Electric netting vs permanent fence

[CrazedGirl]

While our coop is in the works of being built I am thinking about the run. I was looking at the electric netting from Premier (open to other suggestions) or just having a fence that we put up ourselves, digging a trench about 8-12” to ward off would be predators who want to dig to get to them.

For those who have either or, what are your pros vs cons? I’m not as concerned about the labor as much as I am making sure our chickens stay safe.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Netting is a temporary application. I personally would go with a permanent perimeter.

 

[cholland]

Depends on your site conditions. With electric net you need to keep grass and other weeds off the fence. It can be a chore in the growing season. Personally I'm not spraying herbicides, I raise chickens to get away from that stuff.
Electric is a great predator deterrent.

For permanent fence, I use 2x4 welded wire. T posts, wood corner braces, all that. I run a single electric wire around the outside bottom about 5" high on 5" spacers out from the fence. I have a lot of rocks, so I just line them up along the bottom of the fence, I don't dig or burry anything, except post holes. Has been effective for me.
I had skunks and raccoons digging under before I added the electric wire.

My chickens fly right over a 4 foot fence so I've added three more feet of 1inch chicken wire.

Electric net works well for temporary and seasonal fences and where you have a lot of area inside the fence. I found if you confine them in even a 50x50 area, with a 4 foot fence, several of them will escape once they get bored scratching up the new ground.
Two or three nets together enclosing a larger area makes it quite a bit better. But they do take attention that nothing is on the fence.

 

[Pinckney]

I have Premier electric netting so I can move birds around my horse pasture.
If you don’t want to move them around then go for the permanent as Cholland suggests. You could always let them out when you’re around or daylight hours.

 

[aart]

digging a trench about 8-12” to ward off would be predators who want to dig to get to them.

No need to go deep, anti-dig apron can lay right on top of ground.

Good examples of apron installation, tho I'd not recommend 1/2" HC...go with 14ga 1x2 or 1x1, will hold up much longer and is easier to lay flat.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[CrazedGirl]

Thanks everyone.

I’ll look into the permanent fencing. The reason I’m not doing the apron is because we are basically installing a fence perimeter for the “run” which is going to be about 600sq ft *appromiate but not finalized*.


I like the idea of running an electric wire along the bottom of it to deter predators from the edges and keep the flock safe on the inside. There is a tree and we can provide cover from above in some areas.

 

[cholland]

I zig zag heavy string, like masons line or clothes line over the top. Fairly easy and seems to work. I have a resident pair of Cooper's hawks and haven't lost anything yet.

 

[lazy gardener]

I've used Premier 1 and loved it, until the flock started flying over it. I lost 3 birds in as many weeks to northern goshawk. The hawk did not take any birds inside the electronet. I then built a 500 s.f. run and covered that with bird netting. That worked well till snow season ripped it part way down. I removed it. I was lucky enough to be watching when a huge hawk flew down into the run to get one of my birds. I chased the hawk away. Then, hubby and I blocked off one bay of the run, and covered that with a combination of peaked roof and green house tarp, and 2 x 4 welded fencing. No more hawk attacks. I have to open up the rest of the run every spring, and re-install the bird netting.

Premier 1 Pros: Easy to use, can be moved. Keeps all land predators except for weasels and rats out.

Cons: Must be cleared of vegetation. I'll not use herbicide, so every few weeks, I had to move the fence line and mow, then restore fence line. Will not keep hawks out. Birds can fly over it. You could get around this issue by making your electronet run small enough so that you could put bird netting over it. Chicks can run through it until they are about ?10 weeks old.

Stationary fence: I can't afford hdw cloth b/c of the amt. of sq. ft. of run I need. 6' tall chicken wire, with horizontal skirt works fairly well for my purposes. I have to knock snow load off even the 2 x 4 grid several times/storm.