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fuzzy8

fuzzy8

Chirping
Mar 18, 2016
152
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Escanaba, Mi
Going to get ducks in a few weeks. Was thinking of getting 1 porkin, 1 Rouen, 1 khaki Campbell, and 1 Indian runner. My duck coop is going to be a 7' x 5' all insulated. My pen will be a fully enclosed out of chicken wire. It's 16' x 20'. Going to have a kiddie pool in there for them. Any other ideas or options? I live in upper Michigan
 
You should consider something stronger than chicken wire for your pen as many predators just laugh at chicken wire. Chicken wire keeps birds in... not so much other things out.
 
I built an 8'x8' run last week.
The shed has an 8x8 steel roof which drains into the run. The run has a raised, wooden floor with a 1/4" gap between the boards. Underneath the boards and all around the sides as well as over top of the run is 3/4" hardware cloth. The whole thing is essentially rat proof.
When it rains, the roof will easily fill whatever water trough I place for my ducks or in this case, hens. In other runs I have used 1" hardware cloth and most of my friends recommend 1/2".
I paid $100 for 100' x 4' hardware cloth. That's a pretty good investment.
 
So what should I use insted of the chicken wire? I see the local Menards has this still that looked well built but the gaps were like 1x2 in the wire. It was way more heavy duty compared to chicken wire.
 
I use coated woven wire, 2"x3" covered with chicken wire for day time. At night, their first shelter had an 8'x4' porch attached to the house. The porch is covered top, bottom and sides with half inch metal hardware cloth, 16 gauge.

For larger pens (hardware cloth is more pricey than chicken wire), the bottom two to three feet of the pen can be reinforced with the hardware cloth (it's called that, even though it is not a cloth - some call it wire mesh. But it needs to be a sturdy gauge.)

Over the past couple of years, we have saved up and plan on building the new pen from hardware cloth.

Be careful working with it - I am convinced it hates me. Very springy, and the cut edges are s h a a a r p.
 
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Ok so if I went with the heavy woven wire the whole way which would be 5 feet tall. Then maybe went with the hard wear cloth up 2-3 feet over the wire would that be fine?
 
(I am a little tired this morning, so let me write what I think you wrote . . .
hide.gif
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5 feet of woven wire, with the bottom 2 to 3 feet covered with hardware cloth. Yes.

And I have woven wire over the top of the pen because we have foxes that jump, and raccoons that climb and owls and hawks that can fly in.

And some folks make a skirt of hardware cloth a foot or two from the bottom of the fence to keep things from digging under. I laid coated chain link under the pen, and attached it at the sides to 1"x6" boards. (sandwiched between two boards all around the edge)
 
Ok well as long as I can get away with adding 3 feet of hardware cloth over the steel wire I should be good. Would you zip tie them together?
 
I just redid our pen and the first 5 feet are welded wire with 2x4 openings. I forget what gauge.
This works for us as they sleep locked in their hut. If they slept outside in the pen, they could sleep against the fence which would allow your night time predators to reach in and pull bits of your birds out. You don't want that. Predators that can do that are not so active during the day so not so much a concern.

If you will close your birds into their house at night, you can get away with larger opening fencing.
 
Yes the birds will be locked into there coop every night and then let out of the coop every morning. They will only free range when I'm home and can be outside
 

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