Should i paint the run's chicken wire?

I am amazed that no one has said don't fence a run with chicken wire unless you are prepared to lose some, if not all, to predators. Chicken wire is to keep chickens in. It does NOT keep predators out. Even if it for daytime only - loose dogs, foxes and raccoons all hunt during the day as well as at night.

Yes, chickenwire is not predatorproof.

As to whether to paint the run fencing (be it chickenwire, hardwarecloth, larger size welded wire, or whatever) the deal is this. The stuff you are using had better be galvanized stuff. Paint won't adhere well, nor will it add much if anything to its lifespan. It is the galvanization that protects against rust (if you did NOT use galvanized, go replace it now, sorry)

However some people DO paint their wire fencing for the purpose of making it easier to see through. Hardwarecloth, or evn to some peoples' eyes chickenwire, is a bit obstructive of your view of the chickens -- you end up mostly seeing the WIRE not what's beyond. If you paint it black or another dark color, it "disappears" much better so you have a considerably improved view of the chickens.

If you do this, do it with a roller not a brush, and don't expect the paint to last long. You will probably have to touch up or recoat every year.

There do exist primers specifically for use on galvanized metal but I question how much it's worth foolin' around with them for a chicken run.

GOod luck, have fun,

Pat

I worked in the offshore oil industry for a few decades. We usually painted galvanized grating and handrails in the splash zone to extend the life of the steel tremendously. The splash zone is that area near the water line where extremely corrosive salt water splashes against the steel and will corrode it very quickly. I've seen galvanized grating where some of it was painted because it was near other steel when it was painted in place and some of it was not painted. The difference in just a couple of years was easily apparent.

The galvanizing we used was commercial grade hot dipped galvanizing, not the galvanizing that is sprayed on. The paint was industrial grade with good primers and intermediate coats. We used a weak acid solution to clean off the surface and get rid of that powdery surface layer that can develop on galvanizing, then rinsed it well with fresh water to get the acid off. The paint was applied by professionals under certain humidity and temperature conditions. We normally used a 4 coat system, a primer, two intermediate coats and a top coat of urethane.

I am not aware of what quality the galvanizing is on the wire you are using, hot dipped or sprayed. Surface preparation is important to get the paint to stick and last. The main thing is that it is clean, not greasy or with anything loose like scale or dirt.

A big problem with coatings, whether galvanized or painted, is holidays. Those are holes in the protection, whether pinholes through the galvanizing or painting, or scratches. Corrosion is going to be concentrated at these holidays. I'm not always real good at getting fencing up without scratching it someplace.

I seriously doubt you are going to get a professional quality paint job on your fencing, either in materials or surface preparation. I do think if you paint it, taking a bit of care that it is clean, that you will fill those holidays in the galvanizing and provide a mechanical cover for the fencing to take some of the abrasion and help minimize scratching the galvanizing while you install it. I think you will extend the life of your fence quite a bit, especially the part in contact with the ground. I'm not a painting expert but I did work closely with the guy in charge of painting. Often I'd repair the grating or handrails and he would come immediately behind and paint it. His was a specialized field.

With all this said, I did not paint my run fencing for corrosion protection. I did not see it as cost effective in this application. I did run the roller over a lot of it after I finished painting my coop dark green so I could see through the fencing better from a distance. In the extremely corrosive salt water atmosphere offshore, painting the galvanizing to keep from having to replace it in a few years was very cost effective.

Anyway, that is my opinion and my experience. Take from it what you will. Good luck!

there are all types of chicken wire. Some are strong and others are very thin. I've put heavy duty chicken wire to thei run that looked like a fence so there's no way any predator will come in. I live out in South Jersey where we have all kinds of predators. We recently covered the roof with plastic roof (that's a different story ) but before putting that, the chicken wire kept my flock safe.

Well i already have the paint for metals, that i painted the galvanized metal posts that hold the run together, and the roller. The chicken wire is galvanized already but galvanized metal does not mean that it will never rust. I asked that question to see if any of you are sorry you did not paint it to find out what i am going to do. If your chicken wire is rusty or looks bad after 2-3 years, then i should paint mine now that its still new and the paint will stay on it.

ranchhand dont be amazed, i didnt ask about predators thats why nobody said something about that but if you wonder then i should answear, i dont have to deal with predators in my yard because its already fenced well. From the outside of my yard the chicken run is 18 feet high. 12 feet concrete wall and then my yard and run starts (the yard is leveled up 12 feet compared to the mountain that surrounds it) and has 6 feet high very heavy fence all around the perimeter that you cannot cut it without a cutting wheel. Then from the inside at the corner, there is my run.I am sure my yard is elephant proof. Foxes, skunks, dogs or the army, cant enter it, only the cats my mother brought in..lol. My chickens free range for 6 months and i never had a loss (from predators), they were not even disturbed, not even from the hawk that attacked my bunny the other day. However i will have a top with chicken wire on the run too, just incase a hen comes handy to that hawk some day... but all that predator stuff is out of topic.

Some people paint it black to drop its reflectivity to you can see the chickens better.

Not exactly on topic, but maybe a year or two ago someone posted pictures of their run with painted wire fencing. The part that was painted dark (black) seemed to fade away and it looked like it was not there. A truly significant difference from the unpainted fence (which was a visual barrier).
At the time I thought it looked really nice.

Imp

Chicken, Chick and Hardware cloth is anything but, "predator proof". A predator will go though one just as easy as the other.

If you are going to let the wire as is (no paint) and you are using a welded type wire it should be galvanized after welding . Welded wire that is galvanized after welding will last a lot longer than the wire welded before welding.

Now if you are going to paint your wire you will need to wash the wire with Vinegar then when it drys get a good galvanized metal primer (like what you would use on a galvanized metal roof), apply the primer then you can use about any type of top coat paint as your finale coat.

The primer and the top coat can be applied either by a heavy nap roller sleeve or a airless paint sprayer. (airless paint sprayers can be rented)

( Note - Get the galvanized metal prime at a good paint store and not a place like Lowe's or Home Depot. )

Chris

I am located not far from the sea where salt shows its effects on anything metal, including the wheels and other parts of a car. My house is on a mountain, close to the sea.

I am not a pro but i dont give the chicken wire more than 2 years of life without rust. It is galvanized with the drip method (the good stuff) not sprayed or anything else. I bought it from the local industrial zones factory. I also have the yellow paint you call primer (from a professional paint store) and a green metal paint that is applied after that. I never heard of the third coat tho. My wire is still very clean and is already installed, so i will not scratch it anymore after i paint it.

If the chicken wire will rust, and costs more than 150$, why shouldnt i invest on materials that cost 5-7$ primer paint and 5$ paint and maybe another 5$ for the roller i am re-considering what i am going to do after some replies from serious people here (like me, hehehe)

EDIT: Please keep in mind the chicken run i want to use the paint is inside the yard of my house and i dont want rusty stuff around here. Its a chicken coop alright, but that is no reason for it to look like .... you know what i mean