Archeryrob
Undecided on a great many things
This guy does a really good job explaining it, if you want to try yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgpagXcZycA&t=50s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgpagXcZycA&t=50s
Yup. Granted it sounds like OP has a lot of birds. I am down to 7 after getting rid of the few roosters I ended up with. My coop is off the ground and 4x4ft and 4-5ft tall (slanted roof). It is enclosed fully to the roof and buried 18” deep with the fencing running horizontal out a foot. Total fenced area is 4x10ft to the roof and a smaller 3ft tall 2.5x10ft area.
There is a fenced 6.5x8ft “annex” that doesn’t have a roof or covering, but the fencing runs 6ft high to keep the birds from flying out or critters from coming in. Only buried a couple of inches. We let them in to the annex if we are around and chase them back in to the enclosed run if we are going to be gone for awhile. Always close it up at night.
We free range them in the late afternoons if we will be around and mostly outside. I can have my 10/22 in hand in about 60 seconds if I need to (how I got the first one).
Granted doing all of that for what sounds like hundred sof birds would be hard. But at least a taller fence if it can just hop the fence. Or cut down whatever it is using to jump over. And lock up the coops at night for raccoons (I don’t, but my run is pretty much entry proof without a LOT of effort)
We pasture our birds using electrified poultry netting, 48" is as tall as it gets.
Some of you get that others don't. These are mobile coops not your southern states pet bird setups. At one time when we were doing markets we ran three coops with 150 birds for pastured eggs. there is no way to cover a setup like that.
Going to follow up on some of the ideas here, thanks all.
I don't know anyone in the Frederick area to help.
You are correct in that this is the first time you said what type of fencing you are using. That doesn't make the observation that the fence is too short wrong. Even the manufacturer of that type of fencing says it discourages predators not excludes them. Killing the predators is definatly cheaper then replacing the fence as long as you can afford the losses until you get them. When the fence DOES need replacing (because those pieces of junk do break) your money would be better spent on a good fence then a convienent one.