How to best reinforce chain link?

[birdy_num_nums]

I'm going to be making a run out of 6' square dog kennel panels. My chickies will be allowed in the run during the day when we are home. Otherwise (night & times we're away) they'll be locked in their secure coop.

I have 8 panels, and the wall of the coop will serve as part of the pen- so 56 foot perimeter; I was planning on sort of a circular shape (vs. rectangular with 90 degree corners).

Over the top for hawk and eagle protection I am planning on chicken wire attached to the fence with hog rings.

I'd prefer that the run be somewhat portable as far as being able to move the sections around a bit into different configurations. So I would prefer to avoid digging a trench and placing hwc or chicken wire down and out.

What are some ways to beef up the link itself where it ends near the pole perimeter of the panel? I think someone suggested those metal hose clamp things used in cars; how much do those usually cost? I was thinking initially of using wire, but now that seems so labor intensive and not strong enough anyway- thoughts?

Suggestions? Pictures?

 

[Anny]

wow you read my mind. I just put up my chainlink for my run and I was trying to figure out how to make it stronger and secure it to the my garage (which contain the coop and serves as one of the walls)

I plan on also putting hardware cloth along the slower 1/2 of mine as well.

I'm interested in seeing what people have to say.

 

[dixygirl]

I love your ideas of hwc around the bottom and chicken wire over the top. Anny, from your picture I could also see some lovely pavers of your choice around the perimeter outside to deter the stray digging dog or other. These could simply be moved around with the structure when you move it Birdy_num_nums. The other consideration might be to secure the gaps between panels somehow.


With all that I am sure it will be great

 

[Anny]

Quote:
Actually the pavers are to deter MY digging dog

 

[patandchickens]

To deal with the gaps at the bottom corners where panels meet (because of the curves, you know?) I just sock a very large cinderblock into the corner if it is roughly right-angle, or wire a board to the bottoms of each chainlink panel for a more 'open' angle so that the boards meet closely in the corner. It seems pretty secure to me.

For your top cover, if you use chickenwire it will be a pain to detach it and reconfigure it every time you want to move or reconfigure the pen. Since you're not going to be protecting vs dogs or raccoons or foxes *anyhow* (with typical chickenwire), have you thought about just getting some cheap trellis netting in a suitable size and weighting it at points along the edges so the whole thing would drape securely over the top? That would be much more flexible, and quicker to reconfigure. If you wanted to reinforce across the middle you could just run a couple 2x2s over there, maybe even just jammed into the topmost holes of the chainlink. Just food for thought

Have fun,

Pat

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You don't need to bury wire to prevent digging, you can just lay it on top of the ground, firmly attached to the base of the fence or kennel panel.

Chicken wire should do a fine job of keeping out aerial predators.

I'm not sure what to say about additional securing of the chain link to the frame. My kennels are quite old and were made a lot stronger than some of the ones that are being sold today. So, I've never had to do that. There are quite a few people on the forum that are using kennels, though, so I'm sure you will get lots of ideas. I'm waiting to see how long it takes for someone to say zip ties!

Seriously, whatever you end up using will be worth the investment in time and supplies, to have a safer run. You might even end up using more than one style of fastener on your panels. If the most secure choice turns out to be more labor intensive or expensive than you'd like, you can always use that one along the bottom section, where a dog or raccoon would be most likely to strike. The upper sections of the panel could be done with the less labor intensive or expensive solution.

It sounds like it's going to work out great. I've had my kennels for many years and they've been used in a lot of different configurations, for several different species, on three different properties.

 

[lilchick]

I have the dog kennel panels for my chicken pens also..
They are attached to building where they butt up to it with a 2 by 4 that is nailed to building and 2 metal clamp attachments to firmly attach panel to it. We bought the clamps at Lowes.

I have a small 6 by 8 pen for my duck hen and her babies. I used the plastic netting for covering fruit trees to line the inside and keep duckies from slipping thru the corners.... You could also use your chicken wire..

As far as shaping my pen it angles around the front of my barn and softens the look of squaring it off...

I bought the heavyweight knitted netting for top. Used hog rings to attach to panels and no not zip ties even tho they would work.... E-bay was the best price for the netting..

For the money and looks I say dog kennels are the way to go....