19 or 23 gauge 1/4 inch hardware cloth.

[va-chickens]

Thanks for your reply. Walmart seems to have a good price also. The cutoff tool is a great idea. I have an angle grinder that will do that job.

 

[Slothinc]

I painted my hardware cloth black, it makes it so that you can see through from the outside. You only have to paint the side that is exposed to the outside of the run. I used a roller to paint it and it only takes a minute. And makes a huge difference in being able to see your chickens so much better.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I am building a large coup and wanted 19 gauge 1/4 inch 4 ft wide and it is difficult to find. The reason I am trying to use 1/4 inch is to deter raccoons. We have many and was told they can put their can put their claws through half inch hardware and literally rip it off. Anyone with advice? Also is galvanized better than black vinyl coated cloth. Thanks!

Your post has been up here a while so you may have found what you needed, but we have raccoons everywhere! I find their prints all the time beside the stream right behind our coop, and we've never had an issue with 1/2 inch cloth. Of course, we have the cloth attached very securely to the run's posts/studs. I think keeping whatever wire you use taunt and firmly attached is the secret to security.

 

[Kjanetzke]

I bought 48 inch 50ft 1/2 19 ga off Amazon. The brand was Seboss galvanized after welding. Read somewhere I think it was better to buy the after weld? I am new as well and just finished my run. It was a bear to work with for me because my run is large. I bought 2 50 ft rolls and hadn't seen a bad weld yet. Good luck! Invest in a cutoff tool for cutting. So easy and fast.

I'm looking to buy 48x100 1/2 in 19 gauge hardware fabric from Amazon because the price is so much better that TSC, Lowes or Home Depot. I'm really worried about the quality. Any advice?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I'm looking to buy 48x100 1/2 in 19 gauge hardware fabric from Amazon because the price is so much better that TSC, Lowes or Home Depot. I'm really worried about the quality. Any advice?

Maybe from what was mentioned above about weight: look at the shipping weights for both. (Lowe’s came in a single layer of plastic wrap; I’d imagine that the Amazon version would be similar.) if one is significantly heavier than the other, then maybe??? it’s better quality?

Also be sure to read the one and two star reviews. Ignore the ones about the rude delivery driver and “it’s shorter than I expected” ), and see what the bad reviews were griping about.

Edit to add: the post referencing weight might have been on a different HWC thread. It’s a popular topic!