Chicken Pen Re-build

[Peanut]

Major pen maintenance began today. I bought a 150ft roll of chicken wire to replace the entire perimeter fence. Lots of prep work to do first.

One side of the pen is a pole barn. When I built the pen I parked the old chicken tractor (10x10) against the barn, making it part of the pen. I used it as a close-able side pen. When I had 40 hens I used it often. There were always chicks, or chickens that I needed to separate from the others.

The princess tree in the pic added shade and some protection from rain. It also prevented other trees from growing so I didn’t mind it being there… times change. I have 3 trees to cut down that are touching the pole barn. I have 2 more trees that need cutting that are next to major fences.

This afternoon I disassembled the chicken tractor, 2 sides anyway. And I still need to pull down 2 sections of the perimeter fence. I’ll just use a chain and a tractor and rip it out.

A guy is coming tomorrow to drop the trees for me. He’s the son of a good friend, has his own tree service company. More than qualified to drop 5 trees. Funny, my summer job in high school was cutting timber on a logging crew. This young man’s great uncle (Mr. B) taught me to cut timber all those years ago. If he knows 1/2 as much as Mr. B. he’ll do fine. Mr. B was the best saw man I ever knew.

And I don’t need anyone to clean up the mess either, just drop the trees. I’ll skid the trees out with a tractor, none of them are hardwood so useless for firewood. I’ll pile them on a big brush pile for burning.

I have to re-plow out the pen drainage and reshape the pen. Then I can put up the new fence. Maybe finish by the end of the week. Until then my five little hens get to stay in the coop.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Peanut,

...useless for firewood because it's not hardwood....

That's funny to me. We don't have hardwood here. We use pine, spruce, birch and poplar. All softwoods.

Hardwood is something we buy at great expense as a board at the store if we can even find a place with a small amount.

 

[Peanut]

Here fire wood is usually oak, a dozen species. There are a half dozen species of hickory also. Other hardwoods are used sometimes. I sold a lot of firewood off a tract of hardwood timber we cut... a lot of large tree tops, good firewood. When someone called needing firewood they expected me to show up with oak and hickory, unspoken.

2 of the trees coming down are pines, one good sized. We don't use pine, none of the evergreens (maybe holly) or other softwoods like sweetgum or princess trees. Pines, to much tar, sweetgum acts like a big sponge absorbing heat, will barely burn at all. Princess trees don't burn well either.

 

[Peanut]

I used 1 inch galvanized chicken wire for my perimeter fence… about 15 years ago. Now the bottom 2ft is brittle rust. Has been for several years, getting harder and harder to patch holes. (think I got my money's worth out of it)

My solution was cinder blocks set inside the fence and outside, about 150 of them. It worked great, got many more years out of the fence.

Now that I’m rebuilding it… I have to move all those cinder blocks twice. Out of the way and then put them all back when I’m done. It’s killin’ me! 95 degrees, august in alabama…. Its hot and humid, mostly hot, soaked my clothes in 30min!

I’ve been setting a few blocks at the time on the front end loader and dumping them in piles. Some I’ve had to dig up, just used the tractor. Brush growing through a few, many are filled with dirt, leaves and black widow spiders, already killed several spiders and a small rat.

I built the fence in 3 sections, (the barn is one side of the pen), still have to take down 2 sections. Then...

The are 6 trees I need to cut before putting up the new fence… they are ready to fall, everything cleared out of the way. 4 are next to the old barn, one just above the chicken pen but at 60ft tall it’ll reach the barn if felled incorrectly. (6th tree is by the shop)

It’ll take a day to clean up all the brush. Next I have to plow out the drainage ditch just above the barn (keeps runoff from going under the barn) And reshape the whole pen. It'll 2-3 days for the new fencing… just waiting for the tree guy.

 

[Peanut]

I wanted to show this fence support… Anyone whose hung chicken wire knows it’ll stretch. What was a nice/neat fence ends up with waves and loose wire.

I used 3/32 aircraft cable and set my corner post is quick crete. I looped and clamped the cable starting at a corner. I’d weave it into the top edge of the chicken wire, every couple of feet. At the next post I’d hang the cable over the top of the T-post… and so on til the next corner. There I’d pull it tight and clamp it off.

This provided great support for the weight of the entire fence. It kept the fence tight. Even covered in vines or plant growth the fence stayed upright and secure.

Sorry for the lousy pics... darn camera wouldn't focus right. But you can see the aircraft cable.

 

[Bacpacker]

Dang dude. Thats a ton of work in 95 degree heat. Looks like your making real good progress with it.
Good idea about the cable. Never heard of that before, but it won't give at all

 

[Peanut]

When I built the pen I had also bought traps and snares, coyote problems. I ended up with spools of 1/8 inch and 1/16 aircraft cable to make more snares. 1/16th is rated at 480lbs, plenty strong for holding up a chicken wire fence. So I used it to stiffen and support, does a great job.

It works so well I let a vine cover the west side of the fence, might add 100lbs to the load. It's covered in a tiny, annoying vine called Coral Beads. It's smaller than a small wooden match. Easy to pull off the fence green or dried out in winter. It has large leaves and reaches it peak of yearly growth about the end of July.

Just in time for the worst of summer heat. It provides the chickens with shade starting about 1pm. Even chickens seek out a cool place here in the deep south. When chickens start to pant I know it's hot.

The big box stores and some farm supply stores will have 7x7 aircraft cable, which isn't really aircraft cable, just what it's called. I've seen 9x9 also. I keep 3 sizes of snare cable, the biggest is 1/8th inch. It's rated to about 1800lbs.

 

[viking]

We have Himalayan blackberry vines growing on the front of the chicken coop, they have large leaves and the young chickens have made tunnels in them, great place for them to stay cool, plus at the front edge of the fence blackberries provide some more shade and that's where I have the tank water overflow and the chickens scratch holes in the damp soil to wollow in, thankfully we still have spring overflow, otherwise we'd have a problem, both for the chickens and us.

 

[Peanut]

Trees are down! Tree guy had agreed to cut 3. I was going to drop 2 more after he finished. He went ahead and cut 5 down for me for the same price. He had to put lines on two trees to keep them off the old pole barn. The big pine was a nasty piece of work, difficult to control but he got it down. Took less than an hour...

I cut the top out of the sweetgum that fell north and rehung the chicken wire temporarily. I'm beat, soaked 3 tshirts today, could wring water from them, it's hot! Got a shower and fresh clothes... going to rest a couple days.

 

[Peanut]

I finally got started this week when I got a new chainsaw.

This is after... 7 trees dropped, cut up and piled for burning...

Now I can actually start work on rebuilding the pen.

 

[joel]

First how to keep birds of prey out of you chicken pin?
I in the market for a chainsaw, what did you buy & why?

 

[Peanut]

I do nothing for birds of prey, don't have an issue with them. If I did I'd hang a few strands of fishing line across the pen. Birds hate things touching their wings... this worked great when I had crows stealing eggs. I hung some of the neon green fishing line... no more crows.

I bought a Stihl MS251 chainsaw. It's a good saw, happy with it.

 

[joel]

I do nothing for birds of prey, don't have an issue with them. If I did I'd hang a few strands of fishing line across the pen. Birds hate things touching their wings... this worked great when I had crows stealing eggs. I hung some of the neon green fishing line... no more crows.

I bought a Stihl MS251 chainsaw. It's a good saw, happy with it.

I remember the crows now!