Chickens digging

[Sally PB]

I put rocks or bricks around the run so they don't dig out

On the inside?

I have a few bricks inside the run where they like to dig in the corners. And yeah, they're digging there; I've seen them. They do dust bathe in some of those spots after they dig a nice depression.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Do I need to do that on the outside too to prevent predators?

We go down 24" with 2"x 4" turkey wire outside, not so much to keep chickens in but to keep predators out, Even coyotes can't chew through it as they can and do with the standard chicken wire.

 

[David61]

I put paver bricks on the " inside " so the girls don't dig at the base of the fence inside the coop/run. The outside day run wire is in the ground 8-10 with no apon. The armored coop run has the apon and i use the pavers to keep from breaking an ankle in the coop and less maintenance covering up holes.

 

[matthennessy]

My 12 chickens (8 weeks old) are digging out of their run. It’s 11.5x12. Is this not big enough? Are they bored? We haven’t buried hardware cloth yet as husband is traveling. Will hopefully be working on that next week. Help!

I have 2 chickens in a 10ftx6.5ft run and they are constantly digging at all the edges - moral of the story, chickens are always going to be bored and want more space. I know mine are DYING to get into our entire yard but our fencing has bars with 4 inch gaps that I know they can slip thru and once they figure that out, the could get into neighbors yards so they’re stuck in their run for now. I really wish I could let them out since our yard is huge but I can’t trust that they’ll stay in the yard. I’m constantly trying to distract/entertain with different treats, buckets of dirt/sand for them to dig thru, hay, & bird toys (that they haven’t even pecked at, smh) if you have any other tips on how to keep them busy and away from constantly wanting to dig out lmk!

 

[rosemarythyme]

if you have any other tips on how to keep them busy and away from constantly wanting to dig out lmk!

They're not trying to dig out. They just dig, and they like to dig at the edges of things. They dig at the edge of my coop, at the edge of clutter inside the coop, at the edge of the pavers their bowls sit on. If I let them out, they'll try to dig at the outside edge of the run instead.

 

[cmobley]

They’re like little prisoners. They have 24/7 to think of ways of getting out. I let mine out 2 days ago and I’m missing a battery drill and a shovel.

 

[matthennessy]

They're not trying to dig out. They just dig, and they like to dig at the edges of things. They dig at the edge of my coop, at the edge of clutter inside the coop, at the edge of the pavers their bowls sit on. If I let them out, they'll try to dig at the outside edge of the run instead.

interesting! I always feel like they r wanting out even though they have enough space for 6 of them and theres only 2 lol. sometimes they will peck at their mesh wiring though

 

[wrathsfarm]

They’re like little prisoners. They have 24/7 to think of ways of getting out. I let mine out 2 days ago and I’m missing a battery drill and a shovel.

Watch for a ransom note. It'll just be a piece of paper with chicken scratch scrolling.

 

[triciayoung]

I think their run is way too small but I don't think this is why they are getting out. Don't bury hardware cloth - that is a lot of hard work that is unecessary. Put an 18-24 inch apron attached to hardware cloth at the bottom of your run - and then run out on the ground the 18-24 inches (basically the run perimeter), and cover with dirt or stone - I use a combination of both. This will serve both purposes of keeping digging predators out and them in.

 

[Sassy07]

I put pavers on both the inside and outside