10x10 dog kennel as open coop tips

[mrsray]

been looking around and think i would like sand on the bottom of the kennel and need to get hardware cloth to put around the ground and bottom few feet of kennel to help protect my new babies ... will also cover the top to protect from hawks, weather etc

want an 'open coop' for them since it gets VERY hot around here

tips / tricks and suggestions are welcome ... about how I can tighten this up best it can be
want my babies safe as can be, there are A LOT of every type of predator out there in my neck of the woods



thanks in advance

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A few things you'll need to do. Around the doors are huge gaps that will be a problem for several predators.
You could make a wooden frame that will cover those areas.
Mink and weasels can get through chain link so the whole thing would need to be covered with something smaller than 1" mesh.
You can use 3/4 inch EMT conduit to span the top to support the roof.

 

[mrsray]

A few things you'll need to do. Around the doors are huge gaps that will be a problem for several predators.
You could make a wooden frame that will cover those areas.
Mink and weasels can get through chain link so the whole thing would need to be covered with something smaller than 1" mesh.
You can use 3/4 inch EMT conduit to span the top to support the roof.

thanks for the tips! ... the whole thing covered with >1" mesh, huh? ... sounds like a plan

 

[ChickenCanoe]

less than 1" (<1")
mink can get in a 1" opening. I learned the hardway.
Since the chain link is so strong, you may not need hardware cloth but a strong woven wire fencing instead.

 

[mrsray]

less than 1" (<1")
mink can get in a 1" opening. I learned the hardway.
Since the chain link is so strong, you may not need hardware cloth but a strong woven wire fencing instead.

sorry to hear you had a hard lesson ... that is what I am hoping not to do with the help from you guys ... thanks for the tips too

was just looking at hardware cloth 'HDX 1/2 in. x 3 ft. x 25 ft. Hardware Cloth'
thinking of covering the kennel with it and a foot in the ground too

 

[ChickenCanoe]

An easier way than going a foot deep is to run it about 18" out from the bottom of the pen just an inch or two under ground. The diggers will dig at the bottom of the chain link and run into the wire.

 

[mrsray]

An easier way than going a foot deep is to run it about 18" out from the bottom of the pen just an inch or two under ground. The diggers will dig at the bottom of the chain link and run into the wire.

I had heard about something like this before, thanks for reminding me ... sounds like the plan

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have a chain link dog pen for one of my runs. I added a door at the other end so I could have the coop external to save space in the run.

 

[mrsray]

thanks for sharing, love the run

 

[georgiagail]

We've used dog kennels as our runs (some as 10x10, some as 5x15). We've run 36" hardware cloth around the edge of each run and the doors and a roof of PVC pipe and the hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is attached with zip ties. It's useful to add some of this wire to the doors since these kennels do have doors that leave gaps that smaller predators could get in.




Gail