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Whether you’re a backyard chicken keeper just learning the ropes or you’re an established chicken farmer getting into mobile chicken coops for their many benefits, there’s one problem you’re going to have to address.
What do you do about the various predators that want to turn your flock and all the money you’ve invested into it, into lunch?
Well, this is part of nature, and it’s definitely an issue that most chicken keepers will have to deal with whether they use mobile chicken coops or not, but there are steps you can take to minimize that risk and keep your chickens safe while using your mobile coup.
Here are our top recommendations on how to protect chickens from predators.
The first thing you have to do is determine exactly what you’re up against. Different areas, and different parts of the country, have considerably different threats.
If you’re in a relatively suburban area raising a backyard flock, you’re not likely to deal with coyotes and other woodland predators. Setting up your coop to deal with them is more or less a waste of time. Instead, you’ll be more likely to have your neighbor’s loose dog stop by for lunch, stray cats treating them like toys, and of course, people in your neighborhood who don’t respect your property as much as they should.
In a rural area, you might have to worry about coyotes, bear populations that are getting closer and closer to populated areas, and insects that might cause issues and similar problems. However, it’s unlikely that a neighbor several miles down the road is going to mess with your chickens.
Your approach to defending your flock has to be custom-tailored to meet your needs. Keep that in mind as we go over our other suggestions.
The best place to start is to use multiple layers of protection for your coop. Not just the mobile chicken coop itself.
If you’re in a suburban area, you might already have this covered with a standard property fence. This does a great job of keeping out most threats, such as loose dogs and mischievous neighbors, and you probably already have one if you’re looking to keep chickens.
Just that one extra layer cuts out most of the predators in a suburban environment unless they’re particularly stubborn or you fail to maintain the fence. This also helps you when it’s time to clean the coop and let the chickens out.
In a more rural situation, a fence can still be a great option. The fence will, at the very least, create an extra layer that predators have to get through before they can even get to the coop. Like in a suburban area, this also gives you a safer way to let them roam freely, but you can easily gather them up in the mobile coop when needed.
Just like most other products, mobile chicken coops come in all kinds of makes and models. Also, like any other product, some of them simply aren’t worth the money. They fall apart quickly, have significant design flaws that let predators in, and generally create a variety of serious issues for you to deal with.
A good, high-quality, mobile chicken coop is going to be heavily resistant to pretty much any type of predator that might want to get into it. Non-human predators shouldn’t be able to gnaw through the materials or otherwise gain access, and even in situations where people might be the problem, a good coop will require them to know how to use it instead of just damaging it to gain access.
Choosing the right size is just as important as picking a durable coop. A smaller coop may work for a backyard flock, while larger coops provide more space and protection for bigger setups.
Qualities to look for include sturdy steel piping, wire that is thick and durable rather than the cheap and easy-to-break chicken wire that ships on cheap products, and of course, opening mechanisms that are reliable while still being easy for you to use.
This is a must whether you’re a backyard keeper or a full-blown chicken farmer. The coop you buy has a dramatic impact on the results you get.
Buying a good coop doesn’t mean much if you let it fall apart, and all those positive qualities quickly go into decline.
If you buy the right mobile chicken coop, maintenance is a very minor requirement. However, it’s still something you have to pay attention to.
Anytime there’s a potential weak spot in your coop’s structural integrity, it needs to be fixed immediately. Whether that’s some of the wire screen peeling back to reveal a hole a predator can get its head through or the vinyl roof is deteriorating, it needs to be fixed.
For your coop to provide maximum protection and do its job well, it needs to stay in good shape.
One of the major benefits of using a mobile coop is that, assuming you have a fence on your property to prevent the chickens from escaping, you can let them free roam without a lot of hassle getting them into their coop later. You can just drag the coop over and usher them in.
However, you have to know when it’s necessary to get the chickens into the coop.
For the most part, this means getting them in at night when most predators are roaming, and you’re not awake to notice, but it can also be when you notice a threat or if you know of a certain threat.
The coop, and any fence you have, are deterrents on their own. They make it more complicated for predators to get to your flock, and that makes them less likely to try. However, you should still have a measure in place to scare them off if they come around anyway.
This can be a farm dog that gets along well with your chickens, a motion lighting system, or one of the many animal deterrents on the market. If humans are a concern, cameras are an automatic deterrent.
Protecting your flock starts with the right setup. At Chicken Ranger, we build durable, predator-resistant mobile coops designed for safety and ease of use. Whether you need a 6x8 for smaller flocks, a 10x12 for mid-sized setups, or a spacious 12x12 coop, our coops offer the protection your chickens deserve. Explore our selection today and keep your flock safe from predators.