Building new coop, found interesting idea.

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
Go with the hardware cloth. Much tougher.

X2

 

[BWKatz]

Hardware cloth for 12" apron and also 2ft around bottom of run.Dogs can run right through chicken wire. Also sand over dirt seems thye easiest to keep clean UNESS u want to use a tractor during the day like I do . Good luck and

 

[elmo]

Chicken wire isn't going to do much for predator protection as an apron. If critters can pull it apart as the side of the run (and they can), they can certainly pull it apart while digging. And on or in the ground it's likely to rust through eventually, making it even easier to pull apart.

 

[pdcttc]

Hi all
I am new to all this and am building the run now. I was planing on using old chainlink fence apron buried a few inches in the ground. Would this work as well as hardware cloth? Or are there drawbacks to it
Thanks

 

[joemwm]

I used a buried run of barbed wire { burying 3rolls of hardware cloth was too exspencive} about 6 inches out for most of my run seems to work quite well here all have stopped digging when hitting it

 

[jdywntr]

Quote:
I would only worry about the safety of my dogs if they were to dig and hit the barb wire. An emergency vet visit would be WAY more costly for me than hardware cloth.

 

[Lollipop]

2 X 4 welded wire is fine for the apron, both inside and out. Think about it. I used some leftover plastic latice for mine. Split end ways, I had 1' inside and outside. Never had a problem.......Pop

Edit to say, I didn`t bury mine. Works fine.

 

[BWKatz]

Although I use hardware cloth for my apron , I found this very interesting on the thread"Our Hoop House/Chicken Tractor" by ChevygirlBeth

A.T. Hagan :

I'll try to answer your questions. If I am not clear enough feel free to ask for more clarification.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1035/1407655574_e0193b2b7f.jpg

An inside view of my original Mk. I tractor to show how the roosts, waterers, and feeders work. Also a better view of the way the nest box is hung. I don't use the double vertical 1x4s any more though, but a single one in the center now. One less board.

I thought I still had some construction phase photos in my Flickr account to show how I assembled it all, but it seems I've deleted them to clear up space.

The wire covering the tops and ends of the tractors is half-inch hardware cloth. This is expensive, but coon proof. I might could get away with using one-inch chicken wire instead, but the gauge thickness has gotten so thin over the years that I've had bad experiences with predators tearing through. I use hardware cloth for those applications now.

What keeps predators from digging underneath is the ground wire which you can see clearly here:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3474/3217110640_2121083ebe.jpg

It's attached to the wood frame along one side and just lays flat on the ground. This is the only place I use chicken wire, but it's two foot wide wire folded over on itself to make a double thickness. The reason it works is that animals always go to the bottom of whatever it is they want to dig under to start their hole. When they do that they are standing on top of the wire and so cannot dig through. One would think that they'd realize this and just back up to beyond the edge of the wire but in the over three years I've been using it nothing ever has. I most certainly do not lack for coons and foxes here so I know they've tried it. When I launched the first tractor for the first several days there would be a circle of tracks all the way around it every morning. So long as the wire lays flat on the ground it works.

I'm not fond of chicken wire, but so far it's working for the ground wire. I wouldn't use it for the top and ends. The first two tractors I used that plastic coated welded wire such as is used in gardens. It did not hold up well over time, especially in the front where it gets stepped on, due to the welds breaking. The perfect ground wire I believe would be 2x4 no-climb fence cut down to the necessary width. Haven't had a chance to try any yet though.

The only predator that I can think of in Florida that might breach that tractor would be a bear perhaps. I don't have weasels and mink here. If I did I'd likely use hardware cloth for the ground wire as well because I've read that they can go through one inch size holes. Every rare once in a great while I'll lose an egg or two to a snake, but as I move the tractors frequently they don't seem to find them very often the way they can with nest boxes in a fixed yard.

As for how I attached the 1x4s to the cattle panels I did in fact use wire. Not baling wire, but electric fence wire - either fourteen or seventeen gauge galvanized. The seventeen is easier to use, the fourteen lasts longer. Trim the ends of the boards to match the curve of the cattle panel, drill four to five holes in the end just big enough to let the wire through then lace it to the panel. It works better than it first appears as I have yet to either have a wire break or cut through a hole in over three years of daily moves. I used to have photos of this so I'll see if I can find them again in the next couple of days. I also use wire to lace the overlapping hardware cloth together where it goes over the top. Probably not strictly necessary, but I'm not leaving any openings for a coon to get through.

To move the tractors I use a hand-truck with inflatable tires. Pick up the front of the tractor underneath the door and pull it forward one tractor length. It's important when choosing the 2x4s for the cross members that the one in front not have any major knots or other weak points because that is the one board that is under stress in a move. My second tractor I stupidly managed to use the board I was going to put in the back in the front and it eventually broke. I sistered another one in the front and it's been fine ever since, but a better board would have prevented that from happening in the first place.

The overall weight is the one great flaw of the hoop coop tractor. You get a structure you can stand up in and that can comfortably hold ten to twelve full sized laying hens but it's heavy. That's why I use tarps instead of a more durable cover. My original Mk. I tractor I used old roofing tin, but that put the weight much too high. If you build one of these things you must always keep in mind how heavy your material is and minimize it as much as you can while at the same time making it durable. I could do a better job of trimming weight with the nest boxes, but I like to use scrounged/salvaged materials whenever I can. I believe I could also elminate the 1x4s that are not actually supporting the nest box and the door by drilling holes in the tin and using wire to lace it to the hardware cloth. That saves the weight of those boards. New tin would also save some weight as all of the new stuff I've been able to find these last several years is of a thinner gauge than the older, more durable tin that I salvaged. The more weight you can trim the easier it will be to move.

.....Alan.​

 

[HarryBun12]

The hardware cloth on the inside floor of the run covered with 4-6" of sand or soil might not be a bad idea. I have hardware cloth buried about 12" and flared out 12" on the outside of my run which I'm pretty sure will be enough to prevent predators getting in. However, I've noticed that the chickens are always digging around the edges of the coop and at times I wonder if the coop is just gravitating since the soil is dug away! I get in there and pack more soil in the spaces, but it's not long until it's dug up again. They have a large area in the center of the run they could dig up, but it's the edges that they like the best, of course.

 

[our 5 chickie babies]

Hello all!!!
We dug around the coop and run 2ft down and 2ft out. We used chain linked fence to go down the 2 ft and rolled it out 2ft so there was no break in it to come apart.We allowed it to come up the run and coop 8 inches and attached it to the run and coop.We have never had any problems with anything getting through it.By the time the varmet digs down 2ft and then runs into the chain link fence they just give up and run off.It has worked really well for us so far.
Good luck on yours.
JIM