An angle grinder is useful for cutting the stuff. May I suggest attaching the mat to a furring strip the length of the coop bottom, then nailing it to the wood frame?
Mesh predator apron being REALLY HARD to do
- Thread starter Celticdragonfly
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- #32
Celticdragonfly
Crowing
I don't even know what a furring strip is...
The cheapest flimsiest piece of wood that Home Depot sells in 8 foot lengths...1x2 nominally at my storr
I haven't posted on here forever, but happened to read this and can feel your frustration! I just have to say--if anyone is depending on a hardware cloth apron to keep rats and mice out of their run, forget about it! A rat will climb right over any apron in no time, believe me, I have watched it! The best way I have found to deal with rats is to shut the chickens in a fort knox coop right at dusk (rats can also sneak into the coop at dusk, so you might want to check for rats at first), and keep a bait station outside the coop. Not fun, but part of chicken keeping.
My run is 2 by 3" welded wire with a chicken wire apron around the bottom. My area is crawling with predators--loose dogs, raccoons, coyotes, you name it, and I have never lost a chicken. I even had a raccoon living under the coop until I figured it out! I don't really understand the fixation on hardware cloth for aprons--it is expensive, hard to work with, and everything will break down in time.
My run is 2 by 3" welded wire with a chicken wire apron around the bottom. My area is crawling with predators--loose dogs, raccoons, coyotes, you name it, and I have never lost a chicken. I even had a raccoon living under the coop until I figured it out! I don't really understand the fixation on hardware cloth for aprons--it is expensive, hard to work with, and everything will break down in time.
trumpeting_angel
Free Ranging
But the (buried) apron is to keep the digging critters from coming under the run, not over it. I don’t understand your description.
Glad to have you here posting! I’m sure your expertise will help us newbies!
Glad to have you here posting! I’m sure your expertise will help us newbies!
An apron alone won't do anything against rodents. An apron with extra wire mesh extending all the way up the run walls, will. I only have it up a couple of feet as the chickens are locked in at night, but having even just that much HWC plus removing feeders at night has gotten rat sightings inside the run down to zero.
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- #37
Celticdragonfly
Crowing
My run walls were predator proof hardware cloth in the first place.
My chicken run is 2x4 welded wire, so a hardware cloth apron would not make any sense. I considered a number of options, including a chicken run and apron all made with hardware cloth. In the end, I already had the 2x4 welded wire fencing, so I just used that without any apron at all. So far, I have not been hit by any daytime predators as I also have bird netting on top of the run for the bald eagles and hawks. So my chicken run is predator resistant, but by no means predator proof. However, my coop is built like fort knox, and the chicks are locked up tight every evening before sundown. Night time predation was my main concern, and I think my coop will withstand predator invasion.
And as to a hardware cloth apron, I have read that hardware cloth does not last very long if in contact with the ground. It rusts and gets weak. So I gave up on that idea for my situation long ago.
Obviously, I feel people can build whatever they think best for their situations. If I had a predator proof chicken run made with hardware cloth, I'd probably consider a hardware cloth apron and replace it as needed. My chickens only have access to the predator resistant chicken run during daylight and then they get locked down tight in the fort knox coop for the night. Works for me.
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- #39
Celticdragonfly
Crowing
Yes, the stuff we got for the apron is vinyl coated, so that should help.
Maybe I don't have the terms right--I believe skirting is the stuff going out away from the run about 2', and apron is the stuff going up the sides of the run about 2-3'. Or is that backwards?
Regardless--neither of these is going to keep rats out of your run! They can tunnel under the skirting, even 2' wide (been there), and scurry up and over the apron faster than you can blink. The only way you are going to keep rats out is to completely encase the run 100% with hardware cloth (not recommended, not good for chicken feet). These guys are smart, tenacious, and very agile!
So I consider the skirting and apron a defense against predators reaching through the welded wire, or little chicks running out (just had to net the rest of the walls, those little buggers are flying all over now!).
The best defense against rats is keeping feed in the coop at night, closing up the coop right at dusk, and keeping the bait box restaurant ready.
Regardless--neither of these is going to keep rats out of your run! They can tunnel under the skirting, even 2' wide (been there), and scurry up and over the apron faster than you can blink. The only way you are going to keep rats out is to completely encase the run 100% with hardware cloth (not recommended, not good for chicken feet). These guys are smart, tenacious, and very agile!
So I consider the skirting and apron a defense against predators reaching through the welded wire, or little chicks running out (just had to net the rest of the walls, those little buggers are flying all over now!).
The best defense against rats is keeping feed in the coop at night, closing up the coop right at dusk, and keeping the bait box restaurant ready.
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