Keeping Chickens Free Range

[vpatt]

Is deer netting the same as bird netting? Would one work better than the other?

 

[duluthralphie]

Is deer netting the same as bird netting? Would one work better than the other?

NO... to the deer netting!

I have tried to use deer netting in places (beings I am a tightwad and deer netting is cheaper) It break and rots and the birds just walk through it in no time.

You can get bird netting on Amazon reasonably. That said if I had just a small hole I would use the deer netting knowing it is temporary. I have a long run I tried to divide in half for my Crested Cream Leg bars to keep them separate during breeding season using deer netting. It last about 3 weeks before they had a hole in it. I then had to get it out of there as I was afraid they would get tanged in it and get hurt. That is not a worry with bird netting.

The above is just my opinion and worth what you paid for it.

 

[vpatt]

Thanks Ralphie! I see that most of the bird netting is very wide. Is it going work to cut it into narrower strips that would match the height of the fence? Of course, I know they could fly over....sigh. But I can only do so much.

 

[duluthralphie]

Thanks Ralphie! I see that most of the bird netting is very wide. Is it going work to cut it into narrower strips that would match the height of the fence? Of course, I know they could fly over....sigh. But I can only do so much.

I have had to cut it and it cuts well.

For what you want I would buy a 10 ft wide piece and cut it in half. I like the 10 ft wide stuff for making covered runs. I can set posts 8 feet apart and use the 10 ft stuff to get a peak I can walk and stand up in.

I have bought the 50x100 and 25x5o they work well on larger pens BUT the ends are tapered and need to be spliced to square them off. You can use hog rings or wire ties to spice it and hook it to chicken netting.

 

[vpatt]

Thanks again!

Can't wait to get these four chicks out of the house.....next time it's broodies all the way. I wanted to try this and I have now officially tried it..lol.

 

[duluthralphie]

You a backwards from me Vpratt..

I am locking all the birds up so I can get eggs to hatch. I just heard a chicken singing the egg song and found another hen in a lean too I have. Setting on a nest with 2 blue eggs and a turkey egg.

I need another run as soon as the ground thaws so I can put posts in to make a run for the guinea fowl. I just got my turkeys into a run yesterday. I have Crested Cream leg bars hatching next Friday, and some EE.

 

[lazy gardener]

It's
a good idea!

we have one-with mulch just like hers too lol!

But, Heidi: have you told them to stay out of your mulched flower bed? Certainly, if you've said that, they will stay home to trash it!

NO... to the deer netting!

I have tried to use deer netting in places (beings I am a tightwad and deer netting is cheaper) It break and rots and the birds just walk through it in no time.

You can get bird netting on Amazon reasonably. That said if I had just a small hole I would use the deer netting knowing it is temporary. I have a long run I tried to divide in half for my Crested Cream Leg bars to keep them separate during breeding season using deer netting. It last about 3 weeks before they had a hole in it. I then had to get it out of there as I was afraid they would get tanged in it and get hurt. That is not a worry with bird netting.

The above is just my opinion and worth what you paid for it.

Is bird netting heavier gauge than deer netting? I thought they were pretty much the same stuff, just different sizing (7 x 50 - 100 vs 15 x 15) Perhaps I'm wrong. I found that my deer netting held up very well, but was a pain to get untangled from the grass that grew up through it.

 

[duluthralphie]

The game bird netting is a lot thicker than the deer netting. The deer netting I have is about 1/2 inch squares made of a cheap plastic. Whereas the game bird netting is woven string (like a heavy back fishing line) I know a hawk or eagle hitting deer netting would go through it. If it hits game bird netting I think it would get caught or bounce off. I think game bird netting would be easier to remove weeds from because it is more heavy duty.

Both of them are a pain if they get tangled or weeds go through it. I use deer netting on my DW's tomatoes because, well, to be honest it is cheap and I do not care for tomatoes... and my chickens love them and I love my chickens....

 

[vpatt]

WHAT!? You don't love tomatoes? I like them but they don't like me much.


I feel bad for these little feed store chicks....no mommy....no scratching in the dirt until warmer weather. And are the other chickens going to like them?

 

[duluthralphie]

WHAT!? You don't love tomatoes? I like them but they don't like me much.


I feel bad for these little feed store chicks....no mommy....no scratching in the dirt until warmer weather. And are the other chickens going to like them?

I actually do the canning here my DW does not like doing that and I do so I can lots of tomatoes for soup/chilli bases etc... My wife has a small raised garden near the house of "eating" tomatoes that the chickens like it becomes a battle between her and them....


The poor little feed store chicks are almost a year old now, they just have never left Ethel's side. Last fall when Ethel hatched out her own poults and brought them to the house from the swamp the one "turken" went running to meet Ethel, you could see the excitement on her face as she saw her "Mother" coming back into the yard. Ethel ran her off because of the new babies which strained the mother daughter relationship for a while but they mended fences and are together al the time.... There are some nights I have to pick the "turkens" off the fence the turkeys sleep on and move them into the coop with the chickens. A chicken with a Turkey for a mother has all kinds of psychological problems and needs.