Clydesdaleclopper
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fencingOur hen house should arive soon so I need to sort out the fencing so that we can finally gets some hens. What would you recommend? I've read in some book that it should be 6 ft high  We have a badger sett in our fields and there are pine martens about.
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Sassinak
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If badgers decide that they are getting in there isn't really an economical way of keeping them out.
They are extremely strong and will go under or tear a way through most ordinary fences.
My fences are 6ft high, but I am aware that a determined fox could probably climb in. It's a risk I have to take.
It also depends on your breed of bird. I have a sumatra that flies like a starling and the 6ft fence is no barrier at all to her lol but my cochins struggle to jump onto a 3 ft perch.
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lachlanandmarcus
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Ive started using electric poultry mesh fencing (rappa is the cheapest) and its working very well. But I do always shut them in the house at night as well. Also the house is positioned well away from the fence and theres nothing that a fox etc could jump from the outside into the run.
A big advantage is that the run can be moved very easily, so we only needed a 50m roll, it makes an area about tennis court sized but we move it and the house once they have finished an area. (The house has wheels too).
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mike and louise
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Our fencing is about 5 ft high, but has a foot of fencing dug underground and breeze blocks on top of that. We deliberately hung the fencing loose so it was harder for something to climb, added to which we have electric wire about 9 " from the ground and again half way up the fencing all the way around.
I was expensive, but so far we haven't lost a bird- desperately need to strim round the wire now though or that might change.
For the flighty birds we clip the feathers on one wing, it tends to stop them getting a proper lift off.
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areader
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We are nearly the same, Mike & Louise. We have a 50ft enclosure with 6ft high mesh (1cm wide holes) - to stop stoats etc getting in. We also have electic netting all the way round (angled outwards to stop a fox jumping over it) - it is mains powered and kicks out 3.9 joules. Apparently you need atleast 3 joules output to deter a fox - the stronger the kick of the fence the better! The company I got the energiser from said a lesser powered one would do but I went with what I had read - I'd rather be safe than sorry.
They are put to bed before dusk and their houses are bolted shut. We have a family of foxes beside us - so we have to make sure our ducks are safe.
We aslo clip one wing to stop the ducks flying (for their safety). We have 2 drakes that are 12 years old now, so we must be doing something right 
We have spent a lot of pennies making the ducsk safe - but they are our pets and want them to be safe.
Alice.
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Clydesdaleclopper
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I reckon we are definately going with 6 foot fencing dug into the ground but I don't think we can do the electric bit ( just because we have enough difficulty keeping the long grass off the electric fencing in the horses' fields and that is at 4 ft high. I think 9 inches would cause poor hubby to have heart failure at the thought of all the strimming required.
Will it be okay to let them out to roam in the fields or would that be courting disaster?
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lachlanandmarcus
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do the local farmers round you control the foxes strictly, if so probably yes, if not big no...
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