Hardware cloth vs chicken wire

[patandchickens]

Quote:
a) cut one of the meshes. Then put your foot on one part of the chickenwire, and pull real hard on the other part. It comes apart much more easier that way.

b) raccoons are actually stronger than people in some ways. They rip Havahart livetraps apart on a fairly regular basis... YOU sure couldn't do that.

c) empirically, observationally, in the real world, raccoons fairly often DO rip apart chickenwire and have dinner. It's not a theory thing, it is what actually happens.

Just sayin',

Pat

 

[Stumpy]

I found 48" wide rolls of hardware cloth (for half the price of the stores) at www.wayfair.com. No affilation, etc.

 

[VallejoSheltie]

Well, I'm still new here, however a couple of observations.

1. Just because you are using chicken wire without incident so far doesn't mean much.
Since so many people have used it, and had terrible results, all one can reasonably conclude from your experience so far is that its
equally possibly no predators have actually tried to enter.
Since almost every site I've come across seems to indicate chicken wire is not a consistent deterrent, I wouldn't want someone new here to take such a casual attitude to heart and experience a preventable loss.

2. Similarly with the dangling CD's, another recent thread here seems to indicate it did nothing to deter sparrows. Now these are Sparrows and not Hawks or Falcons after a real meal, so I wouldn't expect any different behavior. The one video I did come across did say that birds will get used to them and will ignore. As the Sparrows show. If you have a local predatory bird, I would expect it would be keen on your location and eventually figure out the CD's are not a threat.
Considering one can get cheap netting, or heck, run string in a quilted pattern over their run rather easily enough to prevent anything with decent wingspan from swooping in, why screw around with goofy CD's.

In short, there is a metric ton of quality advice on this and most other sites that is generally sound, and learned from sometimes painful experience. Trivializing that with a rather hokey "whatever works for you" seems to akin to taking close, careful aim at your thumb before swinging the hammer.
They are your chickens, so whatever floats your boat. However, if you lose one to a predator will you report back to help convince others that there is a semblence of Best Practices one can/should follow to avoid what should be a solved problem.

 

[nihil]

In my search for decently priced hardware cloth I found Midland Hardware that has good prices on hardware cloth rolls up to 48" wide

http://www.midlandhardware.com/Fence--Hardware-Cloth_c_2557.html

 

[MeepBeep]

Since nobody is responding in my build thread, what about welded wire behind chain link? We are using dog pen for the perimeter of the run and was thinking of using the welded wire along the sides with HC over the hoop top. Trying to save some $$

What size welded wire? To stop weasels from getting in or raccoons from reaching in, you really need to have no openings greater than 1/2"...

Chain link and larger welded wire like 2x4 will discourage larger predators, mind you most 2x4 welded wire is not welded all that well and a dog can rip it apart, same with many chain link panels and gain entry since it's easy for them to get a 'bite' on it and pull...

 

[MeepBeep]

and then a pack of coyotes will come by the next night.

Coyotes come by my place nightly, and would come even closer and pose a real risk if I didn't have my llamas and dog keeping them away from the buildings... I see their fresh tracks in the snow all winter long so I'm well aware they visit every night and how close the come while looking for an opportunity... I can also regularly hear them howling away just out of sight at night... I also have a fox that frequents the area...

Then comes the attack squadron of raccoons the following night

I had a very large raccoon visiting every night for the last few months, and he/she totally ignored my dog that would go ballistic every night letting me know the coon was roaming around on the other side of the fence... Never was able to get a clean line of sight to take a shot and remove the threat before it did more then knock over the garbage cans or raid whatever else was left outside the fenced area... Lucky for me a passing car took care of that problem this last weekend...

The stray wild dog posts always make me laugh...like seriously how many people have random packs of dogs running around their neighborhoods??

First the dog doesn't need to be feral nor does it take a pack of them to cause huge damage, a one hour escaped pet dog can be just as deadly... Although you likely don't see it in densely populated cities all that often, loose running, unleashed dogs and un-fenced dogs are actually quite common in many places especially rural areas... My neighbor a few blocks away from me (who is also a member here) has had her birds attacked multiple times this year from a neighbors dog, it happens...

I also have multiple Red-Tailed hawks and at least one Coopers hawk patrolling my yard pretty much every day while a Great Horned Barn owl patrols at night...

I would be foolish to believe my chickens were not at risk every day and night, and if I only had a few and called them 'pets' I would certainly invest in more security, but since I have over 100 birds and most are considered 'livestock' to me I'm personally not over concerned about some disappearing... People that call them 'dear pets' are likely to have a completely different outlook vs people who consider them livestock...

Also every location varies, you might find it not to be the case in your area, but that isn't to say it's not the case somewhere else... The wild dog being one of these, my father in law in rural Arkansas has a feral dog problem in his area, they do actually roam around in packs during the days and nights, he has had several of his outdoor cats attacked by them...

I know for me at least, the birds face a real daily and nightly threat on multiple fronts, that is something that has to be addressed to some degree if I want them to survive...

 

[Badchickenpun]

Resurrecting an old thread instead of starting new.
Lots of great info here, BTW.
1/2 hardware cloth just JUMPED in price. 3'x25' is around $40 at a particular store, but the 4'x25' is almost twice as much!? What the..
So I don't have unlimited resources.
I have an automatic door on my coop.
I plan to use the 1/2 hardware cloth on the walls on the run (buried) with some ground contact lumber around the bottom.
I am struggling with deciding on the top.
I was just going to go with bird netting... Then changed my mind to chicken wire...then use all the same 1/2 every where...
Now I am thinking 2x4 fencing...
We do have raccoons and possums around... for sure. The neighbor had completed free range chickens and had no issues, but then, he also had dogs.
I don't want to spend more on the fencing than needed.
Considering that they will only be out in the run during the day... How necessary is it to use the 1/2 hardware cloth on top? If small birds getting in is the only downside... Is there an problem with using the 2x4 stuff on the roof of the run?

 

[ozark hen]

I know lots of people who use hardware cloth on the bottom and chicken wire on top....I am going to be one of them with the new pens we will build as soon as dh recovers from broken ankle. We will put hardware cloth on the bottom of our dog pens/now chicken pens too. Coons and others can reach through and yes, tear through chicken wire. We are securing the bottom few feet with the hardware cloth. Now our run is mostly chicken wire but there are no chickens in there after dark. We have never had a predator go into the run...................in three years..........knock on wood. We around most of the time anyway.
Oh, don't forget to bury some wire about six inches under ground on the outside of the pens/runs so predators can't dig under. That is very important.

 

[elmo]

Raccoons can and do climb! I saw a raccoon go straight up the side of our eight foor board fence, just like it was running on level ground. If you have chicken wire on any part of your run, even the roof, it isn't predator resistant, and you better be faithful about locking your chickens into a secure coop every night if you don't want them to end up on some raccoon's menu.

 

[QuackerOats]

What is the best way to attach the hardware cloth to the wooden frame of the run? I've read on here that the racoons can pull staples right off and get in anyway!