Best wire for coop/enclosure

[Waynebob126]

What's best for coop construction; hardware cloth or welded wire? I have a tendency to think the hardware cloth with a smaller mesh would be better than a 2"x4" welded wire mesh. Looking for opinions from you experienced flock keepers.

 

[fischnchix]

Half inch cloth is better but if you want to save the $$ some people use welded wire covered by a layer of regular chicken wire. Chicken wire rusts out quick and I don't feel like doing it over so I went a good guage cloth.

 

[dheltzel]

I use both, in different places. In my area, welded wire is about half the price of HW cloth. If find it easier to work with when covering large expanses, like a 24 ft square aviary that is 8 ft high. I have lost too many birds to coons reaching through welded wire, so any place where that could happen gets HW cloth for sure (or both).

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I only use 2x4 welded in the run. As for which wire is best I'll say a 14 gauge is thick enough, some animals can chew through 19 gauge.

The reason I only use 2x4 welded wire in run is I ask myself "what am I trying to stop?" The answer is daytime predators which range from skunk, fox, neighbors dogs to other things that are large and will be stopped by 2x4 wire. What can get through 14 gauge 2x4 wire? one might ask. Weasels. No matter how I think on it I just can't seem to come up with another predator that can. Weasels being primarily nocturnal I don't believe warrants the cost of hardware cloth over the entire run. I say entire run including the top as any one inch hole in the entire area will result in a weasel getting in.

That said my strategy is to use 1/2" 19 ga. hardware cloth on all openings in coop and close coop every night. A run gets 14 ga. 2x4 wire and a digging barrier of same wire 18" horizontal out from the run wall. You'll get people stating the fact that raccoon work together to scare then ambush birds through the wire opening. Again, a nocturnal predator and my birds are locked in coop at night. The risk is at twilight but I'm OK with that. If I loose one bird every X many years I'm fine. It hasn't happened yet.

 

[123RedBeard]

Hardware cloth comes in different size/thickness of wire, not just the spacing ... More common sizes are 19 - 27 gauge https://wireclothman.com/hardware_cloth.html know what your buying, and what will work best for you!

Also available in 16 gauge!
http://store.valentineinc.com/1x116gaall10.html

Know/learn about wire fence sizes (gauge) and what it means, and what it will cost ... http://www.louispage.com/blog/bid/7...e-Gauges-Used-In-Welded-Woven-Wire-Mesh-Fence

Know wether your buying galvanized after, or before welding! Which would you prefer? Make sure your buying what you want ...

I prefer 1"X3" 14 gauge ... Keeps the little chicks in better ... But doesn't stop snakes!

Like egghead jr says/asks ... What are you trying to keep out?

Here is a place near me that sells wire ... http://www.athruzcages.com/weldedwire.php

 

[HappyChickInn]

I can sleep at night knowing that any gaps in my coop are covered with 19 guage 1/2" mesh. We had a small mouse try to get in and got his body stuck. Most sites recommend the half inch mesh and we have used it on the coops and the pen

 

[Chickenbrainiac]

I've just finished my coop, and used 1" x 1" 19g weldmesh

It's cheap, and easy to cut with pliers/tin snips, but strong enough to keep the most persistent predator out

16g is about 2/3 more expensive (£54 as apposed to £31 for 30m) and, IMO, not worth the extra cost if you're on a budget

Btw, when designing your run bear in mind weldmesh usually comes in 2ft, 3ft or 4ft widths... oops... too late

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

What's best for coop construction; hardware cloth or welded wire? I have a tendency to think the hardware cloth with a smaller mesh would be better than a 2"x4" welded wire mesh. Looking for opinions from you experienced flock keepers.

We use the thin wires, we call it chicken wire here in the Philippines, that wire is really versatile you can even use it for flooring so you can have the manure underneath for easy cleaning