Have a couple clients inquiring about perimeter fencing along 3 sides of their lots to keep out a high % of predators. Not a airtight exclusion mind you but just something to prevent the snatch and grab of a small pets during daylight and keep pets somewhat contained. Fence doesn't need to be pretty just functional as will be hidden. Since total span will be over 500ft I'm looking at something like a welded 2"x4"x48" (at TSC for $70.00/100ft) with an option given to the homeowner to add 24" of 1/2"x1/2" buried. One client will need posts which I'm partial to pressure treated wood & stone vs metal because of frost lifting them out of the ground.

Please feel free to share any experiences or preferences as I've built custom picket fences but never strung that much garden fence.

Thanks,
HC

It may slow them up a little, however-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXYOvqt48VE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlXyh3gmEkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3at0R8QZWE About 1:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRO_lJam1OA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBDUU6wpdMs

Dogs-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA84fkRRDPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-hw4JNW5iI

Any exclusion experience to share LAtrapper?

I have no experience under the conditions that you describe or under your weather conditions. However, I have heard that a “hot wire” at the top of a fence is effective. If a metal fence is used, the fence can be used as the ground wire and the “hot wire” installed a few inches above it. If a nonconductive fence, a ground wire can be installed just a couple of inches above the fence and the hot wire about 6 inches above it.

I would never do that; there is just too much liability associated with it. Electric fences can short out and start fires. Fence chargers can fail, even if protected with lightening arresters, so they require constant maintenance. In addition, under your situation, only part of the yard is being protected, nothing prevents a stray dog or wild animal from entering from the front. Predators are not restricted to nighttime hunting.

My "exclusion" is usually done “after the fact”. Foxes were climbing and killing chickens inside 8-foot high wire fences.

I sure agree with you there. More than likely I'm not going to be handling this "exclusion" as it's not going to solve the home owners issue but wanted to give him some options to reduce the exposure of his poultry to daytime "snatch and runs" by Red Fox who are hunting the long grass on two sides of his little one acre lot. All surrounding property owners have denied permission to trap/hunt the problem animals and the last time they hit the property was over two weeks ago.

Having raised free range chickens, the short answer is predation is part of the free range experience. When this happens you can either remove the chickens to a more secure location or replace your loses with new birds.

One of the tactics we've implemented is to make sure to close up the coop at night and this has helped daytime predation as well. For the last three years we've had fox dens very close to the chicken "yard" surrounded by high grass and trees and haven't lost a single one. Previously, we left the coop open 24/7 and lost 12 chickens and 8 ducks in a single day.

I'm not saying this will work 100% of the time, but it worked for us. Guess what confuses me the most here is how a three sided (or even four sided) fence is supposed to keep free range chickens in unless there is a natural barrier for them and their flight feathers have been clipped. We started off with clipped flight feathers and a 6 ft four sided fence with a coop and ended up with free range chickens after getting too tired of chasing down the daily (and sometimes hourly) escapees.

Fence is not to keep the chickens in but try to limit predator access to the lawn area - NOT totally prevent it as enclosing the whole 1 acre would do. They have a 25x25ft fully enclosed (chicken wire) loafing area for the birds and a 10x12ft plywood coop inside that where they are locked up every night so very secure. Problem is they want to let them walk about the mowed yard during the day. I think I have their head wrapped around the fact that losing some to predation is a fact of it but they've lost 2 ducks and 3 chickens in the last month all during daylight to Fox and they wanted to do something to make it harder for predators to access the yard on the wooded and field side before they start putting the chickens back out onto the yard.

That's what I've built and never had one fly the fence or get ate (knockin on wood.

They may not think it is to keep the chickens in, but if it isn't closed off completely the predators still have access. Assuming that a fox or coyote would only stalk and attack from the wooded and field side isn't true as the tracks and feces on my driveway would attest along with watching both species cross the road and walk down my front yard before heading into the fields or woods.

Out of curiosity, did they actually see a fox take any of the ducks or chickens or are they just assuming that's what it was cause this is what they heard or they happened to see a fox hanging around. I'm not saying a fox didn't do this, just that in my experience if the fox were feeding pups they should of had more predation happen.

When we've had a low kill rate like this during the day the culprits were nursing coon and not fox.

They saw 3 of the 5 taken by the fox and scared the fox from the coop area 2 other times. Have had no more taken after #5 as they kept them in the enclosure 24/7 and I inspected the coop to make sure it's solid.
Again, they know predators can still access the yard but making the fox, coon, yote walk down the driveway or along a busy highway in broad daylight to gain access to the yard will no doubt lessen the chances of daytime predation and I tend to agree.

I just got a fox job yesterday due to them taking chickens and ducks from two close farmettes.16 chickens and 2 ducks have fed the litter of pups so it seems. The setting will allow a good vantage point for calling and shooting. Most shots will be under 100 yards and most likely in the 50-75 yard range.

Too many farm cats, coon and opossum to attempt to cage, trap or snare. Will keep you posted. First afternoon calling session will be this saturday late afternoon. The adults will hunt off and on all day when feeding a litter. Got to get there before the chickens are all gone.

Good luck to ya! This pair that I was dealing will did a TON of hunting from 1-3pm (except for the days I hunted them) haha