burying wire?

[NoelTate]

OK, after 3 chicken slaughters by dogs or some other animal in 5 years, I am giving up on my chicken wire coop. A friend is helping me build a new, improved coop using 1"X1/2" hardware cloth. We will be burying a few inches of wire to prevent a predator from digging under. My question is, when wire and metal walls are buried, do they rust and rot? How long can I expect them to last?
Thanks!

 

[mdbokc]

Several years. Get electric fence! Good luck.

 

[sksmass]

At the very bottom of the buried part, make an outward facing bend, like a J shape. I have heard that it really frustrates diggers to be digging straight down and then to have to dig backwards. A flare out towards the predator of 3" is probably as good as another 5" done vertically.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
My thoughts exactly!

 

[Texasboy4ever]

I put galv. metal around my coop dug down 1ft even if the dig down a foot they have to go under and come back up. Have heavy wire on one run buried it 1 ft also but on the bigger run I buried the metal I havn't had anything dig under yet. The wire has been in the ground for about 2 years and still is ok

 

[elmo]

Just be aware that with spacing as wide as 1 inch, some predators like racoons can still slip their paws in to grab at your birds. If it's a low enough gauge wire, though, it should stop those dogs.