Concrete/cement In Pvc Pipe?

[coloradonewbie]

Hi, Y'all -- My housemate and I are raising 4 baby chicks right now (bought, not incubated by us!), and I'm trying to figure out how to make sure our well-built turtle pen will be safe from raccoons and snakes and such. It's bordered on two sides by a chain-link fence, but on one side it's about 12" from the fence. Do I have to put something like concrete blocks, etc. on that particular side to make sure no one digs in? It's built out of tiny chicken wire with stout 2X4's, so unless someone digs in, they won't be able to get at the chickens.

One other side has a metal shed about 14" from the pen; again, should I put something really heavy on the ground?

For the front of the pen, I was also wondering if I could mimic the round concrete cylinders (that look like core samples to me) by shoving cement down PVC pipe? They would look so much better than concrete blocks, and looks are an issue when my landlady visits next Christmas!

Thanks for all your information -- BackyardChickens is an ADDICTIVE place to lurk!

carroll

 

[BrattishTaz]

I am far from an expert on building so I will let other help you with most of your questions. I do know that chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in. It absolutely does not keep predators out. I made the same mistake with my first run and now have to build a new one.

 

[lotzahenz]

I agree that the chicken wire will easily rip apart if a raccoon gets to it and wants in. It is recommended to use hardware cloth when possible and to dig a trench and bury a portion of the wire, and 12 inches is best. The wire comes in different widths, so get the taller one, say 48 " or more high. I bet you could use any type of cut-able "tube' to fill with concrete, but a round one might roll? What about some old salvage bricks? You could concrete then together like mortar and make a tiny 'wall'. I am also not a builder, but I do know from experience that predators are sneaky and strong and very determined if they are hungry.

Good luck and some pictures might get some better ideas. One thing, I'd lock them up tight at night in something secure, like a dog kennel or wooden brooder box. HenZ

 

[perchie.girl]

I have thought of making those cylindars myself. I think they come from Concrete inspection samples. One way would be to line the pvc with wax paper. The concrete will lock up in the PVC unless you find a way to release it. Because the PVC has straight sides not sloped. (not release from the mold)

You could cut the pvc the appropraite length then split the pvc along one edge with a skill saw. After that line with wax paper and fill with concrete. This would make cores the same shape. Youd have to buy PVC that has an internal diameter of four inches.

I was thinking of using big gulp cups but those sides are very sloped and would make kind of trunkated cones.

let us know what you come up with.

 

[coloradonewbie]

Hi, Deb,

I wasn't thinking the idea through -- I was just planning on leaving the concrete IN the PVC and perhaps painting the PVC, or letting flowers grow over it (I even thought about only filling it part of the way up, and somehow making it so that it could be the bottom of a trellis . . . . I have no idea if paint will stick to it, even if I sanded it a bit and roughened it up. I just wanted the weight to keep the predators out of the coop (and I'm going to have to check with the person who made it, or go to the hardware store and see what wire mesh that would keep everybody out looks like -- I think I may be calling this chicken wire and it may be hardwire mesh . . . ).

Your ideas are good, however -- PVC does leach terrible stuff that I can neither pronounce or spell, although I don't know how long that takes. I thought of it because I don't have a ready source of concrete samples here (hmmm -- perhaps I should call around and ask some architectural/structural engineering firms if they have any they'd like to get rid of!)

It will be quite a while before I get to that part of the hen-house building. Obviously, first thing I need to do is make sure the turtle pen/chicken pen is built out of sturdy stuff (I'm assuming it is, because the person who built it is a very handy, DIYer -- and she kept her turtles out there with no problems (raccoons LOVE turtle meat as much as they love chickens)!

If I could figure out my camera, I'd post pictures -- maybe later,

Keep smiling!

carroll

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
By the way

(I love Yiipchick

)
How about pavers. Do a skirt of hardware cloth and put pavers on it. Then you could put your flowers and trellis'. And if you want to get decorative there are a number of ways to stain Concrete pavers colors you want.... even paint them.

LOL untill you post ten times the download here wont work. Give you enough time to take lots of pix and figure out how to download.

