Need help on how to run hardware cloth under coop and run.

[shelleypiat]

Hey everyone!
I am a newbie and I am recieving my coop and run next week. We are in the midst of preparing the ground for it. The size will be 5x10. I have a lot of land around me with about every kind of predator…. I need to run hardware cloth under the entire area so that mice also don't get in. How do i do this exactly? I know I have to place it deep in the ground but do I attach it to the outer sides of the coop and run? WHat do I attach with that is secure? Also I have a lot of shade in this area so I know it will get damp some but I live in NC so lots of heat. What should I put on the ground? Dirt? Sand? A part of the run will be covered and I was thinking sand there and then where it is not covered I would do pebbles so it dries easier. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you!!!!

 

[kueblercoop]

I asked a similar question recently, I was advised to run an apron around the coop instead of going under. We ran the cloth down the side and bent it at the ground and took it out a little over a foot.

here was a helpful reply I got from my BYC post:

It would have been extremely difficult to dig under the perimeter of our run to bury hardware cloth or welded wire as well. Our ground is extremely hard and rocky. So we opted for the apron around the coop and run and have never looked back. We knew it worked when our English Setter, Molly, tried digging under and broke and bloodied a toenail. We used hardware cloth about 2 feet up the sides of the run, then folded it where it met the ground and extended it out another approximately two feet. Initially we planned to cover that with rock, but the grass grew through it so well that Ken can mow right up to the sides of the run - right over top of the apron. That has another advantage - no hiding places for smaller pests!

Our run is made of cattle panels arched over and covered in chicken wire to deter overhead predators. We have way too many of those! I also wanted to keep out small wild birds. I don't want them eating the chickens' food, and they can bring in mites and such that I really would rather avoid.

 

[shelleypiat]

Perfect! Thank you!!