Wire on Bottom of coop and/or Apron??

[9ByDesign]

We are starting our coop soon...live in Central Florida and If we put the coop/run on cinder blocks, can we just put hardware cloth on the bottom of entire coop and that's it? or do we need to do an apron, too? confused a bit...

We plan on putting sand in the bottom of the run.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
We dug down 12 inches and buried our hardware cloth to keep digging predators out of the run and coop. We have a coop that is off the ground and a sand run too. We've never had anything successfully dig down under the hardware cloth, but critters have tried and have been FOILED!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Apron. Just attach it with wire or "hog rings" to your run wire at the bottom to it lays flat. Throw a layer of mulch or dirt over top. Plant some pretty fowers! Make sure it's at last 12 inches wide perferably 24inches. Much easier than digging. I plant shrubs on top mine to hold the wire down better even more.

Wire on the bottom of the coop could cause problems with their feet if they are walking on it all the time.

 

[joe17]

I buried galvanized sheets of metal 3 feet under the coop and run. Thats that hardest part of building a coop, making it predator proof!

 

[midget_farms]

If you have a perch that is a decent distance from the foor the apron is not necessary. Not needed if you have a solid floor either. You need to make sure snakes cant get in through the hardware cloth & raccoons will reach up & grab a chicken & try to pull her through the wire. So - make sure the perch is higher than a coon can reach.

By the way - I've used hardware cloth myself in the past & most of the poop wont fall through it. It makes it much harder to clean up. I now use standard chicken wire under my mini coop & move it weekly.

 

[chics in the sun]

I heard that about the wire, too (poop just sticks to it). Make sure you take a look at the open coops - you don't really need a closed, traditional one for Central Florida. Mine is more of a big run with a roosting area that is half-enclosed, and some nesting boxes. More like a giant bird cage. I have dirt floor and pine shavings, and in the roost area I have three vinyl tile pieces (long ones) that I pull out and rinse off. If we get a heavy rain I do have clear vinyl 'windows' I can hang on the sides to keep it dry in the roost, too. Very easy upkeep, and it stays nice an cool. They love to dust bathe in the dirt, so I would never put in anything to interfere with that. Will they have access to the run all day?

Sand is good, too - mine have taken over my son's sand box when the free range. They all get in and dig themselves cool, cozy holes. It's pretty funny.

 

[Lollipop]

I use a slightly different method. I cut 8` sheets of plastic lattice in half lengthwise and inserted them under the edges of the run so that I had 1` outside the run and 1` inside, all the way around. That way nothing can dig in and the fowl can`t dig holes next to the wire. Been that way a couple years now and nothing has dug in. I live in the woods and have so many predators I can`t free range. I recommend the lattice as it won`t rust and is simple to install. If you have any trouble with it moving(which I did not), use landscape spikes to anchor it........Pop

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
I'm not sure what you mean by "If we put the coop/run on cinder blocks", especially where they're going to be. If they're only the perimeter of the coop and run, then you will need an apron around the entire structure.
If/when I ever build another coop/run, I intend to line the bottom of both with two-inch-thick stepping stones, put at least eight inches of sand over those, and put wood chips over the sand in the coop. A border of cinder blocks around the stepping stone floor to hold the wood and 1/2-inch hardware cloth structures built on/above it would make an impervious home for the chickens for a small investment.
I have two coops now that are sitting on stepping stones (see My BYC Page), and I don't have to spend a second worrying about anything ever burrowing up from below. Once I close the gate to the run at night, I rest easy knowing nothing can get in to bother them.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
An apron is usually meant to prevent a predator from digging in under the edge of the fence. The height of the perch won't help a chicken if the predator has gotten inside the coop or run!

It's an either/or proposition: if you have an apron, you wouldn't also need to cover the bottom of the run with wire, too. Some people lay their aprons flat on the ground and stake them down, others dig a trench and bury the apron. Either one will work so long as you either extend the apron out far enough or bury it deep enough.

 

[willkatdawson]

We used 2x4 welded field fencing in the top and sides on the coop. We laid a 2ft apron of field fencing on the ground and secured it with very long u shaped things that nail in the ground. Then we covered the bottom half of the pen with hardware cloth.