Dirt Floor, Digging Predators, Large coop.. WWYD?

[featherz]

My game cam has been picking up a fox near my largest coop, which unfortunately is the furthest away from my house and is on dirt (it's made from a large horse run-in, maybe 14x16). The run itself and the front of the coop is pretty safe with a HW cloth skirt and HW cloth/Welded wire fencing. Opening at the top of the coop is covered with hardware cloth, as are the windows.

The problem is the rear of the coop.

It's in very dense vegetation and it's hard to get back there - now that we have a fox that could dig under, I am trying to decide what to do to predator proof the back portion of the coop. I only have help for a day or two each weekend.

Quickest would probably be to run an electric fence around the back although it would require a lot of clearing of brush and small trees to allow the wire to get close to the ground. I am not sure if there are any larger trees yet that would block the wire and there would be a lot of debris accumulating due to the heavy tree cover/falling leaves.

Next option would be to try to run a hardware cloth skirt out, which would have similar problems to above, but would be fairly quick to try.

I could also bury HW cloth but to be honest, I think DH is going to balk at digging a two foot deep trench out there in the forest around the large coop so it's going to take me a while if I do that.

Final option that I can think of that would work, but would be the most difficult to do would be adding a floor to the coop. We have quite a few chickens and baby chicks in there now, so that's one problem, however, that would certainly make it harder for predators to dig in. I'd prefer not do to this, as I do deep litter and like having the dirt floor, but if I have to I will. Probably not do-able until my broodies start taking their chicks out.

Can you think of any other options? How about a partial floor like boards 2 feet in? Would that work? Then there's deterrents such as human urine , peppers, radios, etc.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

You probably couldn't dig down through the tree roots that are there anyway. I would think about laying rocks and/or concrete along the border of the back wall, about 2 feet wide.
How about hardware cloth on the interior of the coop as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's a hard one. Electric wires are really effective, but I think maintenance would be a real pain in those circumstances. I just would not trust one back there. It could easily ground out and be ineffective.

I would not even imagine digging a trench in that without a backhoe or something like that. Those roots would be a nightmare.

I also don't have much faith in the smelly deterents based on trying them with deer. They may work for a short time, but they get used to them pretty quickly. Then you have the problem of it raining and washing them away. In the short term you might try getting some hair from your beauty shop or a barber shop and scattering it back there, but I would not consider that a longterm solution. I once mixed a habenero sauce to keep deer away from certain plants. My dog killed the plants because she loved rolling in that stinking smell.

Another possible thing that might help would be to put a bunch of big rocks or some type of rubble back there, but that is just something critters might like to dig in and make a den. I would not be a bit surprised for a skunk to den in there, for example.

I really like permanent passive systems that you don't have to maintain. That pretty much leaves an apron around the back. Those are about as easy as anything, but with brush, small trees, and roots, they can be really hard. But all you have to do is attach them to the base and cover them with limbs, leaves, and debris to hold them down.

 

[Lollipop]

I will never understand why folks use hardware cloth for aprons or barriers under a fence. It is not possible for a predator to reach through regular welded wire if they dig. I feel that any good stiff wire is sufficient for the purpose and besides that, hardware cloth is more expensive. Can you guys/gals give me a solid reason for hardware cloth?.........Pop

 

[featherz]

I am just getting suited up now and getting my tick repellent on to see how bad it is back there. Hubby likes the floor idea, but problem with that is the coop has two po'd broody mamas in it and not sure I can get them out to work on the floor LOL. I'll take pics and show everyone so you can see what I am talking about. Then I'll go pick off about 1000 ticks.

Lollipop, if I use an apron for this purpose I will probably use the welded wire stuff that I have left over. My run has a HW cloth apron because it's 4' high and two feet are against the fence as a predator barrier, the bottom two feet are my apron. (then welded wire up top).

 

[Ridgerunner]

I will never understand why folks use hardware cloth for aprons or barriers under a fence. It is not possible for a predator to reach through regular welded wire if they dig. I feel that any good stiff wire is sufficient for the purpose and besides that, hardware cloth is more expensive. Can you guys/gals give me a solid reason for hardware cloth?.........Pop

I personally used both the 2x4 welded wire and hardware cloth. The hardware cloth because it was left over and free, then the 2x4 welded wire after the hardware cloth ran out. It was also left over and free.

So why hardware cloth? It was free.

 

[Birde]

For flooring in my goose house I used rumber which is a hard rubber plastic used to build horse trailers. I also have it on the floor on the inner edges of my new chicken house. I have it on the floor of some cages as well. I love the stuff. I got mine as scrap from a place that's builds these big fancy rodeo travel tailor homes.

 

[Birde]

By the way we use freight pallets around the outer edges. Great protection against large predators that can tear chicken wire like a fox can. Fox would have a time with hardware cloth. I actually like the stuff & recommend it but I know its costly

 

[Lollipop]

I personally used both the 2x4 welded wire and hardware cloth. The hardware cloth because it was left over and free, then the 2x4 welded wire after the hardware cloth ran out. It was also left over and free.
So why hardware cloth? It was free.

That's a good reason.

For flooring in my goose house I used rumber which is a hard rubber plastic used to build horse trailers. I also have it on the floor on the inner edges of my new chicken house. I have it on the floor of some cages as well. I love the stuff. I got mine as scrap from a place that's builds these big fancy rodeo travel tailor homes.

Some of my pens are chain link dog kennels. I used some left over plastic latice split into 2 2x8 sheets to lay under my fencing. One foot inside to keep the chickens from digging and one foot outside for the foxes, coons, and coyotes. Never a problem........Pop

 

[featherz]

Well, we cleared out enough vegetation (except for a few stumps) to be able to lay down about a two foot apron. Covered it with various things - pieces of concrete, a couple of pallets, etc. I hope that does the trick. If not, I think the floor will have to be the next step. =(