Run Fencing Question

[darbywpd]

Hello, I am new to chickens. I have 8 1-week olds right now and I am working on their 4X8 coop. I plan on sinking 8' posts to make a 12X12 run. Now the chickens will be locked in the coop at night and I will be using hardware wire on all the vents and windows. Due to some finanical issues that have occurred the last few days, I have had to change my budget midway through. Bout the only thing I can afford for the run is chainlink. I know its not the best, but its what it is going to have to be. Now I have read that the bottom of the fence should be buried 1' down in the ground. I have also read that "aproning", which I take is laying the bottom 1' of fencing out across the ground and using landscaping ties to lock it to the ground is just has effective......thoughts?????

If I do decide to bury the bottom 1', what is the easiest way to do this? Thanks for everyones help.

 

[KansasBoy]

Being 6'1" burying it 1' means a lot of bumps! I intend to use the dog run I have and plan on staking out chicken wire at the bottom to save my poor head!

 

[Barrdwing]

Seems to me like chain link would be a real headache to apron out because it's so stiff. Maybe use the chain link as your fence, all right, but attach a different sort of wire to it at the bottom, bury it, and toe it out so that you get the apron effect. Chicken wire will do, although it eventually rusts through when buried.

You'll probably want something smaller around the bottom of your run anyway, as chicks can go right through chain link, juveniles can squirt through some pretty small holes, and I've had adult birds go right underneath wire fences. (It's almost accidental. They dig around at the edge of the fence, and before long somebody puts their head under the wire, and the rest of the bird follows if it can.) Plus a smaller mesh around the bottom will at least force any rats or squirrels to do some climbing, rather than just waltz through the chain link (major rodent issues at our place, grr).

 

[darbywpd]

was worried about digging animals.

 

[KansasBoy]

I'd bury those cinder patio bricks directly under the fencing then!!!!!

 

[darbywpd]

Was planning on using chicken wire or rabbit wire on the inside of the chainlink.

 

[KansasBoy]

Quote:
Maybe do both sides? Bury the outside one an inch or so... bet a predator hits that in a dig and gives up! (It stops dogs)

 

[PapaChaz]

Quote:
Maybe do both sides? Bury the outside one an inch or so... bet a predator hits that in a dig and gives up! (It stops dogs)

no need to throw money away doing both sides, one side would be sufficient. there are tons of discussions on here about burying vs aproning. aproning is definitely easier, but you need more than an inch or so, at least a foot all the way around. someone had a post where a fox was video'd just backing up until it got past the wire, so i'm gonna think if it was that determined, buried would have just had him digging deeper....i did an apron around mine, and so far it seems to be working fine. but as mentioned in a post up above, i'm more worred about my girls digging out than i am something else digging in! they have one particular spot they just LOVE to dig out

 

[CoyoteMagic]

my 80x40 chainlink run has a skirt/apron of 2x4 welded wire. I've never had anything get under it. Only thing that went over it was a chicken named Houdini. She could get out of anything that didn't have a solid roof

 

[KansasBoy]

So I was thinking, what if you only skirted the outside? It would keep the chickens in and predators out right?!?!