Predators are one of the major challenges poultry
owners’ faces and that is why it is necessary to put into considering
an effective fencing option when designing your poultry farm. Poultry
farmers in the UK and in other part of the world are always improvising
on ways to keep foxes away from their poultry.
The truth is that if
foxes or other predators find their
way into your poultry; they are
likely going to keep coming until they eat – up all the available
birds in your poultry.
Consequently, if you are into poultry farming, much
more than thinking of ways to expand your market, you should also make
provision for ways to protect your birds from predators such as foxes,
snakes, badgers, et al.
As a matter of fact, your interest should be
on how to install an effective poultry fencing system that can give
you the guarantee that come rain or sun shine, the birds in your poultry
will be well protected.
The major poultry fencing option available are Chicken
Wire which is also known as rabbit wire in the market place and Chicken
Netting. The choice you make on the best poultry fencing option that
you want to use in your poultry farm will be largely dependent are some
factors. Some of the factors to consider before choosing the right poultry
fencing option are the kind of predators your birds will be exposed
to, climatic condition of the location you intend building your poultry
farm and also the geographical composition of your choice location.
Having stated some of the factors
that can influence your choice of fencing option, now let us examine
the two major options available:
What is the Best Poultry Fencing
Option?
1. Chicken Wire (Rabbit Wire)
If you are conversant with poultry farms, you will
realize that most of them make use of chicken wire for fencing their
poultry. Chicken wire happens to be stronger and a better option when
predators like foxes, snakes and badgers, et al, are what you are going
to be contending with.
For ages, foxes and badgers are the major predators
that poultry farmers in UK are contending with.
They are always on –
top of their games when it comes to preventing this predators from eating
up their birds. As a matter of fact poultry farmers have started installing
electrical wires to keep foxes away from their poultry.
The fact that foxes can scale fences that are as
high as 5 ft makes it even more necessary to build your fence to be
as high as 6 ft and also ensure that you bury the fence up to 6 inches
or more in the soil.
This is necessary because foxes and badgers are
known to dig the ground to make way for easy passage.
They pass underneath
the ground to enter the poultry.
One good thing about running electric wire on your
fence is that once a fox comes in and it receives electric shock they
won’t want to come back again and they are likely going to communicate
it to their fellow foxes. It is also very important to ensure that you
make use of solid wood to run through the base of your chicken wire
fence so that it will make it strong enough when subjected to pressure.
2. Chicken Netting
Another option for poultry fencing is chicken netting.
This option is highly suitable in locations where the poultry farmers
don’t get to contend with predators such as foxes and badgers. Chicken
netting is not as strong as chicken wire (rabbit wire) and most poultry
farmers make use of it when their major intention is to keep their birds
from straying away from the parameter designed for them.
As a matter of fact, Chicken Netting is basically
what is needed when the birds you have in your poultry are likely going
to fly away if they have the opportunity.
It is cheaper to construct
and install chicken netting as against chicken wire (rabbit
wire) fencing. It is important to state that you cannot electrify your
chicken netting fence; hence it is not suitable when keeping predators
at bay is your major aim.
For instance a fox can reap the net apart
with little or no resistance.
Whatever decision you make, just make sure that you
design poultry fences in such a way that it may be easier for you to
access your poultry.
You would have to create an entrance (a door) and
ensure that the door is well secured enough to prevent predators from
breaking into your poultry.
In essence, the best poultry fencing option for you
is solely dependent on the challenges that you are likely going to face
in the location you choose to build your own poultry. That is why it
is important to conduct your feasibility studies and also ask loads
of questions from poultry owners around you.
