Should we put Hardware cloth floor of RUN???

[DawnKD]

Did you say black bears? We do too and they don’t try to dig under so much as RIP the hardware cloth off like peeling a tuna can. They just pull it back, walk in and take chicken ..... At their leisure. after losing 5 chickens, we ultimately had to bracket pool fencing To the outside of the run over the 1/2 inch hardware cloth We have raccoons, coyotes and foxes too and never had any try to dig under.

 

[RaleighRancher]

I used hardware cloth in the floor of my run because we have rats in the hood. I laid concrete pavers on top to make it easier to fork out the run. In hindsight, I wish I'd just poured a concrete slab, but this has worked out okay for 7 years.

 

[Red0214]

I have had my coop and run for going on 4 years, 1/4“ hardware cloth on the bottom and sides, with sand as the flooring. Never any problems with chickens catching on the cloth as they do dig, but I also provide dust bath bins. Side Hardware cloth covered by 1x2 wood frame so nothing can try pulling at it. Then a hardware cloth skirt with large gravel over that all around the coop. Thankfully no problems with predators. Good luck.

 

[Vicker]

If it's covered with inches of packed soil, I think it would be fine to use for predator prevention.

 

[chickachee]

I think the paving slabs sound like a better idea than hardware cloth. You could still pile dirt on top. No matter how deep the chickens dig, there will be no wire to catch their toes or your cleaning tools. Also, they will never rust out the way wire eventually will.

I have roosts in my run and I would NOT want my chickens to jump down and land on an extremely hard (and possibly slippery) surface. You KNOW that they are going to scratch the dirt from the surface of the paver... Just my $.02.

 

[NatJ]

I have roosts in my run and I would NOT want my chickens to jump down and land on an extremely hard (and possibly slippery) surface. You KNOW that they are going to scratch the dirt from the surface of the paver... Just my $.02.

OP was talking about putting 6" of dirt on top.
If the chickens scratch dirt off the pavers, they would also scratch it off hardware cloth. And I'd personally prefer pavers to hardware cloth, if one is going to be there.

Hopefully all the different opinions will help OP make a decision that works for them

 

[16ozs]

Our pen is enclosed on all sides (top and bottom included) with 1/2" hardware cloth. We have never had a problem with the wire on the bottom. No 4 legged critters have ever gotten in. The only problem we had was 2 legged varmints (aka humans) who opened the latch, stole 2 chickens, and then relatched the door while we were gone during the day. We now have a key lock on the door.

 

[Sea Wolf]

You don't need it in the run itself. The birds are not out there at night. Make sure your coop is secure and they will be fine.