Actually PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) is pretty stable as long as it isnt burned. And is used for an amazing variety of products from artificial christmas trees to coatings for computer cords. As far as painting probably wont work. They do make paint that is designed to cling on to the molecules in plastic Though it will be subject to scratching. I used to design for injection molding polystyrene... Now thats interesting stuff.

 

[Junkmanme]

I'm not CLEAR on WHY you would want to put concrete inside PVC, but it doesn't seem to me to be a worthwhile endeavor. You could make "forms" from cardboard with baling wire to hold it together. If you spray the inside of the cardboard with diesel fuel before pouring the concrete...it will not stick to the cardboard.

Whatever you are planning to use these concrete cylinders for....there are probably more attractive alternatives available.

But...I really didn't comprehend your "intentions".

-Junkmanme-

P.S. There are "spray-cans" available called Fusion which are fine for painting PVC.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
It's probable that the reason she had no problems using chicken wire is that she was lucky and no raccoons happened to come prowling. It's well established that when a raccoon encounters chicken wire, the chicken wire yields. All you really need to do is browse a little in the Predators and Pests section here to find the sad stories.

Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, though. Some people trust to luck in the daytime and lock their chickens inside a secure coop at night, when predator risk is higher. A chicken wire run will keep out hawks (if it's roofed, of course), but not much else. And if you have the possibility of neighborhood dogs to consider, chicken wire won't keep them out. I don't know if dogs like to kill turtles, but many can't resist chasing and killing chickens.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Hm. That's a toughie. The thing is, anything digging under the chainlink will also more or less automatically find itself digging under any kind of apron you used in that 12" gap. What is on the other side of the chainlink, how *likely* is it that a serious digger such as a dog would find itself starting a hole over there? I would say probably just put down pavers or concrete blocks or whatever, and take your chances, unless it is very high-risk seeming; if it *does* seem high risk, this might actually be one of the rare circumstances that argue for burying some mesh (or whatever) vertically, as much as you can without compromising the structural integrity of either fence.

It's built out of tiny chicken wire with stout 2X4's, so unless someone digs in, they won't be able to get at the chickens.

As others have said, if by "tiny chickenwire" you mean hex mesh stuff, do NOT count on it to be predatorproof. OTOH if you mean hardwarecloth (1/2" or 1/4" *square* meshes) that is good vs predators.

One other side has a metal shed about 14" from the pen; again, should I put something really heavy on the ground?

I would suggest doing so. Doesn't necessarily need to be heavy, just undiggable. *Large* pavers, or a custom-fit length of welded wire mesh would work well. Even a thickness or two of chickenwire would be a whole lot better than nothing, making sure to peg it down real well.

For the front of the pen, I was also wondering if I could mimic the round concrete cylinders (that look like core samples to me) by shoving cement down PVC pipe?

I am a bit stumped on this one -- do you mean for something for the base of the fence to discourage digging? Don't do that, it would be WAY expensive out of all proportion to the task. If you want something digproof but nice looking, get you some large concrete pavers (at least 24x18", unless you feel the risk of dogs etc is real low and want to take a chance on the significantly-less-secure 12" pavers) and set them all along the front of the fence. That works well and looks nice.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[coloradonewbie]

What great suggestions! The only reason I thought of PVC pipe was to make round 'bricks' -- I liked the look of them around the coop where she'd gotten them for free because they were just lying around a former nursery . . . . We have a lot of beetle-kill pine here, and I could also probably sink rebar through them into the ground as a deterrent -- that would look nice.

I'll find out tonight what exactly was used in the turtle pen -- my friend definitely has raccoons at the place she moved to, and she's built a similar pen there -- with no problem of them succeeding in getting to her turtles (which she keeps outside during the summer).

I appreciate all the ideas -- I'm trying to do this so that when my landlady comes at Christmas, she'll be enamored with both the chickens and what we've done to 'her' turtle pen. Now, if I can just avoid someone digging up the grave of her iguana "George" (in front of the turtle pen) without out desecrating it too much by putting heavy stones on it . . . .
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