Is using a dog kennel for a chicken run safe enough??

[coolchange]

I have 13 pullets and have a chicken run that is 10x20 for them to run in and a coop that they all sleep in. My chicken run needs to be replaced and I am thinking of a 10x20 dog kennel made of chain link fence. I am planning on putting a sealed roof on. I also plan on using the 1" chicken wire from the ground up 4 feet on the sides all the way around. The bottom will be wired also. The reason for all this is because I have fox and racoons that are around here so I want them protected 24 hours. My question is do you think this is enough? Should I wire it all the way to the top? Someone told me that if I had just chainlink that if a chicken was stiiting against the fence a racoon could reach in and pull it through so I was to be sure they are safe. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[erinm]

sounds good to me. I used a dog kennel and it works just fine. Erin M

 

[silkhope]

I'm gonna sound like a broken record (I just want yours to be safe too!!) but you need to think about roaming dogs (namely big ones, like german shepherds, like the one that killed my girls that were in a dog kennel). Just a thought... the dog literally tore away the chicken wire I had wrapped around it and then tore up the chain link at the bottom, enough to squeeze in. I would consider burying hog wire or something strong like that, so they can't tear into it.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I use a 10X10 chainlink kennel for my girls. I got it off of Freecycle. I put hardware cloth around the bottom 1 1/2 of it and around the door (2 of them) to prevent something from slipping in around them. Right now we are using a Large dog house as the coop, but my girls are only 12 weeks old and not laying yet. I plan on builing a bigger coop here in the next 2week or 2 in addition to my "Playhouse coop"

Has work great so far. Not problems. Neighbors PitBulls haven't been able to get thru the chainlink. A snake probably couple but so far nothing.

 

[ThunderStruck]

I have a chain link dog run (kennel) that is 6x14 and 6 ft tall set inside of 1 ft squared gardening railroad ties. it is buried about 8 inches down inside of em. Then i have housing construction chicken wire (Much heavier that reg chick wire) that is 24 in high along the inside of the chain link...No probs and no worries as of yet.

Forrest

 

[Buckguy20]

Quote:
I have used 8'x8' dog kennels for years as breeding pens and have never lost a chicken. You do need something around the bottom to keep coons from reaching in and chickens from sticking their heads out. Also mine roost on outside roosts and I put 2'x2' hardware cloth on each side of the kennel where the roosting poles are fastened. This also keeps coons from reaching in. I have heard of large dogs being able to push in the bottoms but I used a heavy wire and wired the chain link to the bottom rails about every eight to ten inches and I have never had a problem.
Monty

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

I would have to count on 2 hands the times I have seen, or seen the aftermath, of pit bulls tearing 13 gauge chain link fencing, enough to make a hole big enough to get through. The wire is pulled out of shape and even broken. Inside one of those fences were two cute little pomeranians, who were shaken and killed in one bite.

I have seen pit bulls bend 9 gauge chain link, but never tear through it.

I think hardward cloth might be safe because they can't really hook their teeth into it due to the small holes. Chicken wire is like spiderwebs to a pit bull on a mission.

I've never seen other breeds of dogs stick to the destruction as long as the pit bulls persevered. A chow once bent up the panels pretty good, and an abused german shepherd broke most of his teeth trying to get out; he also broke his back foot as he was climbing the fence, having leapt over the top before his foot was free of the side from which he started.

This is from the website:

http://www.fenceonline.com/abcschainlink.html

Quality tests prove there's a difference
Tests on light-gauge fences were conducted under the auspices of the Chain-Link Fence Manufacturers Institute. They found that a 75-pound dog and 100-pound child could severely damage or even collapse the lightest-gauge fences. In addition, the CLFMI conducted a study of recent fence buyers to learn what they expected from their chain-link fence. It turned out that once they fully understood their options, 100% of these buyers would have selected a heavier fence.


Just don't underestimate the strength, cunning, and perseverance of a determined predator.

 

[nightshade]

We used dog kennel sides for our 6ft high section of our run. It worked great. The only thing is if you plan on having smaller chicks in it at any time in the run you may want to put chicken wire around the whole thing on the bottom. Also if you have alot of weasles in your area, they can go right through the holes in the chain link. We haven't had any problems so far but it could happen. I also agree about the coons reaching in, I have a pet one and they are incredibly strong and very capible of doing that to a chicken. Also you should deffiently use some type of fencing as a "roof" over your run to further keep preditors out. Hope this helps

 

[allen wranch]

Good information about chain link. I would have thought it to be the strongest of the fencing.

Another member here had dogs go through chain link and kill every chicken she had. Not a pretty site to wake up or come home to.

If you use the heavy gauge chain link and reinforce it with hardware cloth to keep predators from reaching in or tearing under, don't forget the spaces between the gate and gate posts. I have seen animals squeeze through them very easily.

 

[Buffarino]

Okay, now I am freaking out. I have had my mixed, full grown flock in a dog kennel for 2 years. I have coons in my area. The chain link goes down into hard ground about 3 inches with large rocks topside all the way around.
I have heard stories about coons reaching through, but I have only seen coons at night. My girls go into a hen house within the run every night, so they would never be around the edge. No dogs are around, or could get in the backyard. I don't have anything around the bottom, just chain link.

Think they are safe??!!