Some people love spending time outdoors gardening in the sun, whereas others prefer to raise chooks and birds. Both of them require a lot of work in regards to safety, but when you’re building chook sheds and bird aviaries it’s easy to minimise the risks of other animals attacking during the construction phase. I’m sure you’ll want to get started on the right foot, so let’s focus on the things you should be thinking about before undertaking your project.
They Should Be Made From Steel
Can you ever in your wildest dreams imagine a predator breaking into a steel chook shed? A wooden one will also be safe in the beginning, but construction and maintenance are two different things. Even though something is okay now, it doesn’t mean it will be that way forever. Wood will deteriorate and if not maintained properly it becomes a liability, whereas steel will last forever.
Secure All The Gaps With Handyseal
Any kind of shed or aviary where you keep animals will have little nooks and crannies predators could easily exploit. You can instantly put a stop to that by using Handyseal, which will close up all those gaps vulnerable to attack. Not only will the PVC fill in the gaps, but it will expand over time sealing them up even more until it will be impossible for the smallest of insects to get inside.
Burying Sturdy Steel Mesh
This will depend on the design of your coop, but it might have an area where the chooks can walk around outside. The main shed will be built using steel and the mesh wire is usually very thin. It’s important to make sure any mesh is made from sturdy steel so foxes can’t bite through it, plus it must be buried deep underground. If you have a larger coop with a run where the chooks can scamper around be aware it must have a roof because foxes can climb.
An Concrete Aviary Floor
When you’re building an outdoor bird aviary it’s best to make sure the floor is built with concrete slabs. This will ensure no animals will be able to dig their way underneath the wire mesh. We talked about burying sturdy steel mesh to combat this problem earlier on, but without the concrete slabs animals like snakes will easily be able to slip their way inside and attack your birds.
Carry Out The Pinky Finger Test
This one relates to snakes again except we’ll be focusing on the wire mesh. If you can stick your pinky finger through a gap in the mesh it means it won’t be good enough to keep out small snakes. If you want to guarantee the safety of the birds you’ll need to use much finer mesh. It will also be able to stop cats from reaching in to get them with their paws, which they’ll attempt to do if given the opportunity.
A Few More Things To Think About
You really just need to focus on stopping things from getting in through the walls, mesh, and the ground. As long as you keep the steel and concrete well maintained your chooks and birds will be safe. There are things like sensor lights, repellents, and ultrasonic devices you could use too. Maybe they’re overkill as long as you nail the things we’ve covered today.
Image credits:
Three Farmers
Yummy Gardens
