Hardware cloth is my Nemesis!!

[5acreFarm]

and I am not the Pee Wee Herman of the handymen!!....but this stuff blows! Just when I think I have it wrestled into submission it comes back and bites me....and you can forget about getting it pulled tight and square!!.....but I am slowly winning the battle and my coop is shaping up. A few finishing touches on the inside and this rookie chicken farmer is in business

The seven week old chicks are moving "up town" from the brooder in short order.



Thanks to all the info from the poultry pros here at BYC for giving me a head start and shortening the learning curve!!

 

[iwiw60]

I saw your post just now and had to laugh...my neighbors put up the hardware cloth on my chicken run today...and it can be a tad "dicey" to say the least! YIKES!! But we struggled with it and like you said got it into submission....your setup looks really nice!!

 

[5acreFarm]

I saw your post just now and had to laugh...my neighbors put up the hardware cloth on my chicken run today...and it can be a tad "dicey" to say the least! YIKES!! But we struggled with it and like you said got it into submission....your setup looks really nice!!

I finished my run a couple of months ago after countless rolls of hardware cloth. Let's just say...a lot of blood, sweat, and tears!!

 

[Cebarmlds]

That's very nice looking

 

[6of6chicks]

My first day of unrolling that stuff I wore short sleeves. BIG mistake! By the time I took a break my arms were so scratched up I looked like I had been wrestling a lion, lol! It's nasty business, no doubt.

Your coop is gorgeous!! I have serious brooder box envy. Your whole coop looks clean and sophisticated. My brooder box was cheerios boxes duct taped together!

Hardware cloth may be your nemesis but I'd say you showed it who's boss!

 

[5acreFarm]

My first day of unrolling that stuff I wore short sleeves. BIG mistake! By the time I took a break my arms were so scratched up I looked like I had been wrestling a lion, lol! It's nasty business, no doubt.

Your coop is gorgeous!! I have serious brooder box envy. Your whole coop looks clean and sophisticated. My brooder box was cheerios boxes duct taped together!

Hardware cloth may be your nemesis but I'd say you showed it who's boss!

It's a spring loaded cat with claws!!

My first brooder box was a big tote....but that became crowed fast. I thought I was going overboard with the upgraded one and now they are fighting over who gets the best spot on the roosting board!!....like a bunch of selfish teenagers...your welcome!!

 

[iwiw60]

My brooder box was cheerios boxes duct taped together!

You should see what my girls' temporary run looks like! I literally pieced together scraps of chicken wire, that green plastic chicken wire stuff, some garden stakes, some leftover 4x4's for the bottom edges.....an absolute mess!! I used chunks of baling wire and duct tape to put it together.

Today when the guys were over putting the hardware cloth on the real run they all stood in a row at the edge of their 'prison' staring at us. I think they were saying "is she EVER going to get that thing done!!!"

 

[RJSorensen]

Well it would seem that every hobby worth having has a dark underbelly. And hardwire cloth is one of ours for sure. Tight? Right, square, nope and as noted it is sharp and has roll memory they could use in a fancy bed. Push it down, springs right back. Yes, I hate it. Can't live with it, can not live without it. It is like my wife. Looks good and such, but can cut you to shreds in a heart beat.

Yep, nasty stuff. I have no idea how to pull long runs taut. Makes a sloppy workman out of a good carpenter.

RJ

 

[iwiw60]

Well it would seem that every hobby worth having has a dark underbelly. And hardwire cloth is one of ours for sure. Tight? Right, square, nope and as noted it is sharp and has roll memory they could use in a fancy bed. Push it down, springs right back.

My two guys that put up mine yesterday would take and pull out the "next length" of wire and then they used odd leftover cuts of 2 x 4's and put them on top of the wire...laid right down and stayed put while they measured the next length and cut it...worked good!

 

[vehve]

I put two 2x4 flat side up on top of our raised garden beds, put a nail in one end of both of them to hook the net on, then rolled it out and placed a weight to hold the roll of net while I cut it. Made cutting it easy, especially if you bend it back from it's rolled shape a bit before installing it. If you need to trim the width, I suggest doing that before cutting it to length, or then to just trim it after fastening it with a couple of screws. I used tin cutters to cut it, but I think a pair of gardening shears might make it even easier. My gloves and sleeves kept getting caught, so I preferred to do it barehanded in a t-shirt.