dog kennel

[eggeater51]

I have been reading the forum for the past 2 weeks. I have 2 RIR, 2 Brown Leghorns, and 2 Black Rocks pullets from the local feed store. I have my coop completed minus the painting. Thanks for everyone's pictures. My question is about my run. Will a galvanized chain link dog kennel work for a run? I bought a 7.5'X7.5' kennel and will add 2 10' sections for a total of 7.5' x 17.5'. The 2 ten foot sections I had already. Do I have to add hardware wire or chicken wire to the bottom of this? I realize that I will need to put some fencing flat on the ground to prevent digging. I have plans for a top. My place is in the middle of 18 acres of timber. We have hawks, owls, coons, and fox sharing this patch of timber with us. This site has been a big help for us as we learn about these chickens.

 

[MissCluck]

I have a regular chain link kennel for a small run. It works fine. I've had to put netting over the top against the hawks and this year I'm putting some netting along the base because my terrier can reach his snoot in and grab feathers if a chicken comes too close.

I've not had a predator problem with digging yet (knock wood).

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I use dog kennels for my geese, and ducks, and it works just fine. Just make sure to cover the top of the kennel with chicken wire.

Also, for the first week or so, I would put a lamp in the middle of the coop so they dont sleep near the edges of the coop.

 

[MrsChickendad]

Welcome!

We use dog kennels and run hardware cloth around the outside bottom to keep critters from pulling pieces of our chickens thru the wire. Chicken wire is stretchy and hard to work with, so we prefer the hardware cloth. If you have varmints that dig you may want to bury a portion of the hardware cloth in the ground. We just attach it with zip ties. Quick and easy. We put bird netting over the top of the kennel, and the birds are cooped at night so that works as a deterrent to some degree.

 

[KKatknap]

Where you are, I would definitely put some hardware mesh along the lower portion. I have seen a couple of posts where raccoons will reach through, grab a chicken by the neck and pull its head through fence openings. People have found their chickens headless with it sticking through their fence.

I also saw a post the other day where a person's chickens would reach their heads through the fence to peck at something outside the enclosure, and her own dog grabbed one. A wily fox would probably figure that out, too.

If it were me (I tend to be overcautious), I would add the mesh.

 

[eggeater51]

I am in SW Ill. The chickens will be in the coop at night and hopefully my 2 bloodhound pups will keep everything away during the day. I probably will add wire to the bottom of the chain link. At some point, I hope to free range them during the day. If the dogs will leave them alone and they stay away from the garden. We'll see on a couple of weekend test runs. I am still at least 3 weeks away from moving them to the outside coop and run.