Really tired of burying fence in clay ground!

[bigoakhunter]

Run and coop have been done for a while, but just went thru the effort to bury 18 inches of 1x2 welded wire fence around the run. Wow...lots of shoveling clay. Maybe the clay ground would have been enough. I did not want to chance it. SO Attached wire with wood screws and big washers all along run, dug up ground, (clay), then layed wire and recoverd.

Should keep the coyotes, coons and neighbors dogs out!

 

[Amyable]

I am sure your blood and sweat will be rewarded with the first thwarted tunnel attempt

 

[bigoakhunter]

Let's hope so....It will give me piece of mind if i am not around and girls are out during day.

 

[poultrygeist]

The first thing I did when building our coop was to attach 1/2 hardware cloth to the underside of the run. Then 600 lbs. of river stone was spread on the floor of the run. When it was all completed we put large rocks around the perimeter with more to come. If something large tries to borrow under a big rock it will more than likely get crushed!

 

[karl lutz]

I used chicken wire and buried it 12 " deep all around in clay .I feel your strain!

 

[poultrygeist]

No strain involved this way. Absolutely no digging!

 

[CloggingChicken]

I found the use of a Trenching Shovel works great. They sell them at HD, Lowes, Big Lots for a wide range of prices. The blade is only about 4 inches wide and you dig in the same direction as the side of the run. I used it in the mountain clay with rocks intermixed. It made a task that would have been horrible with a standard shovel take minimal time and effort. I loaned it to a buddy when he was doing his run and burying the wire. He still hasn't stopped thanking me and telling me how much easier the task was with the right tool.

Bill

 

[NChickenwing]

the right tool is a mini excavator! no way i dig clay with a shovel i know that was a nightmare!

 

[NapsWithChickens]

When I saw the title for this thread I thought, for sure, that you must be in California! Because that is what we have to do here..... dig down in that awful clay! If you can believe it, we no longer dig, we use a jackhammer! But my birds are protected by that trench... wired down in a foot and buried in concrete AND clay. Ain't nobody getting in or out!

 

[verlaj]

We have clay, too. Buried pressure-treated plywood about 12" deep at the base of the coop. We rented a trencher to dig the trench for us - worked great.