run fence question

While my ladies and possiable gentalman are getting thier feather growing on im trying to plan out my run area.

My question isas far as fence type what would yous recommend i have been looking at welded wire as compared to poultry fencing and am thinking 48 inches tall or 36 its going to be an open top run with a few shade trees .
I have rir and some meat birds (for now) then it willl just be egg layers lol.
I dont have alot of area im thinking of using one side of my garage as a fence and fencing 3 sides might end up being about a 30 x 30 with a 10 x 40 L shape on one side of the garage.
Or am i looking for trouble as on the L side i cant see them as they will be behind the garage tward my neighbors .

Just looking for some ideas before i drop the almighty dollor,

Thanks,
Scott

If it's open top, so not a "secure" run, you can use almost anything: chicken wire, white picket fencing, Omlet netting, etc.

scoremaster said:

While my ladies and possiable gentalman are getting thier feather growing on im trying to plan out my run area.

My question isas far as fence type what would yous recommend i have been looking at welded wire as compared to poultry fencing and am thinking 48 inches tall or 36 its going to be an open top run with a few shade trees .
I have rir and some meat birds (for now) then it willl just be egg layers lol.
I dont have alot of area im thinking of using one side of my garage as a fence and fencing 3 sides might end up being about a 30 x 30 with a 10 x 40 L shape on one side of the garage.
Or am i looking for trouble as on the L side i cant see them as they will be behind the garage tward my neighbors .

Just looking for some ideas before i drop the almighty dollor,

Thanks,
Scott

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Hi scoremaster!

I want to tell you up front that I am 7 months young at chicken-raising. My primary source of education has been reading The My Pet Chicken Handbook and blogs.

That being said, I think your fencing needs to fit your needs/wants and, of course, be able to fit your budget. The My Pet Chicken Handbook strongly suggested 1/2" hardware cloth for a predator-proof fencing with skirting buried underground to prevent digging. The manual also strongly suggested aviary netting on top of the run to protect the chickens from flying predators, such as hawks and eagles. I would think, since you're not planning on covering the run, that there is a possibility you will need to clip wings to prevent the birds from flying out. Some birds fly better than others! I will say that we live on 5 rural acres, and we were free-ranging during the day and locking them up in the coop at night UNTIL a couple of stray dogs came and massacred our chickens, killing 6 of them in one, fell swoop. My husband is now in the process of making a permanent run for them. We used 4' chain link, because it's what we already had some of. We are all about trying to save money where we can. We will add hardware cloth fencing to the back of the chain link later, if we find there is a need. We plan to use arched PVC to form a dome over the run, covered with aviary netting to keep the chickens in and predators out. I think much of your predator-proofing needs will determine the level of security you'll need for your fencing choice. GOOD LUCK!!

1/2 inch hardware cloth..pricey yea? worth protecting your flock?? up to you.. remember, chickenwire prevents chickens from getting out, does nothing to prevent predators from getting in

Chickenshoe said:

1/2 inch hardware cloth..pricey yea? worth protecting your flock?? up to you..  remember, chickenwire prevents chickens from getting out, does nothing to prevent predators from getting in

Click to expand...

If our flock didn't get locked up in their concrete grain silo coop at night (I call it the flying fortress) and we were relying on the run fencing to protect them at night, we would have paid the extra up front for that 1/2" hardware cloth!

I think it really comes down to what the purpose of the area is. I have both a secure run AND a larger, less secure, free ranging area.

They will be in the coop for the night just wanted to be sure that everyone knew I wasn't going to keep them out in the fenced area at all times

And thanks for the replies so far