Building a duck yard safety question

[jdywntr]

Hello All.
I am in the process of building a duck run. It is 15' X10' and the has angled arches that are 6' high down the middle 4.5' of the run. My question is more about the roofing. Do I need to make sure that the top 3' are as predator proof as the sides?

I will be using welded wire with 2x4" openings overlapped to create 1x2" holes on the sides.

Will the welded wire be okay on the top without overlapping? Or could I overlap it with chicken wire?

I'm trying to save a little on the cost. I know that some people just use mesh to keep predatory birds out but we have raccoons, possoms etc. down here. So I want to make sure it is predator proof.

The way the sides are angled, any critter would need to climb straight up 3' then the beams are at a 45 degree angle for 4' then another 45 degree angle for 4.5' to the other side's angled uprights.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
In Florida I would for sure make the top as predatorproof as the rest... young raccoons and smaller-gauge possums can get through pretty small openings and cause a lot of havoc,.

(Frankly I would be leery of trusting this "overlapped to make 1x2 openings" thing too far because unless you use a lot of hog rings all over they'll be able to pull the 2 layers apart and make sort of a diagonal route between. Is it *really* cheaper to use twice as much 2x4 wire as just using 1x1 mesh all over? I guess it might be if you already have lotsa 2x4 lying around, of course)

The way the sides are angled, any critter would need to climb straight up 3' then the beams are at a 45 degree angle for 4' then another 45 degree angle for 4.5' to the other side's angled uprights.

Even foxes and dogs can do that - for raccoons and possums it wouldn't even require thought or effort. So, yeah, DEFINITELY you need as safe a top as sides.

Good luck, have fun, glad to hear that you are trying to err on the side of more rather than less security,

Pat​

 

[jdywntr]

My biggest problem is I only have Home Depot and Lowes close by. TSC is 45 minute drive but they did not have 1x1 wire. I can't find anything but welded wire fence with 2x4"or larger openings (5'x50' $41), chicken wire or hardware cloth(4'x25' $42) which would be way to expensive to do the whole thing in.
I have overlapped welded wire on the chicken coop/run. I bought galvanized fence ties to attach the two layers together. They are both nailed down and I only use the fence ties on the open areas. At the suggestion of the guy at home depot, I left the ends of the ties longer and facing outward so as not to injure the chickens, as a further deterrent because they are sharp after being cut.

I'm trying to make the most of what is available as I live in the suburbs. The duck run (for Runner Ducks) is just much larger and I don't want to always lock them up at night since from what I have read they will prefer not to be. So I'm looking for security on the cheap.

I'm thinking about solar electric fence too. I'm pricing that out now.

 

[sianara]

You can always go to the special orders desk (aka Contractors desk) at either Home Depot or Lowes and see if they can special order it for you.

 

[poltroon]

The 2x4 mesh would probably fine for the top, because your chickens will not be against it.

On the bottom, 2x4 mesh is not enough because predators can reach through and grab a bird's head off. But if your chickens are 3' below the roof, the predators will not be able to reach arms through to get anyone, even if they can get their arms through. As long as they can't get through the fence, you should be fine.