wire wrapped bottom of run

[reeock]

Anyone have any experience wrapping the bottom of a run (mine is 4x8) with wire to protect from predators? Digging down the sides of the run is not an option as my soil is very rocky. What size should I use? Will I just be creating an trippy environment for my girls?

 

[Ehigh57]

You might want to run the wire down the side of the run then bury it flat on the ground about a foot or two out from the run rather than digging straight down. You don't have to bury it deep. Maybe just a few inches. You can cover it with dirt and that detoures preditors. Depending on your preditors, consider covering the entire run with wire. I use 1/2 inch hardware cloth.

 

[KenCoesta]

I asked the same question earlier (cuz I don't want to dig a 12" trench around the entire run and coop).
Somebody suggested to attach hardware cloth around the bottom of the OUTSIDE of the run.

The cleaver part is to have the hardware cloth extend out and away from the run about a foot or so and secure it with J-pins (or whatever).
That way, the predators walk up to the run and start pawing at it, then digging, but all they're able to scratch at is the hardware cloth - not the actual dirt!
And as smart as the critters may be, they aren't smart enough to back up about a foot and start digging there.

He also said to cover it with dirt or sod so that it won't be such a tripping hazzard.

I can't attest to how well this works, but it sounds pretty solid to me.
I'm gonna do it!

 

[elmo]

Yes, what you're describing is a hardware cloth apron, and that's what I use around my runs because we have heavy clay soil, very hard to dig in. I used landscape staples to tack the apron down really well, and the grass has now grown up through it, further anchoring it.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

I have a tractor, and so burying wire wasn't an option for me. I have wire wrapped on the bottom of the tractor, and it doesn't lay flat. The girls don't mind it at all, and never trip over it.