Keeping poultry totally confined to together with fence and covered runs are your best protection from predators. If you are building a new facility, consider laying a concrete floor, and start the wall with one or two concrete blocks. This prevents rodents, snakes, and predators from digging under the walls and the floors. Windows and doors must be securely covered with heavy-gauge mesh wire or screening when opened. This stops most predators from digging under the fence.
Animals always dig at the base of a fence.
By toeing the fence outward and burying it, the predator digs down right into more fencing. If your outside runs are not predator-proof, you need to lock up your poultry before dark. To prevent problems with hawks and owls, cover your outside runs with mesh wire or netting. A good ground cover of millet, broomcorn, sorghum or other tall leafy vegetation also provides cover for the birds to hide under. Many times a 3-4 ft. grid over the pen constructed of boiling twine will give excellent protection from flying predators.