Easy, Cost-Effective Chicken Fencing?

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BekkiH

BekkiH

In the Brooder
7 Years
Oct 2, 2012
68
3
41
I'm looking for some kind of chicken fencing to close off a large around around my coop. The run that is attached to the coop is too small for the number of chickens that I plan on having. I also want them to have access to fresh grass and bugs, without the hazards of free-ranging.

I've seen some local farms use some kind of mesh netting around their chicken coops. Where do I find something like that? Or does anyone else have any recommendations?

This doesn't have to be 100% predator proof. This would only be for daytime use, and we have a dog who enjoys killing predators. But it would be good if it could at least deter some daytime predators a bit, or at least slow them down.
 
That is probably chicken wire the only thing it does is keep the chickens in but not predators out, if you go to a local farm store or hardware store they will sell hardware cloth it is metal not fabric, it is great and fairly cheap. around here the chicken wire is more expensive than the hardware cloth.
 
You could use chicken wire.

If you have grown chickens, you can use the orange plastic fencing they use for snow breaks or at constructions sites. Not sure what it's called right off, but I've used it and some T-posts for a grow out pen. Little birds can squeeze through the holes but bigs don't seem to try.

You might also look into electric netting. Not necessarily cheap, but effective against predators (is your high prey drive dog going to be okay around loose chickens?) and they look easy to move if you want to give your birds access to fresh graze.
 
Thanks. I just call it that orange plastic fence and everyone around here knows what I'm talking about
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Many commercial operations use aviary netting aka bird netting but it won't offer any real predator protection, in fact most fences alone won't offer much predator protection... Many common predators like foxes, coyotes, wolves, domestic dogs, bobcats can clear jump a 3 or 4 foot tall fence in and instant... While on the other side small predators like minks and weasels can usually go under or through most fencing without trying...

This is why most recommend 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth buried in the ground and completely enclosed with a roof, dollar for dollar it offers the best balance of protection vs cost even though it's costly...

Electric may work in some cases but it has many drawbacks that will cause it to fail in many instances and many locations, not to mention many towns, villages and cities have laws against installing electric fences in residential zoned areas...
 
Last edited:
Thanks, everyone! I will check in to these.

I realize that it won't be 100% predator proof, but I want to section off a fairly large area. Too large to cover. I just need something a little bit safer than free-ranging, while still letting the girls get some space and some grass.
 
I use a temp green hex plastic fence sold at lowes/ home depot/ any hardware store really. That along with step-in plastic stakes allows me to move the chickens to any part of my yard and still have some protection. I also bought bird netting and cover the top as much as possible. Weirdly enough, my birds run under the netting whenever something comes overhead. No hawk loss for a year so far anyway.
So there's my experience in the area, i hope it was usful to you.
 

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