bird risk

[natty01]

im planning on building my torts permanant enclosure inside the large dog run i have . this will protect them from dogs cats and foxes.
however i read somewhere that birds are a risk to torts . is this true ? at what size is a tortoise safe from birds ?. we dont have any really big birds here normally. nothing bigger than crows and magpies usually.

 

[lynnedit]

Dog runs are great! If you have a lot of crows and magpies, they could gang up and potentially harass a tort. Whether they will or not, even if you imagine they will when you are not there, it is not worth it.
Options include a small secure tort/dog house or shed that you lock them up in at night.
Or, if the dog run is high enough so you can walk in, you can zip tie plastic netting (deer fencing, bird netting) to the top edges.
Make sure you put up a short site barrier around the bottom edge with wood or cement blocks so they don 't spend all of their time trying to get out.
Also, you may want to dig a 6-8" trench around the bottom edge and sink pavers or treated wood depending on what kind of tort you have. Another good deterrent to escape (Thanks to Yvonne) is to line the inside edge with pavers or masonry caps, they climb on top and can't burrow the edge. Plus, it makes a great nail trimming walkway. Having hide inside the enclosure where they can burrow also helps.

 

[natty01]

yes its tall , over 6feet . the plan for the enclosure so far is pondliner on the floor with bricks built up to about two feet high then filled with soil to about 8 inches deep. i will be bringing them in at night as im in england and it never stays very warm at night.i think what i will do is put strawberry netting across the top of the dog run just to be sure .

 

[tyler0912]

Im in blackburn UK north west what about you?

 

[TonkaLuv]

Sounds like it will be a beautiful home for your babies! What kind of tortoises are they?

 

[natty01]

northamptonshire

Im in blackburn UK north west what about you?

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thanks they are horsefields

quote='TonkaLuv' pid='299829' dateline='1314284630']
Sounds like it will be a beautiful home for your babies! What kind of tortoises are they?
[/quote]

 

[lynnedit]

sounds like a great plan! They like to climb, so maybe a small hill in the middle with some larger gravel to absorb the heat for basking. Also, I found making sure I had a way to walk around; some well placed pavers or a gravel path, makes negotiating easier.
We'll need pics, of course, when it is done.

 

[Redstrike]

I would try to put deer fencing or something similar, as one of the senior members recommended. When I worked with Desert Tortoises, we'd sometimes see crows and ravens eating hatchlings and small juveniles, so my view on birds is they are a legitimate threat.