We're all pretending like we know what we're doing...

@@davidthegood Especially politicians...

You can copy him over the internet and still pretend to know what you are doing :-)

😂

Oh, l did need a good laugh, today!! 😂😂😂Thankyou! 😁

There are big cats nearly everywhere. You just don't usually see one. I had one try to take down a full-size horse in Texas once. Fortunately for her, she looked lame but could run when necessary. Lost a big chunk of her shoulder though - and all the horses ran through 3 fences in their panic. That one was a cougar.

😂

😅🤣

Great idea.

We were going to do that but, as it turns out, PVC is just as crazy expensive as lumber right now 😱

@@davidthegood I wonder if aluminum or plastic gutters would be a viable option for skids, 2x2 lumber instead of 2×4s?

Thanks, Ginger.

Have a plan for what happens is the solar charger dies on you. Mine quit before it was out of warranty, but it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to get it fixed. Fortunately, I had a box of step-in plastic poles + a roll of hot wire + a powerful A/C charger. So I ran that roll around and around and around using every spot on the step-in poles. Anything that touches that wire plugged into a 20 mile charger is going to get the shock they've never had. (I use it to keep horses where I want them.) You either need a house to lock them in or another charger if you only use electric poultry netting and it fails.

Would you share info how to do the solar electric fence?

@@angie_hutchings We invested in a Premier 1 fence. Since we're not comfortable with running electric from ac or dc from scratch, we went with an all-in-one solar/dc electric fence system. Basic charge, connect, ground (and step away) system. Very reputable company, however, keep in mind that there are many options and systems available to the homestead.

I did not know that.

Thank you!

1/4” is best… also keeps snakes out

@@OfftoShambala Well, 1/4" has pros and cons. I put it over cage wire in the duck house. But it fills up with bedding and manure stuck to it and is really hard to clean. Snakes that can get through 1/2" hardware cloth = chicken snacks. That's why I used it, but I kind of regret it and am thinking of going 1/2" in the future. The one unknown is what else can squeeze through 1/2" hardware cloth. What worries me is some claim that minks or some similar varmint can and will go in and kill everything. But 1/2" is used far more commonly than 1/4". I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to completely exclude snakes and whatever those little varmints are but not have what I use to cover it cave in under a snow or heavy hail. I'd like to use 2x4 weld wire covered with hardware cloth, but I'm not sure what might happen if we get a foot of snow. (Rare, but possible - we got it last year.) My other concern is whether something industrious enough might dig under the skirts some people call aprons and tunnel all the way in?

Im glad we have neither in New Zealand

Good work.

Good idea.

I didn't know that. Thank you!

@@oneperson5760 your most welcome. To verify it should be stamped on the pvc itself. At least in my area it is.

Thanks.

I had that happen too, to a young turkey. Horrible sight.

Serious? Another reason for me to get Swedish Flower Hens!!

Thank you.

😂

ROFLMAO!!!

I probably will.

I have never had anything get through hardware cloth. Good luck, Joy.

I am working on some ideas. We shall see.

How many birds can you keep in your Omelet Eglu?

DO IT

The labor is not free. You pay them with food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care. But while you're already paying them all that anyway, may as well get some labor out of them. I have 3 kids. I really wish I'd had at least 5, maybe more. They're so much joy and love.

My worst predator is a Great Horned Owl. That is especially true after I watched videos of one repeatedly landing with two livestock guardian dogs going after it every time. And then diving through the netting that covered the poultry pen there. Apparently, no fear of getting hurt or not being able to get back out. I lost a duck from inside an electric poultry net with the entire area covered with a grid of fishing line. And I had 4 Nite-Guard flashing lights at ground predator height and 4 at owl height. The downside to those is that they stop flashing before the sun is fully up so I suspect that is when it happened. No prints or damage to anything, so I'm thinking the owl got her and flew off with her (youngish duck - not a duckling but not full grown). That owl would have had to either fly in between the fishing line and the electric poultry netting (not much room, but enough) or dive between the fishing lines. I wouldn't have thought that was possible until I saw a video of a Great Horned Owl trying to take a little dog from under the owner's legs when they were standing at their back door. The owl miscalculated and bounced off the door and missed the dog, thankfully. They can swoop in silently and grab a baby bird out of a bird's nest and try to take a dog off a porch so... Now my ducks go in before sundown and are not out until well after sun-up. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to build a 100% predator-proof yard and house for them.

Damn spelling. Chicken coop and farring strips

Thanks, Stephen!

We have a neighbor who breeds and trains horses. He's quite the sharp shooter. If he sees a dog wandering loose, he drops it with one shot and its never seen again. I'm thankful for that neighbor, because dogs aren't usually a problem for us. People need to keep their dogs penned up or in the house, if they love them.

And yes, my 6' tall son constantly smacks his head when he steps through the door.

The zip ties last 1 year and then break. We've started wrapping them together with bits of electric fence line. We also lined the bottom edge with cattle panel so nothing digs in.

That sounds great. Could you email me pics?

Wow! 2x6!!

Can mink get through 1/2" hardware cloth? Do you think the Maremma just being there keeps them away? Dogs do have to sleep and mink are small and stealthy.

@@Growmap you should be safe with 1/2 hardware! Just "chicken wire" that has holes too big for mink. I've sold a lot of hens over the years to people that lost their entire flock in one night. so disappointing. We all get attached to our birds. Yes, my dogs live with our birds. have not lost one chicken in 6 years--except lost one duck that decided to sneak off to lay eggs in the woods. she got taken in one day by a fox.