Predator apron on a shed conversion coop?

[EEmomma43]

I’m planning on converting a 12’x7’ shed already on my property into a coop for 4 birds. It’s in really good shape, no apparent entry points for critters, has a plywood floor, and a locking double door. Do I still need a predator apron? I do plan on putting a 2’ apron on the separate run. As for predators, my property backs up to the woods so I do have a lot, including a fox (which has at one time made a den under that same shed, but it was taken over by a groundhog), wolves/coyotes/coydogs/(some kind of wild dog that lives in packs and I’ve heard howling in the woods close by recently), raccoons, skunks, opossum, hawks, and stray cats.
P.S. It’s very likely that the groundhog is hibernating under that shed right now, so if I were to try to bury hardware cloth, I’d likely be temporarily trapping him in there until he burrowed himself out. Also the soil immediately surrounding that shed is very sandy, so I don‘t know how well ground staples would stay.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can you post a photo of the shed? Generally coops with solid flooring don't "need" aprons, though they can be useful for keeping vermin out if there's any gaps underneath.

 

[mowin]

I usually put a apron around my coops because I don't want unwanted critters getting under it. Rats can chew through plywood and I'd rather spend the money and time preventing that.

 

[aart]

they can be useful for keeping vermin out if there's any gaps underneath.

...and to keep the chickens from getting under there.

 

[carlaashdown]

We have a converted 10x10 metal shed with a wood floor as a coop. When we had it placed and were in the process of converting it, many different animals went under it including snakes and a family of rabbits...so we closed it in. We attached the runs and then one, continuous predator apron around the whole thing. We did a separate predator apron on the ends inside the runs to keep the chickens from going under. We secured the hardware cloth apron with landscaping ties and landscaping nails/spikes. Our soil is complete sand also, but they have stayed fine.

 

[rosemarythyme]

...and to keep the chickens from getting under there.

Mine's "aproned" (not a true predator apron) off for that reason. Not high enough for an adult chicken to get under, but I could definitely lose chicks under my coop if it wasn't securely fenced off.

 

[EEmomma43]

Can you post a photo of the shed? Generally coops with solid flooring don't "need" aprons, though they can be useful for keeping vermin out if there's any gaps underneath.

I was originally going to do the larger shed (in the first 2 photos), but it’s too close to the property line and would be against zoning regulations, so I’ll use the smaller shed instead. This will actually be easier to manage size-wise, and is still plenty big enough for 4, but they are built the same, I just have to move all the yard care stuff from the small one to the big one.

Can you post a photo of the shed? Generally coops with solid flooring don't "need" aprons, though they can be useful for keeping vermin out if there's any gaps underneath.

 

[EEmomma43]

...and to keep the chickens from getting under there.

Ooh, I didn’t even think about that as a concern

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Both of them are NICE. Paint the floor of the one you're going to use for a coop so you can clean easily.

 

[rosemarythyme]

That looks like it should work well once you add some more ventilation (would look into opening up the soffits). Very nicely sized for 4 birds.