Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> Hello everyone of old, . . . I'm not sure how much of a homesteader 
> I am anymore-but I still have chickens and rabbits, still garden, 
> and still live in the same rickety old house.

For those who did not know Bev in her earlier homesteader 
incarnation, she is the original Homestead Wonder Woman, faster than 
a speeding pullet and able to leap small geldings in a single bound. 
Even with her currently broken arm she could likely take you, so behave.

In a private mail, she asked my thoughts on her new chicken moat. I 
told her I would reply on the list, in case the info is of use to 
others. She wrote:

"I am in the process of creating a chicken
moat around my garden for the 25 8 week pullets I got this Spring. I
just love your idea on this, so I am emulating. My exterior garden
fence is 8 feet tall, and the moat will be 3 feet wide with the interior
fence only 3 feet tall. I might need to clip wings to keep the birds in
the moat. What are your thoughts on this?"

For those unfamiliar with the chicken moat, you may read my original 
writing on same here:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading_and_Self_Reliance/1988_May_June/The_Chicken_Moat

Eight-foot fences are expensive and difficult to build. Just the sort 
of grandiose design we would expect from a Viking queen. Two six-foot 
fences are just right. Why have to clip wings? Use dog-pen wire. 
Three feet wide is too narrow for an effective moat. Grasshoppers can 
make the journey across so fast that fat hens won't get them before 
they are safely inside the garden munching on your goodies. In deer 
country, the moat at six feet wide is designed to intimidate a deer 
from making the leap. I suspect Wonder Woman wants the eight-foot 
fence to stop the deer. Two six-footers will do the deed if the width 
is six feet.

All that said, the square footage of a successful chicken moat 
depends on the size of the flock. If the poultry patrol is 
insufficient in number to keep the weeds gone, the moat becomes 
ineffective as a clean edge for the garden. It does keep the hens 
happy. And happy hens are half a homestead made. So if you, like 
most, would rather experiment with your own design, why just charge 
on! Don't say I didn't warn you.