Do I need something better to cover my run?

[ATRoos314]

Update: I asked my dad and brother what they have (they live nearby) and apparently my brother's run is only covered with a tarp. He has had problems with wild dogs and coyotes, but has never seen any raccoons. My dad uses bird netting. He has had issues with predator birds, but never raccoons. I have another question: will foxes or dogs dig very far underground to get under? We have wood around the base of the perimeter to keep the fencing stable. How deep do these creatures dig? Our ground is very hard, dense clay that has a lot of tree roots in it. It was difficult to dig post holes with a gas powered auger. Is it really likely that a dog or fox can dig deep enough to get under?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can you post pics of the structure?
Snow load can be a real problem on chicken wire, bird netting AND hardware cloth. It sticks and builds up sagging and ripping up the wire/netting and even the structure.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You can lay the wire across the top o the soil and pin it down with the long narrow edging pins. The wide staples for landscape fabric don't work for an anti dig apron.
Once the grass has grown through the wire it will be even more difficult to pull up.

Making it 18-24" wide will work to deter those diggers.

 

[Sally PB]

Snow load can be a real problem on chicken wire, bird netting AND hardware cloth. It sticks and builds up sagging and ripping up the wire/netting and even the structure.

Very good point! You can see how much "sag" there is between the metal tube supports in the roof of my run. I keep the snow swept off when we get any. But if those supports weren't there, the roof would surely have fallen in even with just a few inches of snow.

 

[Sally PB]

View attachment 2525990

Picture is not loading... So my post doesn't show what I meant.

 

[feather13]

I have another question: will foxes or dogs dig very far underground to get under? We have wood around the base of the perimeter to keep the fencing stable. How deep do these creatures dig? Our ground is very hard, dense clay that has a lot of tree roots in it. It was difficult to dig post holes with a gas powered auger. Is it really likely that a dog or fox can dig deep enough to get under?

Perhaps not with that kind of packed ground. We have sand ground cover in the coop and run with hard, packed earth under. This hasn't been a problem with predators, but with the chickens lol. Ours hate being cooped up and have started trying to dig a tunnel under the run.

 

[Sally PB]

Could I get a link for this other bird netting?

Try looking for "aviary bird mesh." Here's one product:

Bird-X Heavy Duty Bird Netting, 25' x 50' - NET-PE-25-50​

$$$, though. That roll was $221 plus shipping. For that price, you may be able to do a solid roof of something else.

 

[SegiDream]

Personally if you want to leave the coop door open at night and you're gonna put a chunk of money into it, I'd put a tin roof over the run and secure any gaps with hardware cloth and do the no dig skirt. Determined land predators are not going to be stopped by flimsy plastic or thread. By the time you realize a predator got in you may not have any chickens left. Plus a tin roof keeps the rain out and provides some shade in the hot summer.

One alternative may be to use an automatic coop door.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Personally if you want to leave the coop door open at night and you're gonna put a chunk of money into it, I'd put a tin roof over the run and secure any gaps with hardware cloth and do the no dig skirt. Determined land predators are not going to be stopped by flimsy plastic or thread. By the time you realize a predator got in you may not have any chickens left. Plus a tin roof keeps the rain out and provides some shade in the hot summer.

One alternative may be to use an automatic coop door.

I second this.
My big run is roughly 16x25 and we finally roofed it with metal. It was a pain in the butt to do but so much better than the wire top we had.

 

[Sally PB]

Poultry Netting 25ft x 50ft Heavy Knotted 2" Mesh Nets Aviary Gamefowl Quail Chicken Bird Block Net Long Lasting Break/Burst 85/245 lb Polyethylene 8-10 Year Lifespan 13lb Ship Weight​

Another thread had this kind of netting, and said it worked very well. $83. Much better price, and someone has used it and liked it.