Building a run?

[rdilbarova]

To date, we have been fencing our chickens in with that plastic green fence you find in Home Depot (I think some call it a snow fence?) which is frustrating because it has many holes it in that could be problematic with predators. I want to upgrade to a fence with a wooden border and chicken wire, with said wire dug under the ground.

I have run into various problems here, and although (a great deal of) money can solve every one of them, I am trying to think of a reasonable solution. Instead of digging the wire into the ground, I will just lay down heavy bricks and lay the fence on those, and then line the inside of the run with a foot of wire (as the chickens dig, they bury things, so I figure these will eventually disappear from sight and do their job). These bricks also, by being an intermediate between ground and fence, will keep it from rotting.

Anyway, the one thing I cannot overcome is how to keep this fence upright. In theory, I could put posts into the ground, but then I would have a problem with them rotting. I hear that even with pressure treated wood, it rots. I am against the idea of putting the cement into the ground because I do not want to make the fence THAT permanent in case of relocation/ expansion. Obviously, just putting the posts above ground will just make them fall over.

Ideas? I am stuck and have no skills in this field at all.

 

[Judy]

You can buy metal fence posts that won't rot, or wooden fence posts that are treaated to delay rotting, that may last a number of years. You can also lay your wire on the ground outside the run for a foot or two, as long as it is secured well to the bottom the the upright part of the fence. Just use bricks or the like to keep it flat til the grass grows through it to secure it. Often you can even mow over this "apron" after a while.

But I wouldn't go through all that trouble with chicken wire, as it will not keep anything in or out except the chickens. Wire fencing with a row of hardware cloth along the bottom, 1' or 2' wide, is one way to make it more secure.

 

[jetdog]

A chain link dog kennel is an instant run , fairly cheap and very easy to bolt together with a apron of wire you have a secure run and doesn't take any building skills. Look on craigslist.

 

[Blooie]

We used 8 metal fenceposts, 4 on each side, pounded into the ground, then arched cattle panels using the posts for support. Then we covered the arch with chicken wire, needed because of the many hawks in the area, tying it into the crosspieces of the cattle panels. Hardware cloth is used as an apron, then running up two feet and sewn to the chicken wire for security. Looks nice, lots of headroom for me to work in, no carpentry skills needed (good thing for us!) and it's working great. We had one sunny day and the chickens were looking for shade. We tossed landscape fabric over the arch in two places and we have the happiest chickens in town.

The added benefit was the cost savings. The cattle panels were only 20 bucks each, the fence posts came from a neighbor. The only real expense was the hardware cloth, but that would have been an expense regardless of what we used to frame the run so we we would have bought it no matter what kind of run we built. Our coop and run can be seen from the street (I live in town) so we wanted to make sure it did the job without being an eyesore.


Work in progress:
:


All finished. This was taken during our snowstorm 2 days ago, so the chickens decided to stay in. The next plan is attach lattice panels to the fence posts along just the front side and hang flower pots to add a little more "curb appeal".

 

[rdilbarova]

You can buy metal fence posts that won't rot, or wooden fence posts that are treaated to delay rotting, that may last a number of years. You can also lay your wire on the ground outside the run for a foot or two, as long as it is secured well to the bottom the the upright part of the fence. Just use bricks or the like to keep it flat til the grass grows through it to secure it. Often you can even mow over this "apron" after a while.

But I wouldn't go through all that trouble with chicken wire, as it will not keep anything in or out except the chickens. Wire fencing with a row of hardware cloth along the bottom, 1' or 2' wide, is one way to make it more secure.

Why not chicken wire? Is it too fragile?
And by wire fencing, do you mean something like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...lvanized-Steel-Welded-Wire-308302HD/204322262

A chain link dog kennel is an instant run , fairly cheap and very easy to bolt together with a apron of wire you have a secure run and doesn't take any building skills. Look on craigslist.

I would do that but I already have a really big run for them that I want to enclose. I am not trying to build a new run. Thanks though!

We used 8 metal fenceposts, 4 on each side, pounded into the ground, then arched cattle panels using the posts for support. Then we covered the arch with chicken wire, needed because of the many hawks in the area, tying it into the crosspieces of the cattle panels. Hardware cloth is used as an apron, then running up two feet and sewn to the chicken wire for security. Looks nice, lots of headroom for me to work in, no carpentry skills needed (good thing for us!) and it's working great. We had one sunny day and the chickens were looking for shade. We tossed landscape fabric over the arch in two places and we have the happiest chickens in town.

The added benefit was the cost savings. The cattle panels were only 20 bucks each, the fence posts came from a neighbor. The only real expense was the hardware cloth, but that would have been an expense regardless of what we used to frame the run so we we would have bought it no matter what kind of run we built. Our coop and run can be seen from the street (I live in town) so we wanted to make sure it did the job without being an eyesore.


Work in progress:
:


All finished. This was taken during our snowstorm 2 days ago, so the chickens decided to stay in. The next plan is attach lattice panels to the fence posts along just the front side and hang flower pots to add a little more "curb appeal".

This is awesome! Where do you get cattle panels?

