Predator apron help

[Iluveggers]

Well....it was sorta answered with




If a stranger owns the other side of the fence, it is to easy for things to go wrong. A dog frantic to enter the coop is a good example. Also, neighbors might complain that the chickens are too close to them.

However, in your case, since you own both sides of the fence... it is a bit different.

No reason I can think of to not use the fence that is there, if you own both sides of the fence.

Another option though, is to build 2 runs... one coop and run that is perfectly predator proof, and then have that connected to a less secure (so way less money) larger run.

Thank you! We are actually tearing the fence down, but were thinking we could keep just that section up to use as part of the structure of the run. It will provide some shade and block the wind on 2 sides to hopefully keep the run warmer & less snow blowing in during the winter.

 

[gtaus]

I would like to throw out a few ideas...

First of all, do you actually need a predator apron? I have had chickens for 3 years, and I just have a 6 foot tall fence around the run - no predator apron. I have not had any digging by animals, yet. At night, I lock my chickens up in a Fort Knox coop and don't worry about some animal trying to dig into the chicken run.

Secondly, there are lots of YouTube videos, like from Carolina Coops, that just lay a 2 foot wide predator apron around the outside of the chicken run fence/coop. They don't recommend digging down for the predator apron. They claim that a predator will not want to dig 2+ feet horiznontaly to get inside the chicken run because the distance is too far and their instincts tell them they might get trapped in a long tunnel.

I agree that putting a 2 foot wide predator apron inside the chicken run is not a great idea, if there is wire exposed enough that the chickens could hurt themselves digging and scratching around the wire. I would not recommend that, either.

However, I was thinking, you might get a 2-fer-1 if you laid down some 2X4 grazing frames along the wood fence lines. Then you could have green grass growing in the frames and the chickens could only eat the tops of the grass that poke up through the 3.5 inch tall wood frames. I have some grazing frames in my chicken run so there is some hope of grass growing that cannot be scratched down to bare dirt. I only have wire on the top side of my grazing frames, but if you are really concerned about digging animals, then maybe you could put wire on both the top and bottom of the grazing frame. At any rate, that might be one option to consider to extend a predator apron inside the run - but still protecting your chickens' feet and such.

Another option for the wood fence line problem, might be to make a 2 foot wide compost bin extended along that wood fence. You could easily cut some pallets in half and make the compost bin(s) about 2 feet high, which is nice enough to hold lots of compostable material while at the same time the chickens can easily jump in and out of the bins. You could line the bottom of these compost bins with predator apron wire and then dump all your wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, etc.. to fill up the bins. I doubt your chickens would dig down very far into the compost, but you could always first lay a few layers of cardboard or pallet wood on top of the wire to protect the chickens.

Again, I have a pallet bin compost setup in my chicken run that my chickens like. I have 3 regular sized pallets for the back, left and right sides. I took the 4th pallet and cut it in half. One half pallet is used for the front of the compost bin, which is about 2 feet high, allowing the chickens easy access to the inside of the compost bin. The other half of the cut up pallet I placed on top of the bin. My chickens love to jump up to the top of the pallet compost bin and just sit on that half pallet on the top. Sometimes it's just nice to catch the warmth of the sun on the top. If it's too warm, then they go into the compost bin and sit in the shade of the top half. It's a win-win for me.

I would think either, or both, of those options could be used inside the chicken run to act as a predator apron along the wood fence line. If you really believe you need a predator apron, and you can live with the idea that digging animals will not dig 2+ feet horizontally to get into the chicken run, then maybe give these ideas a try. Even if you don't use these ideas for predator protection, I think you will find benefits to having grazing frames and/or compost bins inside the run for the chickens. I know my chickens take advantage of both of them in my setup.