making a pen

motherhen

In the Brooder
12 Years
Mar 25, 2007
67
2
41
Halifax, NS
I am a newbie and I am trying to find out how to construct a pen using 4ft chicken wire and connecting it together to make the pen fence higher. Are there rings you can us or do you need to use wood to sandwich the wire together? I am trying to use what ever materials I may have laying a round. I don't have a lot of funds to spend on this project yet I do want the chickens to be safe. The pen will be 8x8 and the coop will be approximately 8x6. I haven't started yet.
Also, I have a lot of rock and cannot dig deep, was wondering how far out away from the pen must the wire be barried?
I really excited about this project and could really use the help.
 
in my tractor, I used plastic cable ties because I had them laying around. I have had to replace a couple because I fixed them too tightly and they broke. If you have rock, maybe the predators can't dig in either? How are you planning on supporting the height?

We are building a new coop now and are going to use PVC for the run skeleton. we found OSB wood at Lowes for really cheap, so I made my DH buy enough for several projects
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Keep us posted and ask lots of questions, people here have LOTS of answers! have fun
 
To tie my chicken wire together I just found some other wire and tied the bottom and top pieces together every 6 inches or so. As for burying the wire...someone else might be able to help. My cage with the wire is portable so it's not buried and just sits on the ground. Anything burried would rust in about a year due to the moisture everywhere.
 
I plan to use reclaimed wood from palattes and creates. So far we are using 4x4 from creates to enclose the pen, sides and top only.
I am scared to use OSB because of the gases it releases. I hope to recycle as much as I can. So far eveything I have used it recycled wood from palattes and nails from a decaying play house.
I am hoping I can build it for almost nothing. I want to show my kids what you can do with recycled items.
 
My biggest coop is metal, and lined with OSB on the inside and for dividers. I never noticed any fumes and haven't had any problems in three years. My coop is also well ventilated. OSB is not good for the outside because it absorbs water and eventually deteriorates, but if you have it available, you could always paint it if you put it inside.
 
Hi Allen- regarding OSB gases its not something you would smell it is the off gasing of the material from the way in which it is made, I believe it is on the toxic side if it isn't air out. I read this on other sites. You used metal, does it get too hot in the summer?
 
Thanks for the info on the OSB.

The metal actually reflects the sun and makes the coops a little cooler. However, I still use misters and fans because our Texas summers get soooooo hot.
 
Has anyone out there used pvc? I was going to use it to make a chicken tractor for meat birds, but I wasnt sure if I could use it for a permanent run.
 
Hi,

With respect to joining two pieces of chicken wire, I used the ultimate in cheap-skate solutions: I took the big long piece of wire that the chicken wire came wrapped in, and used it to "sew" the two pieces together. Loop, loop, loop. I don't know if anyone understands what I'm trying to say but I don't know how to explain it!

I know that this isn't predatory proof but I used it for a day-time run when I'm not around and that's it. The chickies have a really, really secure coop for night-time, when nearly all of the predators around here do their worst. I think my PVC and chicken wire tractor would protect from birds of prey, cats, stray dogs.

As far as PVC goes, I googled "PVC chicken pen" and found plans for a 2' by 12' by 12' tractor. http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pastured-poultry-pen.htm It takes 2 people to move but provides PLENTLY of room for my chickens (used to be 8, now 7).

The fittings I also found on line by googling "specialty PVC fittings". The place I found them seemed to specialize in PVC furniture...I see the PVC pen plans also have a link.
 

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