Those typical puzzle-together gym floor mats are made of EVA foam, not rubber. I've used that material for making cosplay weapons and it's not a very tough material - I'd guess chickens could peck off chunks of it. If you want a real rubber mat, look for a horse stall mat, they're made to hold...
I used chicken wire for my overhead protection. Some people have predators that may fit through the holes, but I don't and IMO it's a plenty strong fencing type for overhead protection. I used bamboo poles to support the fencing as we have bamboo on our property.
Looking at your structure I'd...
If you're using pre-fab items like the pictured coop and run, it's probably easiest to level out using supports underneath the framing - such as cement blocks or PT lumber/rail ties, etc. and then using your hardware cloth skirting/lower wall protection to fill in any gaps. The ground inside...
I just googled that DuraMax shed and it looks like the foundation is part of the kit, and is attached to it with fasteners. You may want to watch the videos to see how to remove without disassembling the whole thing
Most of my property is sloped like that too, but I put our coop at the bottom of the hill where it's less sloped. I chose to use cinder block foundation so I could both terrace/step the overall design, as well as excavate the high-side and build-up the low-side (my coop build is linked under my...
Looks like creeping charlie, I've got it everywhere in my yard, chickens seem fine. All of what's in your pic will be gone in a short while once you give them access to the area.
To find the hypotenuse of your overhead triangle, it's Rise(^2) x Run(^2) = Hypotenuse(^2). For a 2ft rise across 24ft length, you're looking at 24.34 ft long fencing overhead. A 25x25 sheet of netting should technically work, but won't be much extra material to play with.
I think it's...
How much height are you looking to add inside? I have 6ft exterior fencing and found it adequate to just keep the overhead netting mostly flat. I'm 5'10" and have to stoop a tad, but it's not like I hang out inside the run much and I'm not actually having to bend over for like you would with...
To me, installing HC is similar to installing window screen or stretching a canvas, or welding thin sheet metal - it's an art form of it's own and basically you can't just go at larger expanses without a plan, or it will likely wrinkle/warp like you experienced. If you start only in one corner...
Pretty sure a live oak will be around for a while growing horizontal like that. My inlaws have many oaks, several growing horizontally like yours; also the large oaks they've had fall or cut down seem to regrow from the stump unless it got ground out.
If that run is secure enough, I wouldn't worry about them sleeping in the run.
I'm in your region a little further up the hill and overbuilt a fancy coop for my flock - yet ever since adding a few roost bars inside the run, they all prefer to sleep in the run year-round - two different flocks...
I have several existing trees in my expanded run, cutting any of them down to accommodate chickens wasn't even a thought in my mind. My interference was overhead, as I put overhead fencing to keep flying and climbing predators from getting inside. I used metal chicken wire not only because I...
Leaks will happen - windows have an integrated drain for any water that gets in the channel and routes water to the exterior side, which would leak to the interior if installed in reverse. I suppose you could plug the holes, but then the water won't drain from the channel and it'll likely...
Better than nothing, It'll work until it doesn't :idunno We have hawks overhead daily and I thought for sure they'd be a problem, but it turns out our main predator has been a bobcat instead
For permanently attached I'd use galvanized fence wire and weave the fencing together.
For a removable chunnel I'd likely go with the suggested wood door frames on the fencing, and either use screws or bolts + wing nuts/t-nuts + wing bolts for something you can install/remove by hand. Make a...