How exactly do you bury hardware cloth?

[kiwiegg]

Hi all! I'm hoping to get my run done this weekend and have a couple of rolls of hardware cloth ready to go. I plan on framing a run with treated 4x4's dug a couple of feet into ground and use treated 2x4's to connect the tops and to attach overhead wire to.I'm not sure how I'm going to incorporate a predator proof people entrance but hopefully can figure that out.

My question is, how do you sufficiently bury the hardware cloth so it is useful against digging predators? How far down? How do I attach it so it stays buried? I built my walk-in coop on those concrete blocks that have the grooves for the 2x4 base framing. I really need to effectively seal that gap too - any ideas there?

Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[SacCityChickens]

We placed hardware wire out flat all around the coop. Set the coop on top so about 18" was laying out flat, & covered it with 2" of DG (decomposed granite). We've never seen it again.
The wire is laying out flat & only burried 2" deep.
Good luck
SCC

 

[Jaxon4141]

If you have grass around your run just you lay it down on the grass pin it down or weigh it down. When the grass grows up through it you will never see it again. Just make sure it is attached to your run fence so nothing squeeze between your run fence and your apron.

 

[kiwiegg]

Thank you for your good ideas. Sorry about the double post too - must have double clicked last night? Jaxon, should I make wire ties to attach apron peice (wire on ground extending out from run walls) to the vertical wire?

 

[Ironbreeze]

The way I did mine was to use a board laid across the fencing long ways about 8 inches from the edge and folded the fencing up along the board at a 90 degree angle. So that I ended up with my fence wire something like this...

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I then used the tiller to break up the dirt all around the edges of the run a few inches deep and 4 feet out. I scooped out the loose dirt, and laid the fencing in the trench with the bent up side against the ground boards of the run and staked down the fencing using old wire bent into a U shape. I then nailed the bent up edge to those ground boards then covered the fence on the ground with the loose dirt.

It's been working well so far. No wire exposed and I feel confident that my mower won't snag a piece when I mow over that area.

 

[Jaxon4141]

You could do as Ironbreeze does or you can use zip ties to tie the pieces together. Zip ties are quick and easy to use. I use hog ring on my mobile run as it lets me lift them up. You could also use pieces of wire to tie them to together and they would last a long time. The one draw back with zip ties is they deteriorate and become brittle over time, but with your small run it would not be difficult to just add more every year. Just make is so nothing can squeeze between your run and apron. One good thing about having predators around if you can make your chickens safe is they will eat your local rodents for you and keep them from becoming a problem.

 

[celtlass]

How did you manage the corners?