Sky high lumber prices = thinking outside the box.

[countryladyNH]

I know in america you have far bigger predators for which this wire is insufficient but does anyone know about foxes? They are not very strong, it's the only pest I have and like the OP pointed out hardware cloth is twice as expensive as this cheap rabbit fencing.

I can squeeze a hand through a hole on the rabbit fencing but unles the fox started chewing through the wire I don't think they'd have the force to break it so does anyone know if a fox specifically would consider chewing through the wire?

Twice we have had red fox go after our hens in the middle of a sunny day. It was shocking and horrible. I chased the fox screaming blue murder, and was crying and shaking when hubby got home from the hardware store. Luckily our hens were ok. They were free ranging at the time, but NO way would chicken wire keep them out of a run. We have a coop like Ft. Knox, and the run is 1/2 inch hardware cloth all the way up, and with a plastic corrugated roof. (The hardware cloth is buried underground all around coop and run as well.) We have never had anything get through. The day of the fox fiasco, hubby went right back out to Walmart and bought a .22 shotgun. We have predators here in NH, and our house is up against a steep wooded hillside, woods behind, and no area at all for electric fencing. We have some leg traps just in the woods at top of hill, and do all we can to keep our birds safe. We've had to dispatch some predators we caught. We have a responsibility to our animals, so it's got to be done sometimes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, that product. Thank you!

@3KillerBs is correct. Hardibacker is for going behind tiles. Heavy, limited strength. Not a good flooring product, nor was it designed to be.

Many (most, nearly all???) sheds use minimal framing, even on the joists, cover with the thinnest sheathing they can get (often, OSB), and leave the consequences to the buyer. I like deep litter method for my coops as poop management, meaning dirt floor, covered deeply in leaf litter.

I have no recommends as to how to go about addressing the issues in yours, sorry.

 

[Horseryder]

Put electric fence around your run at several levels we have hardwire cloth plus electric fence.

 

[Love chickens lady]

We recently got chickens and needed to build a chicken coop and run. Thankfully we had a TON of reclaimed wood from tearing down a shed on our property. We used all of that for the coop. The only thing wood wise we bought for the coop was 2 sheets of plywood siding that was about $80. We needed a cheaper option for our run since lumber prices are crazy right now! We will eventually upgrade to a bigger, nicer run when/if lumber prices ever drop. We still have some finishing touches to do on the coop but I wanted to share with those who needs cheaper option for a run what we did.

For the run we used 5 (6.5ft tpost at $4.50 a piece) and chicken wire. All in all we spent around $60 for the entire run which, not including the coop, is 10ftx4ft. We dug around the run and buried the wire about 6 inches to a foot. We secured the chicken wire to the tpost. We placed a piece of chicken wire on top and secured with plastic tie wraps. We will be placing pavers around the outside parameter in the coming week. Again this is a temporary options for us until lumber prices drop. It’s not the prettiest thing out there but all in all we have under $200 in the entire run and coop! Our girls love it and we are pleased.

We left the top open and the floor bare so that nature can take its course. It’s in an area that is covered densely by trees so they have plenty of shade. We hope this will be successful for us.

Hey no sham in repurposed items good for you hey if our little lady’s are happy that’s all that matters right great job guys

 

[jgarner1327]

Same!!! I’m like let’s get rid of all this wood now I’m thankful for it!

What is a hoop coop?

 

[jgarner1327]

We had to think outside the box as well. We ended up making a large hoop coop because it doesn't use as much wood. We used as much scrap as we could, and are saving every bit of the old coop for future projects.....I told my hubby that I was finally starting to appreciate his hoarding ways. Lol I used to give him a hard time about picking up things off the side of the road, etc... but its been a blessing during this weird time of EVERYTHING being expensive.

Sorry, what is a hoop coop?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

"Hoop Coops" are mad by bending a series of cattle panels into arches and securing them togother. At the base, they are held in tension either by stakes (usually rebar driven into the ground) or more commonly a wooden frame. Ends are wired to either more cattle panels and a 2x4 framed doorway or to a more traditional wooden wall design.

Hardware cloth is wired to the cattle panels for predator protection, then they are either left open, covered with tarps, or some form of flexible roofing (polycarbonate or sheet metal).

Example:

 

[speedy2020]

The plywood box coop on 3 piles of cement block work well for me. You can get the shipping container cheap or free.

 

[jgarner1327]

"Hoop Coops" are mad by bending a series of cattle panels into arches and securing them togother. At the base, they are held in tension either by stakes (usually rebar driven into the ground) or more commonly a wooden frame. Ends are wired to either more cattle panels and a 2x4 framed doorway or to a more traditional wooden wall design.

Hardware cloth is wired to the cattle panels for predator protection, then they are either left open, covered with tarps, or some form of flexible roofing (polycarbonate or sheet metal).

Example:
View attachment 2686694

Thanks for the info on hoop coops. That one is very nice!! Looks very strong. I made a cover for my run with white PVC looped over like that with a rib along the top, and attached to wood sides about 2 feet high with a kind of c shaped bracket, and then covered the PVC with 1/2 inch hardware cloth.

 

[jgarner1327]

Twice we have had red fox go after our hens in the middle of a sunny day. It was shocking and horrible. I chased the fox screaming blue murder, and was crying and shaking when hubby got home from the hardware store. Luckily our hens were ok. They were free ranging at the time, but NO way would chicken wire keep them out of a run. We have a coop like Ft. Knox, and the run is 1/2 inch hardware cloth all the way up, and with a plastic corrugated roof. (The hardware cloth is buried underground all around coop and run as well.) We have never had anything get through. The day of the fox fiasco, hubby went right back out to Walmart and bought a .22 shotgun. We have predators here in NH, and our house is up against a steep wooded hillside, woods behind, and no area at all for electric fencing. We have some leg traps just in the woods at top of hill, and do all we can to keep our birds safe. We've had to dispatch some predators we caught. We have a responsibility to our animals, so it's got to be done sometimes.

You mentioned that you buried hardware cloth around the coop. How deep do you bury it? I have rats that tunneled under the side of the run so I need to bury some HW cloth.