Chicken run question

[murphygirlwyondotte]

Hey all-
I’m in the process of making a chicken coop and chicken run for my 5 GLW hens. The coop is a big plastic shed and I’m going to buy wood and wire fencing to make an enclosed attached run for them to go in during the day. I live in CA near the forrest and next to a national forrest park. So we have a lot of potential animal predators. We can secure it for raccoons and deer and hawks and mountain lions and animals like that, but I wonder if we need to protect them from the “underground” predators. For instance, should we have a barrier just under the dirt in the run so squirrels or snakes can’t get under the fencing/dig holes to get in? Is this a concern? Or would it be fine to just put the run on the dirt and not do anything else? I hardly ever see snakes, but we do have ground squirrels. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks!

 

[aart]

Yep..... and if you have rats, you may want to bury the apron a good foot below the ground.

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[Helloworld]

We bury 2 ft.

 

[imnukensc]

but I wonder if we need to protect them from the “underground” predators. For instance, should we have a barrier just under the dirt in the run so squirrels or snakes can’t get under the fencing/dig holes to get in? Is this a concern? Or would it be fine to just put the run on the dirt and not do anything else?

Do not put anything under the dirt in the run. What folks here are telling you to do is to put an apron outside the run. IMO, you don't need to bury it at all. Lay it flat on the ground and secure it with landscape staples. The grass will grow back up through and you'll never know it is there.

 

[aart]

you don't need to bury it at all.

For rats you might be better off burying.

 

[ellenscoop]

Yes! You need to protect them from them all! Here is a good infographic with tips on how to do this - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

 

[murphygirlwyondotte]

Yep..... and if you have rats, you may want to bury the apron a good foot below the ground.

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

Yes we definitely have rats!!! Thank you for those links, very helpful!

 

[murphygirlwyondotte]

Yes! You need to protect them from them all! Here is a good infographic with tips on how to do this - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

This is great, thank you!

 

[Chad Oftedal]

@murphygirlwyondotte I'm not sure what variety of rats you have in CA, but I've learned a lesson here in my area in WA state. I was used to my uncle talking about rats on their farm in South Dakota, and those were almost the size of of a small/med cat. So, that was what was in my mind when I was laying down my apron. I bought 1"x2" welded wire, and laid it all around the run in apron and buried it. Imagine my surprise when I noticed my feed was going down faster than it should. I set up a game camera that took stills and videos, and watched the rats happily go right through my apron, under the run fencing and pop up on the inside of the run, and then proceed to feast on chicken feed. I was able to combat this by laying hardware cloth over the top of my welded wire, securing it, and burying both. I now have it under control again, but in hindsight, it would have been much smarter to know the common rat species for my area and buy appropriately sized apron material. It turns out what we have in my area are called "roof rats" which are generally 5-7" in size. They can easily fit through 1"x2" welded wire. Anyway, I just pass that along as something to think about as we throw around the term rats, but they do come in different shapes and sizes depending on where we live.