- Mar 27, 2011
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I have a lab puppy...who is trained to hunt birds. I'm sure she'll think we've brought home and caged in lunch when we get chickens. So what do you recommend to help keep her out? Our tentative plans are for a home-built coop with a dog-kennel for the run. (We'll pull off one side of the kennel & attach the coop there. A friend did it & we like their design.) The kennel we're looking at getting is 6 ft tall & 7 1/2 x 13 feet wide. Here is a link to it on Amazon for reference: http
/amzn.to/dTOBHc
I've been told we should put something on the bottom to prevent digging. It's been recommended that I wrap chicken wire around the bottom to help ensure our lab can't get in. It has also been recommended that we do something to prevent digging. We haven't decided what to do yet for that. We're in Vegas and have rock-hard ground (literally in some cases) that can't be easily dug into, but it would still be possible to do enough digging for her to get in (or pull a chicken out). We're also figuring we'll need to stabilize it somehow, but aren't yet sure how we'll do that.
Most importantly, though, is this enough to keep our lab out? Are we on the right track?
If not, do you have a suggestion for something that would be better but would still be under $400 for the run including cover, dig-protection, etc.? We're looking for long-term but portable solutions. (I don't mind putting up fencing with portable concrete posts if that would be better.) Labs jump, though, so 6 feet is a minimum height. Also the area we have is in our back yard on the side of our house. If we were to fence in that entire section, it would be bordered by our house on 1 1/2 sides and a brick wall on the other 1 1/2 sides. The benefit we found to the kennel is the readily-available cover which is a necessity in the summer here.

I've been told we should put something on the bottom to prevent digging. It's been recommended that I wrap chicken wire around the bottom to help ensure our lab can't get in. It has also been recommended that we do something to prevent digging. We haven't decided what to do yet for that. We're in Vegas and have rock-hard ground (literally in some cases) that can't be easily dug into, but it would still be possible to do enough digging for her to get in (or pull a chicken out). We're also figuring we'll need to stabilize it somehow, but aren't yet sure how we'll do that.
Most importantly, though, is this enough to keep our lab out? Are we on the right track?
If not, do you have a suggestion for something that would be better but would still be under $400 for the run including cover, dig-protection, etc.? We're looking for long-term but portable solutions. (I don't mind putting up fencing with portable concrete posts if that would be better.) Labs jump, though, so 6 feet is a minimum height. Also the area we have is in our back yard on the side of our house. If we were to fence in that entire section, it would be bordered by our house on 1 1/2 sides and a brick wall on the other 1 1/2 sides. The benefit we found to the kennel is the readily-available cover which is a necessity in the summer here.
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