How to Predator-Proof a Chicken Coop and Run

To predator proof a chicken coop, stack six layers: hardware cloth on every opening, a dig barrier at the base, a roof on the run, two-step latches, a door that shuts at dusk and a headcount every evening. Skip one and the next predator finds it. Predation is the most common cause of death in small flocks, so this is the work that pays back first.

This page is the plan for the whole coop and run, in the order I would do it. It fits a kit, a shed conversion or a scratch build. The mesh details live on the hardware cloth page, and the wider picture is in the predators hub.

Which predator is it?

Name the visitor first, because each predator beats a different layer. Here is how the common ones get in and which layer stops them, drawn from Oklahoma State, Colorado State and Maryland extension.

The damage tells you who came. Oklahoma State’s clue list: a raccoon that returns every five to seven days and eats the head, crop and breast; an opossum that takes one bird and eats the abdomen; a weasel or mink that leaves tiny bite marks and several birds piled neatly; a fox or coyote that leaves almost nothing, so a headcount is the only evidence; a dog that mauls birds in daylight. Match the clue before you spend money.

Hardware cloth vs chicken wire

Use hardware cloth. Chicken wire keeps hens in, but a raccoon can reach through its openings, and reaching through is how it kills. Oklahoma State describes raccoons grabbing birds through the holes in a fence and eating only what fits through, which is usually the head.

The extension numbers are ceilings, not targets:

• Colorado State says you lose fewer birds with 1-by-2-inch or smaller welded wire than with the cheaper 2-by-3-inch mesh, and it treats small mesh as the key where raccoons live.
• Oklahoma State wants windows and doors screened with poultry netting or hardware cloth with holes smaller than 1 inch.
• Maryland adds a floor for snakes: keep gaps to ¼ inch or less where chickens roost.

I’d buy to the small end of that range: ½-inch, 19-gauge, galvanized, welded hardware cloth on windows, vents, the apron and the lower walls of the run. 1-by-2-inch welded wire is the budget step down for upper walls if the run has a real roof. The gauge, the galvanizing and how many rolls to buy are all on the hardware cloth page.

Stop diggers: buried wire vs apron

Wire has to extend out from the base, because digging predators start at the fence line and work down. You can bury it in a trench or lay it flat on the ground as an apron; both work if they are wide or deep enough.

Extension services give a range, not one number:

The extension sheets give burial depths and no surface-apron width, so the 12 to 24 inch apron figure comes from keeper guides. Cornell’s 6 inches is the floor. I’d follow Penn State: 12 inches down and an outward toe, which makes a digger meet more wire.

For a new run, bury it:

1. Dig a trench along the fence line, 12 inches deep.
2. Fasten hardware cloth to the bottom of the wall and run it down the trench.
3. Turn the bottom about 6 inches outward, away from the run.
4. Backfill. Penn State suggests coarse gravel over the buried wire, which discourages digging at the base.

For a run that is already standing, lay an apron:

1. Cut hardware cloth to the run perimeter, 12 to 24 inches wide.
2. Fasten one edge to the base of the wall, with no gap between apron and wall.
3. Lay it flat and pin it down, then cover it with soil or gravel.

Latches raccoons cannot open

Use a latch that takes two separate moves, because raccoons work with their hands. The top answer in a 314-upvote r/BackYardChickens thread on what could take a full-size hen names raccoons, with their talent for opening latches singled out. I take that as the design brief: any latch you can flip with one thumb is a puzzle with an easy solution.

What I would put on every door, lid and hatch:

• A slide bolt plus a spring snap or carabiner clip, so one move is a slide and the other is a squeeze.
• A padlock or a pin through a hasp on the people door, if the bolt is within reach of the mesh.
• A second latch on nest-box lids and egg doors that open from outside. These count as doors.
• Hardware cloth screwed over every window and vent. Penn State says to use heavy-gauge mesh wire or screening on windows and doors when they are open.

I would skip hook-and-eye latches, turn buttons and anything that closes by gravity. A predator that has to solve two things at once has a harder night.

Roof the run

Yes, roof the run. Oklahoma State says a cover keeps birds of prey out and prevents snakes, raccoons and feral cats from climbing in, and it suggests building one that also gives shade in summer.

The sheets give several ways to do it:

• Welded wire, chicken wire or game-bird netting over the whole run (Colorado State).
• A grid of wire or twine every 3 to 4 feet over the pen, which Penn State says gives excellent protection from flying predators.
• Fencing taller than 4 feet or a cover net against coyotes and bobcats (Colorado State).

Netting stops hawks. It will not stop a raccoon that climbs the fence and walks across it. If raccoons are on your list, and on most lists they are, I would build the roof from welded wire or hardware cloth on a frame and fasten it to the walls so no gap opens at the top. Treat loose netting as the budget version for runs that only face hawks.

Vents, gaps and the floor

Every opening bigger than ¼ inch where hens roost is a way in for something. Cover vents and windows with hardware cloth screwed to the frame, and close gaps around doors, eaves and wall joints.

The floor is the layer people forget:

• Raise the coop. Colorado State says to raise the coop about a foot, keep the floor tight and patch holes. That keeps skunks from living underneath and takes away cover for rats and snakes.
• Build the base solid. Penn State suggests a concrete floor and one or two concrete blocks to start the walls of new buildings so rodents, snakes and predators cannot dig under.
• Starve the rats. Oklahoma State notes that rats and mice damage structures and burrow, which invites other predators in, and tells you to keep trash receptacles away and minimize open feed bins near the coop. A rat-proof chicken feeder handles the feeding station.

If the coop already sits on the ground, get hardware cloth under it or an apron around it before winter. A coop with a gap at the bottom is an open door.

Automatic doors and the dusk check

A door that closes at dusk fixes forgetfulness, not weak latches, so pair it with a nightly headcount. Oklahoma State says a locked enclosure at night matters most, when predation risk is highest, and that most poultry learn to go in if you feed and water at dusk. Colorado State adds that owls may strike just before dark, so close the coop before dusk.

An automatic door buys you the schedule. See the best automatic chicken coop doors for picks, and read why auto doors fail before you trust one with the whole flock. Whatever closes the door, do the same check:

1. Count the birds, every night.
2. Confirm the pop door is shut and both latch steps are engaged.
3. Lock the run gate and nest-box lids.
4. Bring in or close up feed.
5. Remove dead birds and trash promptly, which Oklahoma State lists as a way to avoid attracting scavenging predators.

Lights are optional. Colorado State suggests a motion-sensor light over the run, while Oklahoma State says scare devices, including lights, are not effective long term. I would spend on wire first and add a light only as a bonus.

What predator-proofing costs

Plan for mesh to be the biggest line item, and price it by the square foot covered, not by the roll. I am not quoting a per-foot price here because mesh prices move; check the roll label and your store’s shelf. The materials list is stable:

One keeper in an r/BackYardChickens thread put the cost of doing it all properly at about $1,000 for a rural spot with plenty of predators. That is one owner’s number, not a benchmark; a small suburban coop with a short run will cost less. The chicken run guide helps you size the footprint, and coop kits are worth checking for how much of this they already include.

Written by Kyle

Kyle has kept backyard chickens on his own small farm for five years. He reads the extension research, the spec sheets and the owner complaints, then tells you what he would buy and what he would skip.

About KyleHow we research