2x4 weld wire?

[Five Points John]

We got a 50 ft. roll of 2x4 weld wire this weekend. Will it keep most preds. out of the run? I know it won't keep out snakes, but we keep it well mowed around the coop and run plus keep a dog tied close also. Thanks in advance John

 

[Noymira]

We are using 2x4 welded wire for our run, I think it's plenty strong. I did add 1" chicken wire around the bottom to keep the hens from sticking their heads out though.

 

[NonnasBabies]

I thought about using it when we build our new coop & run but I'm just having issues with thinking that a small coon, etc. will be able to get through the wire!! But I know alot of people use it!!

 

[txhomegrown]

One of the bad things about 2 x 4 wire that I learned the hard was is that the dumb chickens stick their heads through and a couple of my dogs are pretty quick on their feet. Quicker than the chickens. The ones left alive have seemed to have figured it out and I haven't lost any more lately. I hope it stays that way. I need to run some chicken wire around the bottom before I put in any new birds.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

It would be okay if you then wrapped it in 1" chicken wire. Otherwise, raccoons will reach through, dogs can grab any chicken heads poking out and weasels will easily go through that.

 

[TomG]

Welded wire is better than chicken wire. 2x4 should keep out all but rats, snakes and weasles. Racoons can still reach through it and grab the birds if they are close. You might want to double up the bottom two feet with hardware cloth. There is no such thing as 100% safe unless you build a bunker. It seems like everything likes to eat chicken, including chickens.

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
It probably wouldn't be my first choice if you are planning on leaving the pop door open at night- our chickens will be locked up tight at night so I'm only worried about daytime predators. If money was not an issue I would probably use hardware cloth all around, but I found the 2x4 wire and chicken wire to be about half the price, and we had 50' of run wall to fence.

 

[Whiskey Bay]

Except for the above stated reasons,it's pretty good as long as you have nothing to push on it much.The welding tends to come apart very easily.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
That's true. The woven is much stronger.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
It probably wouldn't be my first choice if you are planning on leaving the pop door open at night- our chickens will be locked up tight at night so I'm only worried about daytime predators. If money was not an issue I would probably use hardware cloth all around, but I found the 2x4 wire and chicken wire to be about half the price, and we had 50' of run wall to fence.

That's the issue though. I don't have enclosed coops.