Help with building run underneath elevated coop!

[Farns]

Hello all:

I am a budding chicken coop builder who is building the following coop (except with NO wheels):




It's almost done, but I need a chicken run. I like the look of the run underneath the coop. Keep in mind that my coop is taller than pictured, and there's at least 2.5' of room underneath the coop.

What is the easiest way to predator proof the run? I understand that I'll need hardware cloth on the floor of the run, so I'm trying to figure the best way of accomplishing this. Can I simply tie the 2x4 legs together with 2x6 boards, simply attaching hardware cloth to the bottom of the frame? I figure if I add enough sand over top that the chickens won't hurt their feet while scratching.

Looking for help!

Thanks,

Brian

 

[Y N dottes]

I thik ur idea would work fine....maybe a little dark under there, so if u boarded up the bottom foot and chicken wire the rest there it may be more chicken friendly. it depends on how much work u want to put into it.

 

[Farns]

Yep. I meant covering the bottom and sides (underneath the coop) with hardware cloth. I wouldn't board up the sides and leave them pecking around in the dark!

 

[mydadsjoy]

My coop is above a tiny little secure run as well. I didn't put the hardware cloth under the coop, rather, I skirted it 18" out from the sides and buried it as far as I could stand digging in the hard clay. We've had racoons (caught and dispatched), opossums and even a bear - the girls have been fine. I'll pop over to the other computer and upload a picture of it during construction. I've since enclosed a much larger run out of the back - I simply wanted a little extra space for the girls but it needed to be very secure if I had to leave them in - such as during our recent bear attacks. It's worked very well.