Apron Idea's -Using OSB Aspenite

[cliffoco]

I have 20 meat birds and will be raising them in a tractor that will get moved daily. It is 8x12 and 26 inches tall. The sides and roof are all 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth with part of the coop covered with a tarp ontop of the hardware cloth (to protect from rain and provide shade). I do not want to put a bottom on it because then I have to clean and it defeats the purpose of having the tractor IMO.

My first idea was to put 2 feet of harware cloth along the outside as an apron but some of the "pasture" is long grass and the weight of hardware cloth (with a 2x4 frame) around it will not weigh it down enough to sit on the ground nicely, so i was thinking instead of just buying 8x4 OSB (aspenite) and cutting it into 2 foot width then just use hinges and have that as the apron, however I am afraid that the predators will just back up the 2 feet and dig once they see the wood, where as with the hardware cloth they may just get confused and continue to try and dig through the hardware cloth since they can still see the ground.

THe osb is also cheaper being only 7$ for a board. Any thoughts?
I am in ontario Canada and my predators will be Coyotes, Fox and raccoons

 

[21hens-incharge]

If you do not mind it needing replaced from time to time I think it would do the trick.
I understand your goal is to knock the grasses down with the wood being heavier than the wire.

I wonder if they coyotes would just demolish the chicken tractor to get to them. I gave someone 2 pullets and a rooster with a coop I built for them. The coyotes destroyed the coop in order to have chicken dinner. Literally they chewed the wall until they could get in and eat them.

I built it with 2x4's and 3 inch screws and they still got in.

 

[cliffoco]

I don't think the coyotes will be able to bite through 2x4, I think they would be more likely to gnaw through the 1/2 x 1/2 mesh. I found some welded fence 2inx4in I may use that as an apron ...I was also thinking of using it as the base since the poop will easily go through and the chickens can still scratch? Thoughts on that?