How to Protect Chickens from Predators

Keeping backyard chickens can definitely be rewarding, but one of the biggest challenges with raising chickens is protecting them from predators lurking about. From raccoons and foxes to hawks and neighborhood cats and dogs, backyard chickens are vulnerable to threats every single day.

Putting in place a few predator prevention methods can mean the difference between a thriving flock and a heartbreaking loss. Below are some of the many ways to protect chickens from predators: including fencing, secure coop, predator deterrents, and more.

Understanding Common Chicken Predators

Before we get too far into prevention methods, let’s talk about the variety of predators that might pay your chickens a visit. Every area is different so you may have some or all of these predators prowling around your chickens; and once they get the 1st taste of chicken, they will return!  

• Raccoons – They are clever and very dexterous, raccoons can open simple latches and dig under fences.
• Foxes – Excellent diggers, foxes can slip through small gaps and jump over low fences.  When they get in, they can cause utter chaos in your flock.  They will even attack during daylight hours. 
• Hawks and Owls – These birds of prey attack from above, making uncovered runs or free ranging areas a risk.
• Coyotes – Strong and fast, coyotes will dig, jump, and push their way into a coop.
• Weasels – Small but deadly, weasels can squeeze through tiny openings and kill multiple chickens in one attack.
• Snakes – Snakes primarily go after eggs and chicks, but larger snakes may attack adult birds.
• Domestic Dogs and Cats – These often ignored animals can actually be potential predators of your chickens.  Neighborhood pets can pose a significant threat if not properly controlled.

Secure Fencing and Barrier Options for Predator Protection

One of the best ways to protect your chickens is by installing a fence of some sort, this includes the walls around your run area. This will keep the ground based predators on their toes at least and make it a little more difficult for them. Not all fencing is created equal, choosing the right type can make a significant difference in keeping predators at bay.

1. Hardware Cloth vs. Chicken Wire

A common fallacy is that chicken wire will keep your backyard chickens safe but this is not always true. Chicken wire is a good method for keeping your chickens in but is not good at keeping predators out. Many predators such as racoons and even dogs can tear right through it with ease leaving your chickens completely vulnerable.

Hardware cloth (we use 1/2 inch mesh) is the gold standard for predator protection. It is way stronger than chicken wire and prevents predatory animals from reaching through the gaps to grab your chickens. Hardware cloth is also much more rigid so it can’t be just pushed out of the way as easy. Use hardware cloth on your chicken run walls, to cover coop windows, vents, and even bury it around the perimeter to keep predators from digging under your fence.

2. Portable Electric Fencing

If you are wanting to free-range your chickens while still offering a layer of protection, portable electric poultry fencing is a great option. Electric poultry netting provides a super flexible and very effective deterrent against ground predators like foxes and coyotes. It’s not going to help you against hawks or other aerial predators but it will improve your ground game. Chickens learn pretty quickly to respect the power of the fence, and most predators will avoid it after receiving a shock.

We have about 250 feet of portable electric fence that we can move around as necessary. We always make sure the areas we fence have plenty of cover for the chickens to run under and easy access back to their coop if they spot hawks or anything from the sky.

We started with Premier 1 fence many years ago and have stuck with it because it’s been very reliable. You can start with a full starter fence kit that includes a solar energizer and fence or buy everything separately. We went with an AC fence energizer because we had power available and it is the cheaper option. If you don’t have power available, you can get a solar fence energizer.

When we got our first section of this fence, we got the 164′ fence section, we now buy 100′ fence sections as we expand. When moving this fence, it’s much easier to deal with the smaller lengths instead of having to deal with 164′ every time. You get more bang for your buck with the longer sections, but to me it’s not worth it in the long run.

3. Fully Enclosed Chicken Run

A fully enclosed and covered run is one of the most secure ways to keep predators out. This means covering not just the sides, but also the top of your run with hardware cloth at a minimum. A solid roof offers additional protection against aerial predators and harsh weather conditions. We use slightly tinted corrugated plastic panels on our roof to give them a little relief from the weather.

