To all dog kennel chicken RUN owners with no hardware cloth (graphic)

[hallerlake]

Sorry that happened, and sorry you had to witness it.

 

[AHappychick]

mmaddie's mom :

Quote:
This is what I plan to do also... but I have a question

... do we need to cover every square inch ? or just around the bottom ?

Also... what about the chain link door ? cover just the door ? or cover and overlap to close up gaps ? What have you done ?

Just thought of another question... will hardware cloth rust away if you bury it around the perimeter ? is it better to bury it outside the run OR dig and bury it under the run itself ? which is better and which will keep digging predators out the best ?

(sorry if this is the wrong place to address this... move if needed)

I use reg hardware cloth and has not rusted yet. I did cover the door and with an overlap cover the gaped around it. I dont burry the harware cloth cause i have seen rats dig under it even with it over a foot down in the ground, also it is hard if you ever want to move it. I cover the top bottom and sides at least 4 feet up. Costs a fortune in harware cloth (find a special place that can order it by the 100foot roll0 BUT ONCE IT IS DOWN YOU FEEL SO MUCH SAFER opps caps... Anyway i put at least 2-4 inches of sand ontop of the cloth on the bottom and then the run is supper easy to clean out as well.​

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
This is what I plan to do also... but I have a question

... do we need to cover every square inch ? or just around the bottom ?

Also... what about the chain link door ? cover just the door ? or cover and overlap to close up gaps ? What have you done ?

Just thought of another question... will hardware cloth rust away if you bury it around the perimeter ? is it better to bury it outside the run OR dig and bury it under the run itself ? which is better and which will keep digging predators out the best ?

(sorry if this is the wrong place to address this... move if needed)

I use reg hardware cloth and has not rusted yet. I did cover the door and with an overlap cover the gaped around it. I dont burry the harware cloth cause i have seen rats dig under it even with it over a foot down in the ground, also it is hard if you ever want to move it. I cover the top bottom and sides at least 4 feet up. Costs a fortune in harware cloth (find a special place that can order it by the 100foot roll0 BUT ONCE IT IS DOWN YOU FEEL SO MUCH SAFER opps caps... Anyway i put at least 2-4 inches of sand ontop of the cloth on the bottom and then the run is supper easy to clean out as well.

Ok so you are building a little berm up around the walls of the kennel with sand? That sounds like a good idea. Because I really want to move my kennel around SOME.

Thank you all again for your condolences!

 

[Smittenroade]

Now that is TEAM WORK!!!

Nice critical thinking and problem solving team.

 

[spotlikeschicks]

Sorry for your loss. May you have better luck in the future with predators.

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
I use reg hardware cloth and has not rusted yet. I did cover the door and with an overlap cover the gaped around it. I dont burry the harware cloth cause i have seen rats dig under it even with it over a foot down in the ground, also it is hard if you ever want to move it. I cover the top bottom and sides at least 4 feet up. Costs a fortune in harware cloth (find a special place that can order it by the 100foot roll0 BUT ONCE IT IS DOWN YOU FEEL SO MUCH SAFER opps caps... Anyway i put at least 2-4 inches of sand ontop of the cloth on the bottom and then the run is supper easy to clean out as well.

Ok so you are building a little berm up around the walls of the kennel with sand? That sounds like a good idea. Because I really want to move my kennel around SOME.

Thank you all again for your condolences!

not so much a berm but I cover the entire floor of the run (above the harware cloth I layed down) with a few inches of sand. I usually have a company come and dump a few tons in the driveway and move it where I need it. Much cheaper this way as sand here is about $60 a ton. The sand allows drainage so it is never muddy and gross even in bad weather and keeps the harware cloth from hurting feet and allows for scratching. A small rake is great for cleaning up the poo and removing it. I usually put bricks around the perimeter outside the kennel to keep the sand in place or old pavers left over from a job.

often we forget that a night predator has about 10-12 hours in which to find a way in for a nice chicken meal, a lot can be figured out in that amount of time.

Good Luck!

 

[gavinandallison]

Sorry to hear your loss... I pick up my hardware cloth this week. I also keep a little radio playing 24/7 in the coop/run as it makes the predators believe there is a human out with the birds.