traps (harmless capture within a cage). I like the possum/cat/dog trap cage. I was going to get some of the mouse traps - mouse goes in to the cage and can't get out. I always wondered where to get these from.

 

[Mark]

So now I have an image of you growling at the dogs while protecting the bike riders, so the bike riders probably think you're a bit crazy


Not sure what I would have done if I caught that dog after it killed 6 chickens, as you said it took great restraint... it think it'd be a 50/50 chance of it being dropped off in Murgon.

Have you seen this site : https://www.derwenttraders.com.au/ all kinds of animal traps (harmless capture within a cage). I like the possum/cat/dog trap cage. I was going to get some of the mouse traps - mouse goes in to the cage and can't get out. I always wondered where to get these from.

Geez, that site is pretty comprehensive! How many traps hey!

They feature that Scarecrow sprinkler defence system quite a bit but I can say from experience that device in particular is a waste of money. I got one to keep the birds and possums off my patch and it worked really well until a windy day and then the motion of everything moving made the thing shoot constantly wasting water and batteries! Not to mention the thousand times it shot me in the back when I forgot it was on and walked into the garden to grab a lettuce only to be sprayed to death

Netting is my friend now

 

[stevo]

Not to mention the thousand times it shot me in the back when I forgot it was on and walked into the garden to grab a lettuce only to be sprayed to death

hah, it works pretty well then! I might put one at my front steps to stop sales people coming in

 

[50schook]

I found a way similar to this, that has worked well also, I got some old tires from a tier place & put them on the wire on the ground, I put around the pen. The thing to remember is that the wire can rust away over time, so use a good thick galvanised wire to put on the ground or you will think you're safe till a fox or dog finds a weak rusted spot to break into your pen.

 

[Mark]

I found a way similar to this, that has worked well also, I got some old tires from a tier place & put them on the wire on the ground, I put around the pen. The thing to remember is that the wire can rust away over time, so use a good thick galvanised wire to put on the ground or you will think you're safe till a fox or dog finds a weak rusted spot to break into your pen.

Yeah great advice! I'm pretty clued up with the wire and rusting (got real thick good quality stuff) but I never thought about old tyres - that's a top idea Currently, I have several logs on top of my wire fox proof skirt which have been eaten out by white ants, might go to the tip and get a few tyres as a replacement.

As far as the system goes I can say I haven't had a breach by a fox inside my pen since I made the skirt - such a relief... Can't say the same for my outer free-ranging area though as the dogs can't get in but the foxes still do so I'm working on a plan to fox proof my out perimetre fence. Meanwhile, I just make sure my chooks and ducks are back in their pen by nightfall.

 

[50schook]

Not probs, I'm glad to help if I can, & look forward to getting some in return, great site