Poorly chicken

[hammy72]

I have just got an Eglu mark 2 with 2m run and a 25m net fence (can be electrified but probably won't 'cos of my dogs). Planning to get 3 chickens at the end of the month. I'm busy preparing the space for them which is about 2m wide and 6m long. I am planning to let them in to their secure eglu run on the days that we work and then out in to the wider netted area when we are around. This is because I want to supervise them with my dogs around and keep an eye out for urban foxes. I am trying to get the ground they are on as flat and even as possible and fix the eglu down with the screw in pegs. However, I have seen people on this forum also talk about weld-mesh. Is this the stuff that you have to dig in to the ground? I am not a very practical person so would need to get some help with this before they arrive. Has anyone had a fox dig underneath their eglu run?

[Henchanted]

Hi Hammy

 

I have been a chicken-keeper for almost 6 months, (woohoo!) and we have a boisterous springer spaniel and a whole fox family living 2 doors down but I feel quietly confident that my eglus' security is pretty good without adding anything under the run. But what I have done, our garden is on a slope and also with uneven ground (thanks to the dogs digging) is extend the run skirt by adding small green wire metal fence panels all the way around and using the screw pegs to fix. I have added more clips and used wire to secure all the run panel edges together properly and especially at the point where 4 corners meet (I know foxes can clamber over the run and so their is a risk their weight might pop/snap the clips).

My hens love scratching about in the sol all day so I decided that putting in a wire mesh floor would not make them very happy.

 

BTW I don't think the 2 metre run is big enough for 3 hens for long periods. Unless they can free range full time it is better for the hens to have 1 metre run space each.

 

Welcome from another Bristol chicken-head

[karlotta]

The easiest thing would be to electrify the netting. I have dogs too and after a little shock (literally) on the first day they learnt to get close but not to touch. The added advantage is that you won't have to worry about the run being big enough as you can let them roam around inside the netting all day, secure in the knowledge that they are nice and safe!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Weldmesh is generally used for building walk in runs. I would worry about them getting their nails caught in weldmesh if it was dug into the ground although there's probably a way to do it safely.

 

Depending on your soil & setup, foxes are certainly capable of digging under Omlet runs. Putting your eglu and the edges of the run onto concrete slabs is a good deterrent (or even putting the whole run on slabs but then they don't have soil to scratch about in). Also weighing down the run skirt with heavy rocks/bits of slabs/sleepers is a good idea too.

[hammy72]

thanks for all your advice