Sunds goo to me..I was going to use a dog kennel too this spring. But I fixed up the fencing and made it safe. I thought the kennel was a good idea.

If it's outside beasts you want to discourage from digging into the pen, rather than thinking that the hens will dig enough to make a hole under the edge, then why not let the hardware cloth extend out rather than in? It would be a bit more work, and more work when moving the pen, but it would give the hens more grass area for foraging, and work as well to stop digging into the pen. If predators bump into the hardware cloth in the 2' next to the pen, it should discourage them. I can't see many animals thinking well enough to move out 2' and start digging at an angle!