[Pil-pc-oceania] does 2400mm high cyclone mesh keep foxes out up top?

[Kerry Dawborn]

I've had and know of others who've had foxes climb heavy guage chicken 
wire fences (buried up to3 ft) around that height. In my case it was a 
floppy fence which is supposed to be harder to climb. The fox did it 
with a chook in its mouth...

The only way I think chooks are completely safe from foxes (especially 
in urban areas where foxes abound and there is a lot of cover for them?) 
is if the pen is heavy guage chook wire or mesh or cyclone wire (latter 
two preferable - even my jack russell can play havock with some of the 
lighter chook wires I have used for things other than my chook pen - 
lighter guage chook wires will just unravel if pressured enough, or will 
break when ripped at, once they get a little old) and is completely 
covered in over the top as well as buried. If it was me I would make 
sure to have a decent-sized 'fortress' that the chooks can be happily 
kept in day and night at those times when it is necessary, but let them 
out during the day into a run with the kind of fencing you've described 
or perhaps lower - it might depend on whether foxes are active during 
the day in your area (in this area of outer eastern Melbourne, I have 
seen foxes late morning and mid afternoon, but mostly as would be 
expected, early morning and dusk). My urban chooks have a fortress 3 
metres high and covered in with  five fruit trees to scratch around and 
for shade, divided into sections that they have access to on rotation, 
to give the trees, critters and the soil a rest. It's probably a bit of 
overkill and I do let them out into other areas of the garden, when 
these areas are available (I have dogs too and a vegie garden that 
doesn't always want chook attention), but it gives me peace of mind to 
know there's somewhere where they are happy and safe no matter what. I'm 
pretty confident that I could leave them with enough food and water for 
a couple of days if I needed to (very rare), and they'd be fine and 
happy, which could be a consideration in a school situation if there was 
a day on the weekend when no one was available to check and feed them....

anyway, hope these thoughts are helpful...

cheers Petra,

Kerry

petra.kahle at haztech.com.au wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> we're going to have a Permaculture Foodgarden at Ashwood secondary
> (Melbourne) and have been told that a 2400mm high cyclone mesh fence keeps
> out foxes if the bottom is burried. Is that so?
> Not to mention the gate.
>
> thanks, PEtra.
>
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