Bantam Showed up in LA backyard

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kcan2 said:
Great advice from both @BDutch and @triciayoung about coop/run security for your precious Pearl!

Hardware cloth is great and necessary fortification - it's also sort of awful to work with, so wear gloves, long hardy sleeves that won't snag, and eyewear protection! A snipping tool (preferably with a spring to give your hand a break) works good for cutting the stuff.
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Thank you for sharing your expertise. I had considered making a roof out of wood for the run. But now that you mention it, hardware cloth sounds like the perfect material. I had considered chicken wire but considered it too flimsy for predators.
 
triciayoung said:
Welcome. It is very kind of you to take Pearl on as your own. Thank you.
I am thinking we could design the best of both worlds here. @BDutch is correct that your run is not safe, but, let's start there. Can you put this run around one of those trees I see in your picture? If so, does the coop fit in there also? If so, then we can make your run safe by adding some 1/2 inch hardware cloth to the existing frame and attach the hardware cloth to the frame with zip ties, and then at the bottom, attached the hardware cloth and run it along the ground about 12-18 inches and cover it with stone or earth to prevent digging predators. The structure needs to be staked down better as well. This leaves the top exposed. I would securely fasten hawk net for the ceiling and then open a part of it during the day for her to climb the tree and then close the netting at night.

Frankly, I know that Pearl has good survival skills but during this season - she has just been lucky. It is baby season and predators that usually only hunt at night are desperately out during the day looking for food for their babies, and hunting more feverishly at night.
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Thank you for the helpful advice. Yes, I plan on putting the run as close to the tree as possible and then attaching the coop to the run from the outside. I happen to be working with a welder that will create the opening in the run and connect the coop. The run is heavy but staking it down is a good idea to make sure it is extra secure.

You have shared so much helpful information! I will be adding the hardware cloth to the run and on the ground around the run with a perimeter as you described. Pearl likes to forage so once she is coop trained, I will let her out to forage.

It is spring and although we live in Los Angeles, hawks and predators are still around. I have seen possums in my back yard which is the reason why Pearl needs a safe place to roost.
 
SilSal said:
Thank you for the helpful advice. Yes, I plan on putting the run as close to the tree as possible and then attaching the coop to the run from the outside. I happen to be working with a welder that will create the opening in the run and connect the coop. The run is heavy but staking it down is a good idea to make sure it is extra secure.

You have shared so much helpful information! I will be adding the hardware cloth to the run and on the ground around the run with a perimeter as you described. Pearl likes to forage so once she is coop trained, I will let her out to forage.

It is spring and although we live in Los Angeles, hawks and predators are still around. I have seen possums in my back yard which is the reason why Pearl needs a safe place to roost.
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If you attach the coop to the run with the coop on the outside, attach hardware cloth to the bottom perimeter of the coop and run it out along the ground - if you don’t, something could dig right into your coop. I just don’t want you to have a broken heart. I can tell how much Pearl means to you.
 
triciayoung said:
If you attach the coop to the run with the coop on the outside, attach hardware cloth to the bottom perimeter of the coop and run it out along the ground - if you don’t, something could dig right into your coop. I just don’t want you to have a broken heart. I can tell how much Pearl means to you.
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Yes, I was wondering about how to protect the connection between the coop and the run. Hardware cloth is the perfect solution.

I am thinking for elevating the coop off the ground, to make cleaning easy. What do you think?
 
SilSal said:
Yes, I was wondering about how to protect the connection between the coop and the run. Hardware cloth is the perfect solution.

I am thinking for elevating the coop off the ground, to make cleaning easy. What do you think?
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It is my opinion and I believe the opinion of most here that elevating a coop is always best, for many reasons, to name two; 1. safety and 2. to create more space under the coop. This is the best way to think of it - you want the entire perimeter of everywhere she will be coop/run to be walls of hardware cloth with an apron. As an example, it took me weeks, but I have a 50x60 foot area covered in hardware cloth with an apron. The ceiling is a combination of hard ceilings (a carport), two lean-to's with hard tops, other hard tops and then hawk netting for the rest. The only thing that is not in this area is my large coop. See attached. The only wall that is within this run is the wall to the right as you are looking at the picture. this is where the chicken door is...otherwise the remaining three walls are outside of the chicken yard, therefore, they need an apron. The coop is elevated 2-feet and has an apron that extends down that two feet and then another 18-inches on the ground. If I put another structure within this 50x60 foot area, I don't have to make another apron, but if I have it outside of it - I do.
 

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