Tips for building fort knox?

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Tips for building fort knox?

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Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 15 5:38 am Post subject: Tips for building fort knox?

Is there a time of year that foxes don't have cubs to feed?
A couple of nights ago, fox got one of the smallest chicks. about 8pm, partly my fault. Next day, 6/7 of that group give us a scare by going seriously walkabout for the whole of the afternoon, so that's the last straw and their free range life is over. Just to make sure of it tho, the bdooly fox comes visiting and gets past a bodged repair to the middle sized ones coop, just before dawn. 3 chicks missing, one permanently, presumed eaten. That was not long before dawn, iirc.
Next day, it's musical coops and the two bigger lots are put in the big triangle coop, and the littlies go in the middle sized ones coop. First night in their new accommodation, we have to pick them up from under it and put them inside. That done, we do a head count of the adults. Son goes back indoors while I tidy up food bowls etc. While doing that I hear what is probably fox cubs having a squabble a few gardens down, then I head in too, only to see the bleeping fox snooping around the chicks coops!! Nothing more happened that night, but just before dawn today, there's a commotion from the chicks coops, so I'm out like a shot, yet again. This time there's a strip of feather edge hanging loose, and a bunch of feathers! I get stung to blazes chasing a commotion in the undergrowth, not realising it didn't actually get anything. I guess the triangle coop was suffering the ravages of time more than it showed.

So, it's time for a new coop.
My biggest coops have a lot of good points, but plywood is unreliable quality, and a ridged roof is a bit of a pain to build, so I'm back to the drawing board. I'm thinking big this time, not so bothered about being movable, just fox proof and covered run, maybe incorporated.
Anyone got any favourite designs?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45460
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 15 9:22 am Post subject:

chainlink fencing ,good posts for walls ,lid and about a meter outwards on the floor to discourage tunneling

if the inside of the pen can be divided into sections each side of the coop rotation to reduce parasites and allow regrowth is just a matter of opening the correct pop hole

nothing is gnt vermin proof but that will stop anything bigger than a stoat and fenn traps will get those small enough to get in.

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