Digging out a run

[EmmaDonovan]

Sounds like one heck of a project. I had to dig out my run for adding HC as well, but I definitely didn't task myself to go down 2ft, that sounds excessive. I did it with lots of elbow grease, rototiller, shovel and wheelbarrow.

I went about 6" deep to bury my 1/2" HC, put the dirt back and then raised the bedding depth by going up instead of down; MUCH easier task! I have cinder block foundation and also added cedar fence slats to bottom walls to keep bedding from pushing against HC walls, so I've got like 12" of solid wall above the HC.

Nothing is ever easy in the %$@#*! desert.

I picked 2ft because it's a depth it's unlikely the hens will dig down to. I've never seen them dig deeper than a foot, even for dust baths, so I figured 2' would be a safe depth.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Since you are attempting to block burrowing squirrels which come up within the run walls (I think some posters have missed this), would an alternative to digging out be to place 1'x1' 1-inch thick concrete pavers on the surface with tight junctions? (not mortared together, just nearly touching, to allow for drainage.) It sounds brutal on the back and hands, but definitely simpler and cheaper, as these blocks typically run about a buck less than $2 apiece.

You would then want to add solid sides (fascia board, etc.) at the bottom of the run walls, because I would want to have at least 18" (picked that out of the air, but I've seen chickens dig) of run litter between the blocks and the chickens' feet.

No doubt there'd be some other things to work through. Just still struggling with the thought of all that dirt, then laying down the HWC, then replacing the dirt. And although you're in desert conditions, HWC does rust and rot over time. It would be pretty awful to go through all that just to have a small spot rust out, only for the squirrels to find it and come on through.

Edit: whoa, I thought for sure that I paid less than that this spring.

The squirrels don't dig into the walls, they dig under them and come up inside the run and pens. The run/pen "walls" are just hardware cloth. The coop itself is wood and it's elevated several feet off the ground. It's predator-proof and safe from squirrels and other nasties.

I have thought about the hardware cloth eventually rusting. I hate the idea of the squirrels getting in after all that work and I hate even more the idea of a hen hurting herself on a sharp, rusty wire.

I'm hoping we'll have moved out of here by the time that becomes an issue. Every year I resolve never to go through another six months of desert summer hell, yet here I am.

Construction costs are about to bump up here, too, as we move into construction season (Nov-Mar). I'm trying to get a little ahead of it.

 

[Kentuckiana Chicken Lady]

I would recommend a ditch witch or other kind of trencher and a "wall" of *stainless steel* hardware cloth inserted at least 36" deep. I used to live in Southern New Mexico, these ground squirrels are unlike anything people around where I live now can even imagine, so I really feel for you dealing with this!

They dig SO MUCH DEEPER than groundhogs/moles/voles/rats/etc

Stainless steel hardware cloth is pretty pricey (I just bought a big roll myself) but I think it's the only hardware cloth that has a real shot at really standing up to being in constant soil contact without rusting away.