Keeping chickens safe in your backyard

Chickens are a domestic animal suited to a back garden. Keeping chickens is rewarding - they provide fresh tasty eggs, and entertainment especially for children.

Safe housing for your chickens

There are a number of aspects you need to consider before deciding to keep chickens. Fencing and housing needs to be well designed to prevent predators from getting in. Please don’t underestimate the abilities of predators - losing all your flock can be very distressing. Predators in Australia include foxes, dogs, snakes and quolls. Boundary fences are not  predator proof, as foxes are good climbers and jumpers and can dig under them. All effective predator-proof fences are electrified, so in a suburban backyard the alternatives are to completely enclose a run; keep a dog capable of protecting his territory and the chickens; or only let the chickens out when somebody is home to keep an eye on them, as predators may attack during the day.

Fence designs for a chicken enclosure for rural properties are available at  http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/catalogue.pdf.

Build your coop strongly - don’t use staples, and screws are preferable to nails. Chicken wire keeps chickens in but does not keep predators out, so you will need heavier gauge 12-24mm mesh, welded rather than woven.

To prevent predators digging under the coop, use a concrete floor or lay a 30-45mm mesh apron pegged to the ground and attached to the coop, or raise the coop 1.5m off the ground. For portable pens, use a strong mesh floor.

Chickens need to be locked in their coop every night so you need to get someone to do this for you when you are not around.

Chicken tractors

If you are now thinking that having free ranging chickens isn’t possible, consider a portable pen that can be moved around the lawn. The advantages of a portable pen are that it avoids the bare soil that results from a permanent pen and also prevents the build up of parasitic worms. The portable pen can be put on the vegetable garden when a crop is finished to clean up pests and weeds, and provide manure for the next crop. This method is called a chicken tractor. However, chickens do need enough room to exercise, take a dust bath, forage for greens, insects and so, so please don’t keep them in a small pen like battery farmed caged hens. Many different coop plans and more information is available at www.backyardchickens.com.

Council regulations

Check your local government regulations around keeping chickens. Roosters are not allowed in residential zones. There will be minimum distances from the coop to a boundary fence or food preparation area.  And be considerate of your neighbours.

Once you have built a safe home for your chickens you can look forward to the best tasting fresh eggs, and you will have little helpers for weeding, fertilising and pest control in your garden.