Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - [Homestead] Chicken moat, was Harpie visit

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Chicken moat, was Harpie visit
  • Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:59:08 -0500


I have two considerations for making the moat only 3 or 4 feet wide.
First, there is an issue of garden space. My closet permanent raised
bed is 8 feet inside the 8 ft perimeter fence. I want to leave enough
room between the interior fence and the bed to be able to push a large
wheelbarrow through and mow if need be. That dictates that the widest
moat I could entertain would be about 4 feet across.

Could you put the second fence on the outside of the tall fence? When you say "permanent" do you mean, like, stone walls? Can the bed be moved? What is most permanent, the tall fence or the beds?

How much total square footage do you have inside the tall fence for garden space?

My second consideration is not what the grasshoppers can do, but what
the hawks, eagles, and owls will do. I have lost quite a few birds to
hawks and golden eagles. The hawks are ever present; the eagles come
and go depending on the year. This year looks to be an 'eagle' year as
I have seen 3 already. Since the moat is uncovered, I was hoping that
the smaller width would discourage swooping predators.

The shorter fence does not have to be plumb. If you build it leaning toward the tall fence, the open area above is restricted. This would also discourage pullets from flying out. You could also pound short pieces of rebar into the ground opposite the tall fence posts, slip three-quarter PVC pipe over that and make an arch to the tall fence, putting the PVC onto long spikes pounded into the posts, then just lay poultry mesh over that and wire it to the PVC to keep it in place. No hens flying out; no raptors flying in.

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.

LOL, yup, when we replaced the fencing, I went back to the 8 footer
because I am sticking with what works.

Two six-footers will do the deed if the width
> is six feet.

Unless I bite the bullet and go buy some 6 foot dog fencing, I think
it's too late for me to do that.

> 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.

In this case, it's less about experimentation than trying to make do
with what I have. If I go with my original plan of a 3 foot moat around
the garden, that will give me around 980 square feet of moat, not
including the covered 12x8 chain link dog kennel(which will most likely
be used for turkeys and not chickens in the future) and the coop which
will mostly be for roosting and laying eggs. At present, I have 25 2
month old pullets and 8 hens, a rooster, and maybe 8 or 9 chicks on the
way. I've got a broody barred rock whose eggs should hatch later this
week if I can keep the snakes out of there. So basically, counting a
good hatch, I should have 40 birds isolated in about 1000 square feet of
total space, which is 25 square feet per bird...

More thoughts??

That will make for a very clean moat unless it is covered with kudzu. Is this your ideal flock size? Can you expand the garden in any direction? Gardens and moats can be of any configuration.

Before we continue wrestling with this design dilemma, let everyone contemplate Bev's typical do-with-what-you-have-as-you-need-it-and-can-afford-it approach. Not typical only to her but to most. When we start homesteading we don't know how many tomatoes, trees, birds, lambs or horses we will ultimately have. But, if space allows, each garden, pen or pasture should be designed for flexibility of expansion or contraction. Hell of a lot easier to it right than to do it over and sure as hell better to not have to compromise. So make a master plan and commit it to paper. Easy to erase and redraw. Hard to move raised beds, buildings or stone walls.





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page