Chicken Coop/pen Idea

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Hispeedal2, May 31, 2012.


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  1. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    I have access to a free dog kennel. I want to make it into a chicken pen with a coop added outside the run. I was thinking of removing the chainlink and replacing with chicken wire.

    Anyone ever tried this? Think it would work? Any recommendations on burying the bottom of the kennel to keep out Wiley and his friends?
     
  2. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    I would leave the chain link and add the chicken wire to the lower 36 inches or so. for olde wiley coyote and his friends pile scrap concrete and blocks, pavers etc around the outside edge. If and when you can get your hands on some fencing scrap pieces, enough to go all the way around the kennel. Do one side at a time as follows. Dig a trench at the base of the kennel outside. Secure your scrap fencing to bottom. Push it down in trench and cover with a few of the concrete pieces to hold it down. Cover with dirt from trench. At your leasure extend the fence out horizontal under the earth 6 or 8 inch, until you have it all under the earth. When critters try to tunnel under your kennel they will be foiled and give up long before they can get in and you will be aware of the attempt. BTW, chicken wire can be breached by big determined predators. Chain link not so easily. jus sayin' .... Oh, and anchor the kennel on at least all four corners. Use big screw in the ground anchors like for securing wires for a tower or antena. Secure from them to kennel upper frame with wire cable and turnbuckles to tighten.
     
    Cephus and ditch witch like this.
  3. wrc223

    wrc223 Monkey+

    Got one!

    That is exactly what I did. We are in the lowlands next to the river so we get a lot of critters that would very much like to get a chicken.
    What we did was put a run of chicken wire 4' wide and put 2' on the side and then folded the fencing 90 degrees and put down landscaping cloth and covered the fencing on the ground with flat rocks from the river and covered that with red mulch. I have yet to have any intruders and with the mulch, I know if any attempts have been made (there have been a couple but they were unsuccessful). I covered the rest of the kennel as you normally would with the chicken wire.
     
  4. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    consider welded wire with 1/4 inch openings it will help keep chicken snakes outof your pen... chicken wire on the top will help keep racoons from climbing over the top...
     
  5. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    There's a lot of folks around here who have repurposed dog kennels for backyard chickens. The predators we have to worry about are hawks, eagles, coyotes, raccoons, opossums and domestic dogs. We haven't had a puma sighting around here for a couple years. Chain link with some overhead cover seems to work for them.
     
  6. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    You really can't keep an egg eating snake out any easier than you can keep out a mouse or should I say mice. It only take a small opening for them to get in. However y'all feel or deal with it yourself, any snake I find in the coop stuck because it can't escape after swallowing one or more eggs, is soon a dead snake. Real simple. Stay out of my coop "live", enter and take eggs, "die". Mice I bait, trap and dispose of in a way so as to not endanger my chickens or food source. Yes they die also. It ain't cruel, it's just life. We all die, no one gets out alive. Someday maybe, but not yet.
     
    Motomom34 likes this.
  7. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    I second "LEAVE the chain link, and cover with chicken wire".

    I used cattle panels ( 54" tall ) + chicken wire on mine to keep out dogs/etc. Buried about 6" of the panels in the ground, and took the chicken wire up high. Also strung plastic deer netting overhead to keep out flying predators.
     
  8. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    I finally built my 4-6 chicken coop. Took the short cut and bought laying hens to get the feel of taking care of them.
    photo.JPG
     
    tacmotusn and Silversnake like this.
  9. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    Nice job Clyde. Excellent small chicken tractor.
     
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