Best fencing advice?

[JeninMN]

Hi everyone! We are getting ready to build our coop this weekend, very excited about that as our little chickies sure are growing fast !

Looking for advice on what you all consider to be the best, ECONOMICAL fencing for the run.....we just ran out to price things at Fleet Farm here in town and OMG. We only have to build 2 walls for the coop as we are building it in part of our shop so that worked out handy!

So with that in mind...I see lots of creativeness here and would love to hear some input!!

Thank you all!!

Jen in MN

 

[silkiechicken]

Depends what you want to do with the fence. Just keep the birds in or predator proof.

Just keep the birds in regular chicken wire will work. Predator proof.... go with hard ware cloth, an a cover to the run, with a skirt on the outside to prevent diggers.

 

[JeninMN]

predator proof!!

 

[Chirpy]

I agree with silkiechicken.

If you can afford the hardware cloth then that's the best and is very predator proof.

However, it's very expensive .... so my second choice is using welded or woven wire with either hardware cloth (1st choice again) or 1" chicken wire buried around the bottom to a depth of 12 - 18 inches with a 6 - 8 inch "L" at the bottom and run it up the sides at least two feet.

Just do it right and use the best you can afford the first time. Losing chickens to predators is such a heart breaker and then you end up with additional costs to reinforce the fence later.

 

[wynedot55]

go with the 12 gauge wire.its stronger than chicken wire.an it makes a good fence.if you have chicks.you can put 2ft of hardwire cloth at the bottom.

 

[bigdog100]

Where do you buy hardware cloth? Home Depot have it?

 

[tomdeggeater]

Jen,
I just bought some from HD for a small project. For a pre-packaged roll of 1/2" sq. galvanized hardware cloth measuring 3 x 5ft, they got about $5. Seems sort of expensive. I would prefer getting it someplace where you can cut a length of what you need in one piece, off a roll. Instead of splicing shorter pieces together.
2 x 4" is the cheapest I hear, but for the bottom with chicks, you might want 1 x 1"? (To keep them in, and to keep racoons paws out).

Tom:

 

[Yogiman]

Jen,
I have been fencing extensively for the past month. I am building nursery pens, runs, and breeding pens, Thus far, what I have found to be the best for my application is a woven wire that I purchased at Tractor Supply. It is made by Red Brand. It is called "No Climb Horse Fence". It is a 12 gauge real heavy wire. It is a 2" X 4" weave and 60" tall X 100 ft. long. I really like it and it is there to stay. I have over the years tried a number of different wires to no avail. This wire proves to be the best buy for me. The welded wires worked for a while but then had to be replaced. Poultry wire just didn't work for me at all.
My poultry pasture is fenced with Red Brand Deer and Orchard Wire. It is 60" tall also. It is by far the best I have found for the application. It came in 130 ft. rolls.
Moral of the story: I learned to spend my money wisely after numerous failures with the cheaper stuff that actually cost me more in the long run.

 

[silkiechicken]

You can overlay the hardware cloth, welded wire or so on with the chicken wire too. Nasty mean coon paws can get though a 1 inch square hole no problem. Have to wear gloves if one get's in the trap...

 

[Chickending]

You can get the Hardware cloth at Menards. They carry it in various heights. Since you are in Minnesota I know you know who they are. I got 6 ft tall fencing from my local store and 8 ft posts. It worked great for my pens and no predator problem with the hardward cloth.
It is a bit more expensive but well worth the security.