4. Apron Fencing to Prevent Digging

Foxes, coyotes, and other digging predators can be quite sneaky and can easily tunnel under a fence. One way to alleviate this is to install an apron fence. Lay a 12-18″ strip of hardware cloth around the perimeter of the fence you are wanting to protect and bury it a couple inches with dirt. Doing this makes it much more difficult for predators to dig their way inside to attack your chickens.

Fortifying the Chicken Coop

Fencing is just one layer of protection, your chicken coop itself also needs to be predator-proof.  Even small openings in a coop can allow in predators into the chickens’ safe place.  Check out a run in one of our original chickens had with a small rotted hole in our old coop.

1. Strong Chicken Coop Doors and Latches

Many predators, especially those smart little raccoons, can figure out simple latches. Get one step ahead of them and use predator-proof latches such as locking carabiner clips along with either a hasp, gravity lever latch or slide bolt latch depending on each individual need.

2. Elevated Coop Design

Building your coop off the ground (at least 12 inches) helps deter burrowing predators like weasels and rodents. An elevated coop also provides better ventilation and moisture control.

Before I built our new and improved chicken coop that’s raised off the ground, we were using an old shed that wasn’t in the best condition. The floor was rotting and a racoon invited itself in looking for a snack. Luckily our fearless Snowball fought it off and sent it packing.

3. Automatic Chicken Coop Doors

An automatic coop door not only provide predator protection, they also make your life much easier!  If there is one thing you should splurge on, it’s an automatic chicken coop door!  You can program it to close at dusk and open at dawn or on whatever schedule you want, reducing the risk of nighttime attacks.

We currently have a Chickcozy door which has been awesome. Check out our video here. 👇

Predator Deterrents and Additional Safeguards

In addition to secure fencing and a strong coop, there are lots of other measures you can take to protect your chickens. By implementing a multi layer system, your odds are better at sending the predators packing!

1. Motion-Activated Lights and Alarms

Most predators tend to be a bit wary of sudden noises and bright lights. Motion-activated floodlights and sound alarms can startle nocturnal predators like raccoons and coyotes, making them think twice about attacking your chickens. We have never used the sounds but we have several lights set up around our coop and run.

2. Livestock Guardian Animals

This opens up a whole new avenue of animals on your homestead and isn’t feasible for everyone. Animals such as dogs, geese, or even donkeys can provide an added layer of defense.  We don’t have any guard animals for ours.  The main reason is because my wife won’t let me get a Llama… maybe someday.  

3. Decoys and Visual Deterrents

For aerial predators like hawks, installing owl decoys, reflective tape, or hanging reflective spinners can create movement and shine that deters attacks. However, hawks can become accustomed to stationary objects, so keep them moving around regularly to stay one step ahead of them. Our most recent addition to our chickens’ free ranging area is a crow kite (hawk scarer). See our video here. 👇

4. Secure Food and Waste

Predators are often attracted by the scent of food or kitchen scraps. Store your chicken feed in tight sealable containers to prevent rodents from being attracted. Try to keep your feed storage area neat and clean to avoid attracting unwanted visitors.

5. Coop Cameras

This is not a necessity, but if it’s feasible for you to have cameras it’s quite helpful.  With a camera set up inside the coop and 1 or 2 outside the coop (in the run and on free-ranging territory), it’s helpful for a variety of reasons.  Firstly, we can count our chickens every night before going to bed to make sure all made it in safely.  Secondly, if we have an attack, sometimes the only way we know what attacked our chickens is checking the camera history; weather it’s a fox, hawk or other predator, so we can take the proper precautions to protect our flock from another attack.  With our cameras we have witnessed hawk and fox attacks in broad daylight.  It’s so hard to watch, but it helps us adjust their protection.

Final Thoughts

Protecting your backyard flock from predators requires multiple layers of security, from fencing and coop security to deterrents and sometimes even guardian animals. By investing in hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, using portable electric fencing, securing the coop with strong locks, and implementing additional safeguards such as automatic coop doors, you can significantly reduce the risk of predator attacks and keep your flock as safe as possible. With that being said, predator attacks can still happen, but rest easy knowing you have done all you can do to keep your chickens safe.