 

[Blooie]

Why not chicken wire? Is it too fragile?
And by wire fencing, do you mean something like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...lvanized-Steel-Welded-Wire-308302HD/204322262

I would do that but I already have a really big run for them that I want to enclose. I am not trying to build a new run. Thanks though!

This is awesome! Where do you get cattle panels?

We bought them at a local hardware/feed store. Chicken wire is great for keeping your chickens in - not so hot for keeping other critters out. It's just too lightweight and flimsy to help guard against predators.

I'd love to see pictures when you get it all done!

 

[newmarch2014]

poultry netting or "chicken wire" has too big of holes to keep out rodents and the wire gauge is just too small (breakable, pliable, flimsy) to keep a determined, predator away from your birds. Much easier than the time it takes to dig under the fence. Hardware cloth is more expensive but it is strong enough to withstand a lot of intruder force also the poultry netting is just so flimsy, one good pounce by my 50 lb dog and she could easily start a good weakening in that fencing system no matter what it is anchored in the ground with.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

Quote: The problem with fencing laid on the ground Inside the coop is it won't be great at stopping diggers from getting under, it will work better on the outside. If an animal is outside the run they will think "Hey, free meal if I dig under this thing". So they start digging, once they are digging under the fence they will keep digging till they reach the free meal. They won't realize that the 1ft of fencing is there to stop them, they'll just dig past it. If the ground fence is outside, they will try and dig but be unable to because of the fencing, they may move to a different location along the run but won't think "oh, ok. I'll just back up till I can dig under this"

I have 18" of chainlink fence that I just laid on the ground outside wired it to the run and staked it down, the grass has jsut grown up through it and I can mow right over it like it's not even there. Recently I had something(raccoon I think) try to dig under where I have a compost pile in the run(had thrown some leftover pizza in there, yeah I learned my lesson). They were able to dig under the run fence by reaching through the chainlink but could not go any further, they retried at several locations but all they did was hollow out under the chainlink apron. If my apron had been on the inside I have no doubt that I would now be missing birds as well as the leftover pizza.

 

[Blooie]

The problem with fencing laid on the ground Inside the coop is it won't be great at stopping diggers from getting under, it will work better on the outside. If an animal is outside the run they will think "Hey, free meal if I dig under this thing". So they start digging, once they are digging under the fence they will keep digging till they reach the free meal. They won't realize that the 1ft of fencing is there to stop them, they'll just dig past it. If the ground fence is outside, they will try and dig but be unable to because of the fencing, they may move to a different location along the run but won't think "oh, ok. I'll just back up till I can dig under this"

I have 18" of chainlink fence that I just laid on the ground outside wired it to the run and staked it down, the grass has jsut grown up through it and I can mow right over it like it's not even there. Recently I had something(raccoon I think) try to dig under where I have a compost pile in the run(had thrown some leftover pizza in there, yeah I learned my lesson). They were able to dig under the run fence by reaching through the chainlink but could not go any further, they retried at several locations but all they did was hollow out under the chainlink apron. If my apron had been on the inside I have no doubt that I would now be missing birds as well as the leftover pizza.

Exactly! Our apron is on the outside of the run as well. My English Setter tried to dig under the run - a broken bloody toenail later she decided the chickens weren't worth it! LOL

 

[rdilbarova]

We bought them at a local hardware/feed store. Chicken wire is great for keeping your chickens in - not so hot for keeping other critters out. It's just too lightweight and flimsy to help guard against predators.

I'd love to see pictures when you get it all done!

poultry netting or "chicken wire" has too big of holes to keep out rodents and the wire gauge is just too small (breakable, pliable, flimsy) to keep a determined, predator away from your birds. Much easier than the time it takes to dig under the fence. Hardware cloth is more expensive but it is strong enough to withstand a lot of intruder force also the poultry netting is just so flimsy, one good pounce by my 50 lb dog and she could easily start a good weakening in that fencing system no matter what it is anchored in the ground with.

Hmmm, got the message on chicken wire...is there anything other than cattle panels I can use though? I live in an urban area, don't think I'll be able to find those easily.

The problem with fencing laid on the ground Inside the coop is it won't be great at stopping diggers from getting under, it will work better on the outside. If an animal is outside the run they will think "Hey, free meal if I dig under this thing". So they start digging, once they are digging under the fence they will keep digging till they reach the free meal. They won't realize that the 1ft of fencing is there to stop them, they'll just dig past it. If the ground fence is outside, they will try and dig but be unable to because of the fencing, they may move to a different location along the run but won't think "oh, ok. I'll just back up till I can dig under this"

I have 18" of chainlink fence that I just laid on the ground outside wired it to the run and staked it down, the grass has jsut grown up through it and I can mow right over it like it's not even there. Recently I had something(raccoon I think) try to dig under where I have a compost pile in the run(had thrown some leftover pizza in there, yeah I learned my lesson). They were able to dig under the run fence by reaching through the chainlink but could not go any further, they retried at several locations but all they did was hollow out under the chainlink apron. If my apron had been on the inside I have no doubt that I would now be missing birds as well as the leftover pizza.

Exactly! Our apron is on the outside of the run as well. My English Setter tried to dig under the run - a broken bloody toenail later she decided the chickens weren't worth it! LOL

Got it! Outside it is!

Thank you!