Run door question

[SeaSea47]

I’m working on new runs for my chickens and ducks and each one has a human-sized door that I can enter and exit. I’ll be skirting hardware cloth around the perimeter of the run and covering that with rocks and logs from a big tree that fell, but what’s a good way to protect the area where the door is? The best thing I can come up with is to place cement blocks in front and move them every time I go into it? Our neighborhood Fox family is my biggest concern.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Does your door fit snuggling/nicely in the door frame?

 

[DobieLover]

I’m working on new runs for my chickens and ducks and each one has a human-sized door that I can enter and exit. I’ll be skirting hardware cloth around the perimeter of the run and covering that with rocks and logs from a big tree that fell, but what’s a good way to protect the area where the door is? The best thing I can come up with is to place cement blocks in front and move them every time I go into it? Our neighborhood Fox family is my biggest concern.

Can you please post pictures of your run?

 

[SeaSea47]

The door does fit snugly. I’m mostly worried about something digging under it.

Sorry, I don’t have pictures. It’s still a work in progress.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Could you drill hardware cloth into the bottom part of the frame of the door to make a skirt?
You could dig this down and fill dirt on top of the skirt.

 

[perkolator]

I would just bury a separate piece of HC at the door area that's not attached to the door itself

 

[SeaSea47]

That is a great idea. How deep would you bury it?

 

[DobieLover]

If the door is framed, you can attach the apron to the frame, not the door.

 

[blackdog043]

I ran my apron on the ground, including in front of the run door. The apron is covered with mulch. I placed cap blocks inside the run, so the door was up against them, when closed. You can't see them to good, because the chickens had mulch on top of them. I had predators dig along the apron but no problems with them getting inside.

 

[SeaSea47]

So, is the apron on its own enough? I assumed it needed to have something on top of it (dirt, rocks, etc. - I'm using big tree logs and rocks). I'm not new to chickens, but I'm new to this type of run. My last flock free ranged and had a very small run that they basically only used when they were waiting for me to wake up!