Safe foundation for coop

[Telika]

Hi,

I am new to chicken ownership and am in the process of getting my first coop and run build underway. I am building on a country gravel driveway, but I'm trying to decide on the best way to protect my flock from digging critters. We will put them inside the coop at night to be on the safe side, but will burying hardware cloth be enough or do I definitely need to do concrete blocks or a slab underneath to keep the predators from digging their way in? I need to get started on this step right away and despite reading all kinds of things all over the internet, I'm still unsure to what lengths I need to go. I'm budget conscious, as we are only keeping a few chickens, but I want to build something safe that lasts in order to protect our chickens and our investment. Thanks in advance!

Telika

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pouring concrete would probably be the most secure foundation for a coop but an apron of hardware cloth/welded wire should suffice. I've never paid for concrete so not sure how it stacks up costwise with the other options.

 

[Telika]

Good to know, thanks for your reply. I think the variety of options out there have just messed with my planning. I'm confident that if we put sufficient wire down deep under the coop and then recover it we should be fine for diggers. It's the fishers that worry me most with their serious claws and slinky little bodies. I'll give it a shot and if (worst case scenario) we start to grow concerned then we can move the coop and pour a slab beneath it.

 

[Rlmp817]

look into the apron method of skirting your coop & run, to me that looks like the most efficient (time, energy & matrial) means of securing them.

 

[Rlmp817]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528

 

[Telika]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528

I have seen this method, but am concerned that it might not be secure enough, especially if rats were to crawl under and tunnel in. Because our coop placement isn't somewhere that the wire would eventually grown into the ground, as it would in grassy areas, I feel it might not protect the run from entry for a determined predator.

 

[blackdog043]

I am building on a country gravel driveway, but I'm trying to decide on the best way to protect my flock from digging critters.

Will the coop and run be on the country gravel driveway?

 

[Telika]

Will the coop and run be on the country gravel driveway?

Yup, but we will rake out the larger gravel and then add plenty of wood chips or other run material on top so that it's not hard on the chicken feet

 

[Telika]

The run will...the coop will have flooring.

 

[blackdog043]

Yup, but we will rake out the larger gravel and then add plenty of wood chips or other run material on top so that it's not hard on the chicken feet

Ok good, I was thinking you were gonna have them on stone in the run. This would have been a poppy mess. Wood chips will work, also add some dried leaves & straw. Make it a semi deep litter. Using an 18 - 24" apron around the coop and run should be enough to keep the diggers out.