How do I secure the BOTTOM of my runs?

[Cys chickens]

critters can easily dig & crawl under the run. I haven't seen any comments on that problem in the threads.

 

[Cyprus]

18in skirt around the base of 1/2in Hardware Cloth
Or 6in buried wire

 

[Kessel23]

critters can easily dig & crawl under the run. I haven't seen any comments on that problem in the threads.

Are you having problems with this or just asking? I have never had a predator dig under the run. A few rats have and some rabbits. The only predator that probably could around here is a coyote or a fox. But, this time of the year the ground is to hard for anything to dig. To prevent this do what Cyprus already said. An electric wire can also help, predators will test the wire before digging under and an electrical wire is not very welcoming to them.

 

[TheBeardie]

You take some type of welded wire, like hardware cloth, dig around the coop 1-2 feet deep and put the hardware cloth down the hole. The animal will try to dig under and run into the hardware cloth and not be able to to get in.

You could also do a skirt around the coop. You bring the hardware cloth partway down the side of the coop and then bring the rest of the hardware cloth down and around the coop like a skirt and pin it down with something like a landscape pin. The animal will try to dig around the coop and don't realize they need move further away to be able to dig in.

 

[feathermania]

When we built our run, we ran hardware cloth a few feet up from the ground and down to the ground, bent it out flat (in an "L" shape, the flat part was 8" to 12"), buried the flat part of the hardware cloth and let grass grow over it. I've read that animals that dig more than likely won't back up and dig again if they run into the hardware cloth when they dig the first time. Hope that makes sense!

 

[imnukensc]

Look through some of these posts. You'll find plenty of comments/ideas on aprons around the run.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/search/48456971/?q=apron&o=date&c[node]=9

 

[Ribh]

As others have said; we have a wire "floor" in the bottom of our run with the wire folded onto the frame. No gaps. I deep mulch over the top. The hens can still scavange & scratch but the nasties can't get in

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wire mesh aprons as mentioned above work very well. You can actually see the evidence of it working if something tries to get in at night, and the next morning you'll see scratch marks around the base of the run, uncovering the wire.

 

[aart]

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[flyin-lowe]

I don't have any pictures but when I built my run I bought a role of 24 inch tall welded wire fence. I laid it flat on the ground all the way around the perimeter of the run after I set my posts. The "bottom board" of my run framing set right on top of it. I also put about a layer of stone around the outside of the run so I didn't have grass/weeds growing right up against it. So I have 12 inches of fencing inside of the run and 12 inches on the outside. So far so good.