I am living and learning. Just discovered that the circular saw I bought to cut 2x4s won't cut 2x4s. In a fit of complete panic (because chicks are ordered to come in October and I've got a LOT of work to do), I ordered a darned portable table saw. I may have to learn how to build things.... I'm not made of money, by the way, but my sister just died and she gave me a little money to get things to make my life happier. Will a table saw make me happy? Time will tell. First I have to learn how not to kill myself with it!
Anyway, because I'm panicking about not having the predator-proof abode finished by the time I need to, my mind is racing on what I can do as a temporary alternative if I'm not finished in time. I've been looking at the whole chunnel idea, and I'm wondering if I might be able to make this work:
I have twelve 2x4 heavy-duty black gridwall panels. The other threads I've read here mentioned their gridwall panels have 2x2" openings, but mine are the "standard" 3x3 inches. I know that's not going to keep out predators, and probably won't keep out even my little chihuahua-sized dogs, but the panels are VERY strong, can be zip-tied together as needed and moved around, and the size they are opened out to can be varied based on the terrain. I was thinking about maybe getting some kind of cheap 4-foot wide smaller-holed fencing to cover each panel with (maybe just chicken wire; I have a lot of that lying around; NOT hardware cloth!), thinking during the day it might help keep claws and jaws from reaching in for the chickens; the thick wire of the gridwall would keep it from being smushed.
Any thoughts on this? Remember, this is just for a day run and mainly to keep our dogs off the chickens; the dogs do a good job of barking anything else out of the yard during the day. Chainlink fence around the back yard, too. The coop itself (a Formex Snaplock) is already well fortified against predators for night-time. This would not be a permanent solution, of course, because I'd still be building my larger run.
