dog kennel for duck house question

[bryan99705]

Just put some 1/2 inch hardware on the inside, up about 12 - 18 inches from the ground to keep the fuzzybutts from slipping thru the openings and prevent reach thrus, plywood is excessive and blocks you from watching them. Also a skirt laid around the enclosure will stop diggers, doubt they can lift a panel but they will try to burrow under it. If you have climbing or flying predators in the area, you might look into a prefab kennel panel from Lowes or Home Depot (available in various sizes) as a top plus it's strong enough to support a tarp for shade.

 

[jamband]

Quote:
I have seen the kennel conversions and if I though chicken wire was enough I would be fine with it. Thing is I have read and heard alot of stories of chicken wire not stopping coons. I hear they can just rip through it. I also dont imagine that chain link would stop a weasel, minks, etc. Couldn't they fit through. I imagine chicken wire would stop them but I am afraid of the coons ripping it. A dog kennel is perfect but covering it in hardware cloth will be 3 times the cost of the kennel

 

[ben is a terror]

Coon reached through our chain link and did this

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
OH NO!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! Poor baby. I am so sorry that happened. How long ago did that happen? How is the duck making it?

 

[Grillmaster33]

Awwwww
Sorry about the duck. Poor dude.

Thanks for all the tips though people. I've been lurking and taking notes.

 

[jamband]

Quote:
i asked this once before but why only 18 inches high? i know coons etc reaching through but could not a smaller predator, say weasel or mink, just climb up and through the chainlink at 18 inches??

I need to be on the inexpensive on this. I can access pallets and build a wood coop but just thought a dog kennel was so easy, easy to move, already built etc

 

[ben is a terror]

He was still a baby. We had him in the house on a special mash for almost 6 months He is 3 now and doing great he lives on a special need farm. I get updates all the time.

 

[lorihadams]

Okay, we used a crate for our duck house at our old house and we currently use a rabbit hutch for our duck house now. The rabbit hutch is raised off the ground so we built a ramp for them to go up in it but they prefer the other side and jump up on the step and them jump again to get inside. The good thing is that it is partially open and has a partially closed section with a separate door. We have a plastic mortar pan in there that we fill with shavings so that when we need to clean it I just pull the whole thing out and dump it in the woods, hose it off and fill it with clean shavings. They have a closed in place to get away from critters at night but in the morning they can come out into the open part and walk around until I can open them up to free range for the day. Here's a pic.

The door on the left is to the solid area, it is open in this picture so you can see the ramp to it and the pan inside. The area on the right is where they usually enter/exit the hutch and we prop that door open all day so our females can go in to lay in the shavings pan. I usually put a small pan of water on the wired bottom in the summer so they have water when they get up in the morning in case I'm late letting them out. We used to have rabbits but got rid of them...this pic still has the rabbits in it. It is a really good option for our ducks though. We have 4 indian runners.

Hope that will give you another option to think about.

 

[zookeeper15133]

I used window screen to go along the bottom of the wire. You only need to prevent them reaching through. You could do the top in 1x2 or 2x4 welded wire. It won't stop a mink, but not much will.

 

[tdgill]

I'm thinking, unless I can cover the entire dog kennel with hardware wire, it will not be completely predator proof. If anything ever is. I am glad I have a dog though....

I believe I would feel best with a duck house that closes up safe at night and use the kennel another way. It is much bigger than needed for sleeping ducks.

was thinking if you were able to put the kennel in a corner (I have mine shoved up against our shed) that would cut down on the need for hardwire cloth on two sides? Would have to be snug though.

I am trying to figure out how to incorporate my 6x8 kennel with a bunny hutch