Here is what I'm planning...a couple questions...advice welcomed

[dulcimer lady]

I have a small coop that is going to go inside a fenced dog pen. I am planning on covering the top of the pen in chicken wire or hardware cloth and then putting a tarp over that on one half of the pen for shade. (There are also some trees around so they will provide some shade during part of the day as well. I'm also planning on running wire around the bottome of the pen and form a bit of an "apron" around the bottom to deter digging predators.

However, I was told that I should bury wire underneath the perimeter of the pen for the same reason. A couple of things are giving me pause about that.
1. How can I know the size of something that will try to dig underneath? If I bury wire 6 inches down and then something comes along that can squeeze through a 4 inch spot?
2. We will probably want to move the whole thing - coop and pen - from time to time to fresh grass. In which case the buried wire won't be doing much good.

Any thoughts about which method to use on the bottom of the pen?

 

[AccioSarah]

I'm pretty new to the world of chickens and coops- but my run is simply weighed down so it can be moved about by two people... "Chicken Tractors" (movable runs) are supposed to be pretty popular. I have never heard of an animal getting under one of those.
Also, if your chickens are locked up in the coop at night, I think you have even less to worry about.

 

[joletabey]

I think the apron idea is fine, it's what I did myself, BUT it needs to be more than " a bit" of an apron - from 12 to 24" out from the pen would be better, as a larger animal is going to dig a fairly wide hole.
I have mine weighted down in spots by cement blocks with a few flowers planted in them and held flat by landscape pins, so the grass grows through it, and DH can mow right over it. Some people weight it down with rocks. If you want it to be moveable, a few big rocks or blocks to help flatten it might work.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I'm planning on doing a 2 ft. apron. Thanks for the idea about the landscaping pins. I had not thought of that and I certainly don't want the grass growing wild around the run.