anyone use chain link fence for run?

[Bram]

If you have used chain link fencing for your run, post a pic or send a message to hlep me get started. The fencing is already in place, but I will need to cover over the area which is about 30 X 16. Give me some ideas, Please!

 

[TcherDawn]

I am using a 10' x 10' chain link dog run. I am in the process of covering over it with a lot of hardware cloth, because the holes in it are huge and not predator proof. I have bird netting over the top right now, but will make a better roofing system once our permanent coop is finished. It is temporary right now, but is working perfectly. When I want to change or expand it, all I have to do is buy more fencing panels and more harware cloth. I only have 5 Hyline hens, and they love it. Needs more shade though. A work in progress....

 

[LesGan]

I inherited a chicken house with large chix yard about 20' X 40'. It is chain link fencing, 6' high with a high and low strand of elec wire around the outside perimeter. It works great for my tiny flock, trees around for shade. The only problem I have noticed this year.....new chick and it is small enough to go through the links. The fence itself has smaller links but the 2 walkthru gates are larger links. For chick I have constructed a smaller fence within this area out of smaller diameter plastic chix wire and temporary poles. I really like the chain linked fence and feel very secure about its strength, the elec perimeter wires and the height.

For overhead I have strung fishing line back and forth from post to post and tied small orange ties to the lines. I was told that restaurant owners in FL with outside dining areas have done that to keep birds from coming down into the area....guess it confuses them. I am shorter than feet so no problem for me to move around the yard......ties for taller folks who might come into yard. Good luck, Leslie

 

[MIKE555444]

Chain Link Fence makes the best protection IMO. If your fence is already in place then you would most likely need to find a way to "stop dig in" preditors. When I installed my 6 ft fence I buried 6 inches in the ground and used landscaping timbers for post. I bought a pick specific for this job that let me did a nice 1.5 inch ditch around my run so dropping in my fence was less of a task. I plan on doin a electric fence soon around the top and I don't expect and hawks in my area

Good Luck

 

[TcherDawn]

Here is my temporary setup. Hopefully the pic will come out. It is not perfect, but I am a first timer and doing what I can as I can.
The small run is almost completely enclosed in hardware cloth. It is fort knox for the chickens if we need to go away for a day or two, so they have someplace safe to be. I only use the dog kennel when we are home and during the day. They are closed up at night.

 

[lilcrow]

I have a 12'x12' dog run that I surrendered to my bantie chickens. It took my a long time to make the plunge as I was very afraid they would be able to get out through the many gaps and openings that I was sure would be big enough for them to fit through. Finally out of shear desperation I got some 2' chicken wire and began by folding it in half, then opening it back up to a 90 degree angle to fit over each corner and running it the full length of the corners, all the way up and over, down and under. My kennel had those blasted rounded corners on it. The kind that leaves huge gaps at each of the corners and it needed a lot of attention to make sure they were secure. After the securing the corners came the door, lots of spaces there also. If you're raising standard chickens, I don't think you'd have to go through all the stuff that I did, but with the banties, I was just too paranoid. The door really drove me crazy for a while, but I finally figured out that I could run the chicken wire down the solid panel and let it extend out across the door hinge on the one side and the latch on the other. I only ran it up about half way because I didn't think the chickens would actually figure out they could climb up and wiggle their way through the opening at the top. Just didn't sound like a chicken thing to do. I then covered the top with chicken wire. I haven't started clipping wings yet. I get a kick out of seeing them fly and they seem to enjoy it so much, so I decided to let them at this point. The cover keeps them in and aerial predators out. I don't know if this has helped you at all, but if there is anything else I can do or any questions I can answer, just let me know. This set up isn't perfect, but it sure beats having chickens on my back porch.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Here's what we have:

Hardware cloth over it 3' up and 1' underground.

 

[TexasVet]

I've got a bunch of kennels hooked together; the outside perimeter is about 200 feet. I started with a cheap dog kennel from Lowes, but quickly realized that individual panels work better than a frame that you wrap chain link around. Just takes a few minutes to unbolt a panel and move it, so you can reconfigure at will.

I don't cover the top of my run, now that the coop is on the inside of the fence and is far enough off the ground for the hens to get underneath. So far, knock on wood, I haven't lost a single one to hawks or owls.

To keep coons and other critters out, I ran a hotwire about 6 inches from the top and bottom. I actually lost a couple of chicks when they touched the wire, so now I have a photoelectric timer that turns it off at dawn and on at dusk.

As for chicks getting through the holes, you have two choices... either let them do it or add chicken wire to the bottom of the panels. I let mine run in and out at will; when they get big enough they can't do it any more. Kind of funny the first day they're big enough to get stuck!

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[Chicken Ninja]

Chain Link works great. That's what we used for our run.

More pics on my BYC page.

 

[Imp]

Here's another recent thread on the same subject. I like chainlink.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213154


Imp