The "dig-prevention skirt" It's 1ft wide, and I use whatever I can find (concrete blocks are ideal though) to make sure it stays flat since I can't get grass to grow through it. Nothing has dug under once I put these down!!
Exactly! Lots of people talk about digging down. Forget that! Too much work!! Mine is skirted and has grass and shrubs growing into it. Nothing has gotten under it in 3 years!
1 foot might be cutting things a bit too close. I made mine 2 feet wide, and I lock my chickens inside a very secure coop at night anyway. If I had a real daytime predator risk to contend with (like dogs roaming the neighborhood), I think I would have gone for a 3 foot wide apron.
Quote:Plenty of raccoons and foxes have tested it - and it's working. "whatever works" On my first coop I went for 2ft wide, but in a year of use it just seemed like overkill.
Quote:Well, it would seem like "overkill" because nothing got in. I just hope you don't find out some morning that a 12 inch apron is "underkill." Good luck, and I hope your apron keeps holding critters out!
That should do nicely though I would extend it a bit further, personally. Most predators dig as close to the vertical fence as possible but are not able to reason and back up 1-2 feet to try again. If anything, they try to get closer! I would also put some dirt or mulch to encourage growth over the skirt, hiding it from view. That is, of course, for looks only.
I would probably tack it down with tent pegs or something metal... and the concrete blocks I would put large side down, a dog could tip those over pretty easy, but like you say, whatever works... Mine is buried.
