How much varmint protection needed?

[Uncle Marc]

I will post another video to my page today of the progress on our coop, but while I'm drinking coffee and thinking through all the next steps I began to wonder about varmint protection inside the coop.

If I put down a 5/8 inch plywood floor in a 12' x 16' coop, do I need to protect against "chew throughs? by putting down hardware cloth on top of the floor joists, and under the flooring, or is that not an issue?

 

[fireguy56]

Marc, I have seen where people do put down wire before decking their floor. I have two coops that are raised and I didn't do that. Just 1'' osb for floor deck with Sheet Vinyl over that. To date I havn't seen any evidence of critters getting under my coops. However, when time permits and I finish everything else, I will proberbly put a wire apron around the coops...just in case. Others may have better advice for youl Good luck.
Erik

 

[7L Farm]

I have dirt floors in all my coops " well really sand " our ground here is sand. Don't know why you would want a plywood floor but its your coop. I Use an apron around the coop & run. I do have one coop that I use hot wire around the whole structure. The hot wire arond the coop is only a few inches above ground to keep predators from digging under. The hot wire around the run is two strands of wire one strand few inches above ground & second strand is 18 inches above ground. Here's the apron around my th

ree sided coop. This baby is predator proof.

 

[SteveBaz]

Wow 7L Farm that is very impressive!! Indeed.

Marc short of using 1'' in the coop 3/4 in with no floor over is perfect. It should hast you decades of wonderful use. Covering it will make and managing the floor extremely easy for cleanup , maintenance and hygiene. Hardware cloth under the floor would be another idea I think its overkill and not needed. I would prefer to save the money for other stuff. Great luck and keep the pictures coming.

 

[chfite]

I never though about chewing through the wood walls and floors. I have not read any posts about that. My dogs harass the chickens through the wire, not through the wooden walls. I wonder if not being able to see through the wooden walls keeps them from trying when there is somewhere else through which they can see.

 

[bantamboy]

i had a pack of dogs rip the wood siding off of my coop a few years back and got in and killed about everything i had poor little bantams they just ripped the heads off and left them there

i was heart broken. when i got home my grandad had ordered me 150 and said they were on the way haha he felt so bad too they were all straight run so i ended up with all sorts of different things i ended up selling them all but a few for 50 bucks gosh i hated myself now im trying to get back up and going. but anyways what i did to keep the dogs and varments out: i took two foot tall chicken wire or hardware cloth would work fine and put it around the bottom of the wooden part of the coop then i took the same stuff and attatched it to the very bottom of the whole run all the way around and burried it into the ground where nothin could dig into it it was an old trick my grandparents used to keep hogs from getting out and you know how bad a hog can dig and root up everything so it for sure as worked to keep stuff out of the pen a little bit of extra work but gosh it pays off and saves you from a lot of heartache seeing something get your birds never know how bad it hurts till it happens plus the project is realitivly enexpensive good luck