The predator-proofing checklist
The checks that keep a flock safe
Losing a flock to a predator is the fear we hear most, and it's the one thing a henhouse has to get right. These are the same checks we run on every visit, written plainly so you can use them too.
One email. No follow-ups you didn't ask for.
Macro: half-inch hardware cloth over a covered run, matte black latch, morning light
Why it matters
The threat is real, and it's local.
In Marin and across the Bay Area the danger comes from every direction. Coyotes and bobcats by night, hawks by day, raccoons that work a latch like a puzzle. A henhouse that holds against all of them isn't patched against one threat at a time. It's built to a single standard from the ground up. That's what this checklist covers, and it's what we build into every install.
The standard, in five checks
What predator-proof actually means.
The mesh
Half-inch hardware cloth, never chicken wire.
Chicken wire keeps hens in. It doesn't keep predators out. A raccoon will tear through it, and a weasel will slip through the gaps. We use half-inch galvanized hardware cloth on every opening.
The dig line
A buried apron, 18 inches out and 4 inches deep.
Coyotes, foxes and raccoons dig. An apron of hardware cloth that bends out from the base and sits under the soil turns a dig into a dead end, long before anything reaches the run.
The sky
A hardware-cloth ceiling for hawks and owls.
In Marin and across the Bay Area, the threat comes from above as often as below. A covered run with a hardware-cloth ceiling closes the run to hawks by day and owls at night.
The latches
Two-step latches a raccoon can't open.
Raccoons have hands, patience and a good memory. A simple slide bolt won't hold. Every door and nest box uses a two-step latch that takes two deliberate motions to release.
The gaps
No gap wider than half an inch.
Predators don't need a door. They need a gap. We close every seam, every corner and every joint so nothing wider than half an inch is left for a weasel or a rat to find.
The full checklist walks each one step by step, with the spacing, depths and details we use on site.
Common questions
The threats, answered.
- What predators threaten backyard chickens in the Bay Area?
- In the Bay Area and Marin County the common threats are coyotes, hawks, bobcats and raccoons, along with foxes, owls, weasels and rats. Coyotes and foxes dig, raccoons open simple latches, and hawks and owls strike from above. A henhouse that holds against all of them is built to one standard, not patched against one threat at a time.
- Is chicken wire enough to protect a henhouse?
- No. Chicken wire is made to keep hens in, not to keep predators out. Raccoons tear through it and weasels slip through the gaps. The standard is half-inch galvanized hardware cloth on every opening, with a buried apron against digging and a covered ceiling against hawks and owls.
- How do you stop predators from digging under a henhouse?
- A buried apron of hardware cloth, 18 inches out from the base and 4 inches deep, turns a dig into a dead end. A digging predator hits the apron well before it reaches the run, and most give up. We install one on every henhouse.
We'd lost two hens to a hawk before. Since the new run went in, not one. We finally sleep through the night.
When you're ready
Or let us build it to this standard.
The checklist is yours to keep, and plenty of people use it to harden a henhouse they already own. If you'd rather we handle it, book a quiet consultation and we'll talk through your backyard and the predators around it. No pressure, no obligation.