- Mar 28, 2011
- 14
- 0
- 22
We are in the process of building an A-frame tractor/coop for our little flock of standard cochins & marans. They will live in it and it will serve as their run--as much as we'd like to free range them, we have too many free-range neighborhood dogs for that to be safe. We're planning to move it every few days so they have fresh pasture. What we're debating right now is how/if to secure the ground with hardware cloth to keep out burrowing pests/predators. I feel like it kind of defeats the purpose to put wire down on the floor, since we want them to forage and scratch. Also, they'll be fairly large birds--would a wire floor end up hurting them? (I read that large birds should not be raised on wire--I'm assuming that refers to a wire floored cage, but don't know if it would still be uncomfortable for them to walk on it all day.)
Would it be beneficial to put a wire skirt around the exterior base of the tractor? One that laid flush with the ground, but sat on top of it?
What kind of animals will burrow into a coop? Rats? Foxes?
Any ideas or experience you can share would be much appreciated!
Would it be beneficial to put a wire skirt around the exterior base of the tractor? One that laid flush with the ground, but sat on top of it?
What kind of animals will burrow into a coop? Rats? Foxes?
Any ideas or experience you can share would be much appreciated!