hardwire skirt to prevent predator digging :opinions wanted

[Chickiemom25]

I finished my hoop coop but need to prevent predators from digging in. I have extra wire left over. should I attach the wire to the frame of the hoops or just lay large ( 6') panels so some is inside some outside the coop? If I just lay the panels down, how far should they extend in either direction since they are 6' wide. I find grass grows up around them, kind of cementing them to the ground eventually. In my chicken run I just ran the wire all the way through the run and sticking out 2.5' on either side. I don't want to waste 8 feet of wire inside the hoop coop covering the internal areas. Thoughts?

 

[blackdog043]

Do you have any pictures? You just need wire about 24" out from the edge

 

[Chickiemom25]

 

[Ridgerunner]

What I do is attach the apron to the bottom of the run so nothing can get in between the bottom of the run and the apron. The bottom of mine is wire so I use hog rings or J-clips to attach it. Some people use wire. Since yours is wood you might screw it. It doesn't take much of a gap between the wire and the bottom of your run for some critters to squeeze through, especially if your ground is at all not level.

This way I don't have any wire extending into the run.

 

[Chickiemom25]

What I do is attach the apron to the bottom of the run so nothing can get in between the bottom of the run and the apron. The bottom of mine is wire so I use hog rings or J-clips to attach it. Some people use wire. Since yours is wood you might screw it. It doesn't take much of a gap between the wire and the bottom of your run for some critters to squeeze through, especially if your ground is at all not level.

This way I don't have any wire extending into the run.

Thanks. If I slip the wire under the frame and bend it up, I could also use hog rings to attach rather than fence staples to the frame. I am so tired of trying to nail those in straight

 

[Ridgerunner]

You could also use furring strips. That's how I attach wire to flat wood. Get a strip of wood maybe 3/4" thick, drill pilot holes to help start he screws and keep the wood from splitting, and make sure the screws go through openings in the wire. Clamp that down and it will not come off. If the wood is soft I use fender washers on the screws to keep the screw heads from sinking in too far. I make my own furring strips by ripping a 2x4 with a table saw.

 

[jewelg]

What I do is attach the apron to the bottom of the run so nothing can get in between the bottom of the run and the apron. The bottom of mine is wire so I use hog rings or J-clips to attach it. Some people use wire. Since yours is wood you might screw it. It doesn't take much of a gap between the wire and the bottom of your run for some critters to squeeze through, especially if your ground is at all not level.

This way I don't have any wire extending into the run.

Hiya! Am I correct in thinking that if you have a well built predator apron, the coop floor can just be the ground? We bought a 2 story coop set up where there’s open ground underneath the coop and the chickens walk up a ramp to get into the roosting/nesting area. That roosting/nesting area has a solid floor, but the coop is open to the ground below that. This is the coop: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-mini-defender-coop-mdc001

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the link, it explained what you are talking about. As far as digging predators go, absolutely yes. My coop floor is dirt, my run floor is dirt. No wire, no concrete, no wood,, just dirt but with an apron.

 

[jewelg]

Thanks for the link, it explained what you are talking about. As far as digging predators go, absolutely yes. My coop floor is dirt, my run floor is dirt. No wire, no concrete, no wood,, just dirt but with an apron.

Awesome. Thank you! That’s what I hoped. I want our chickens to have real dirt under their feet- wire just seems ugh - but we definitely have rats out here in Los Angeles so need to take measures against them. What ever HC we have left over is going around some tomatoes which keep disappearing in the night juuuuust as they get almost ripe....

 

[Ridgerunner]

What ever HC we have left over is going around some tomatoes which keep disappearing in the night juuuuust as they get almost ripe....

Could be something else, but sounds like a raccoon to me.