As an apron around the walls, you did the hardware cloth exactly right! And don’t add rocks etc at the base of the walls, as they will just teach predators to back farther out before digging and then come back up once past the HWC and rocks. And also, good work not adding HWC to the floor of your coop, because it’s brutal on chicken’s feet once they dig down - and they will.Well, best laid plans.
Since an event today was rescheduled, and it was 50°, decided to work on the hardware cloth.
Ran it around the base of the run, 18" out and up, secured to the ground with 6" sod staples and sewed it to the fencing with wire.
Covered it all with soil and low-grow grass seed.
Some areas, where there were retaining walls were not accessible.
Still need to add cloth to the lower portion of the door, but need to be able to extend it past the wide openings on both sides.
Also staked the run down with the twelve inch spikes.
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I knew these would come in handy! Spaced them every six inches front, middle and rear in the ground.
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But Three Stents is right - that HWC needs now to extend up the sides AND over the top of your run. Humans love chicken dinners, and predators love them even more. A raccoon can and will reach a paw through the gaps in chain link fencing, grab a chicken’s leg or head, and start eating while it’s still alive.
