How to predator proof existing run.

[Lauravonsmurf]

We just need chainmail armor for the chickens...

 

[Krugerrand]

I'm hooked on these pictures like watching a train wreck.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I agree at least 3' up sides and some apron. On my run the sides are chain link covered by chicken wire now covered by hc!.I only have feral cats as predators (which keeps down rodent population). I used to lock hens in coop but now I leave open since run is so secured. My gate latch is swivel dog lead latch though. ( takes thumbs) !!

Locks on outside gates to larger yard now… I put screening up and then grew vines on the side of the big enclosed chicken area that can be seen from street… camouflaging where my coops and houses are is now a thing making them look like garden not chickens.
I purposefully build our coop as short as our privacy fence is tall and I don't advertise them. My coop is tucked in corner of yard so not obvious to anyone.
Anyway I'm glad you are getting to expand their space and good luck.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Oh some folks burry wire under the ground down and out as an anti dig thing… I do that for my garden beds… moles, voles and gophers. I also cage my vegetables as three of my chickens (the flighty, antisocial ones) enjoy digging up my beds …

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I'm hooked on these pictures like watching a train wreck.
View attachment 2972359

Yeah look and it just needs a crack… the challenge is real people… us versus the predactors.

 

[perkolator]

Like said, hardware cloth and a skirt around the bottom perimeter are great for a lot of predators -- such as raccoons who can reach right through the larger hole fencing materials. On the top you might get away with the chicken wire. On a structure like that you can likely get away with metal wire or outdoor rated zipties to attach to the structure, but you may want/need to add some additional structure to support the fencing so it doesn't sag in the middle - some EMT conduit pipe might be a good material for this.

On the subject of runs that aren't fully protected from predators -- I did this a little while back, added a run extension that was just a 5ft fence made of 2x2 fencing, without any skirt or overhead protection; now I'm changing it up to be more secure. Things were totally fine for well over a year, the run has bushes and trees overhead to keep them out of sight from a lot of predators - but then some predators caught on this past summer and now I've lost most of my flock over the last few months, 75% were losses inside the extended run

Main coop structure is secure, but in the extended run I've seen a skunk digging underneath the fence to get food scraps in the dawn hours, pretty sure a raccoon family got some hens through the 2x2 fencing holes during the daytime, and I'm pretty sure a predator that comes in from above the fence has come back multiple times to claim a meal during the daytime (multiple types of birds of prey in the area, as well as bobcats that can climb the fence).

Now I've just gotta find time to add overhead protection (I'm using chicken wire suspended with bamboo poles since I've got both laying around) and adding in the lower wall and perimeter skirt, with some 1/2" hardware cloth.

Good luck with the new run!

 

[Akachicklil]

I agree at least 3' up sides and some apron. On my run the sides are chain link covered by chicken wire now covered by hc!.I only have feral cats as predators (which keeps down rodent population). I used to lock hens in coop but now I leave open since run is so secured. My gate latch is swivel dog lead latch though. ( takes thumbs) !!

Locks on outside gates to larger yard now… I put screening up and then grew vines on the side of the big enclosed chicken area that can be seen from street… camouflaging where my coops and houses are is now a thing making them look like garden not chickens.
I purposefully build our coop as short as our privacy fence is tall and I don't advertise them. My coop is tucked in corner of yard so not obvious to anyone.
Anyway I'm glad you are getting to expand their space and good luck.

What is an apron? Other the thing you use to keep clean when cooking?

 

[aart]

What is an apron?

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation.

If rodents are prolific, burying the apron ~12" would be good.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[Sally PB]

My run is made of a metal frame, much like what OP has pictured. All walls are covered in 2x3 coated welded wire fence up to the roof. The lower 4' has 1/2" hardware cloth over that. The top 2' has chicken wire. I have a hardware cloth horizontal apron around the bottom, 18-24" wide.

Half of the run has a solid polycarbonate roof. The other half is covered with chicken wire and a tarp; I plan to replace that with some kind of solid roof.

Was this cheap? No, but I'm a repurposer and scrounger. The metal frame was free, as a neighbor wanted "that junk out of the way." The run was built in stages, so I didn't have to buy all of this at once. I bartered with a neighbor for some of the fencing. I got some of it with the 11% refund from a large Menards purchase for another project. I got a Walmart gift card at one point and got more hardware cloth.

 

[Akachicklil]

Good examples of anti-dig apron installation.

If rodents are prolific, burying the apron ~12" would be good.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

Thank you.