Can a snake

[Wise Woman]

scale the wall of your chicken run? We are trying to decide on which kind of hardware cloth and fencing to put on our new run. I would like to put 16 gage vinyl coated 1/2" by 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom 4 ft. of the run and then put 14 gage 2" x 4 fence 6 ft. high over that to totally enclose the run.

But I am worried that a snake will be able to scale the wall and get into the run via the 2" x 4" fencing at the top 2 ft. of the run. We are doing a double fence due to all the different types of predators we have, but rattlesnakes scare me the most. Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated!

 

[Sarah B.]

We don't have snakes where I live but the go-to option everyone here recommends is Hardware Cloth. I'd just find some with extra-small holes.

 

[azygous]

If rattlesnakes are the snake you're most concerned with, you're safe with the hardware cloth as long as it extends at least 24 inches vertically.

I consider myself extremely familiar with rattlesnake behavior since I handled them for years as a park ranger, and I've had my share get into my run since having chickens. They normally will only climb as far as they can extend the first half of their body when coiled. They will not scale a sheer wall of hardware cloth. If the hardware cloth is low enough to permit them to access the larger 2" x 4" wire, they will be able to slip over the hardware cloth and through the larger mesh however.

 

[Wise Woman]

If rattlesnakes are the snake you're most concerned with, you're safe with the hardware cloth as long as it extends at least 24 inches vertically.

I consider myself extremely familiar with rattlesnake behavior since I handled them for years as a park ranger, and I've had my share get into my run since having chickens. They normally will only climb as far as they can extend the first half of their body when coiled. They will not scale a sheer wall of hardware cloth. If the hardware cloth is low enough to permit them to access the larger 2" x 4" wire, they will be able to slip over the hardware cloth and through the larger mesh however.

Thank you for this info. So if I have 1/2" hardware cloth on the lower 4 feet of the run, they shouldn't really be able to get in? The height of the run is 6 ft total. The hardware cloth will be on the bottom 4 feet with the 2 x 4 fencing over the top of the hardware cloth.

I am deathly afraid of snakes and especially rattlesnakes. I almost stepped on one several years ago and honestly, I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest just from coming that close to it. It was laying under our deck right beside our sidewalk and was moving onto the sidewalk when I came walking by with a basket of clothes to hang on the line. That is why I didn't notice it.

Anyway, I am trying to think through all scenarios so we can make our run as secure as possible. Thank you again for the info.

 

[azygous]

Half inch hardware cloth should be adequate. Adult rattlers seeking mice will not be able to squeeze through. However, that doesn't rule out the possibility of a baby rattlesnake squeezing through half inch mesh, but it's not very likely since baby rattlers will not be seeking mice until they get large enough to be able to swallow them. Snakes have heat sensors that tell them the exact size of the prey they are targeting.

Getting back to the topic of mice. Controlling the rodent population is the very best way to discourage the rattlesnake population.

 

[Lonesome Dough]

I do wildlife control and had a 4ft+ bull snake go vertically up a 6ft concrete wall to an interior window ledge. so yes they climb very well. sorry, that's probably not the answer you wanted.

 

[Birdinhand]

I'd go 1/2 all the way around and over the top and down into the ground 2 ft. rats are the lowest common denominator and they climb, jump, swim, dig, you name it... and replicate like rabbits when they have an open source of food.

 

[Bonniebooboo]

I'd go 1/2 all the way around and over the top and down into the ground 2 ft. rats are the lowest common denominator and they climb, jump, swim, dig, you name it... and replicate like rabbits when they have an open source of food.

x 2 whole heartedly agree.

 

[theuglychick]

Yes. Very easily!

This little gal was in my coop and when I put her outside she did this.

scale the wall of your chicken run? We are trying to decide on which kind of hardware cloth and fencing to put on our new run. I would like to put 16 gage vinyl coated 1/2" by 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom 4 ft. of the run and then put 14 gage 2" x 4 fence 6 ft. high over that to totally enclose the run.

But I am worried that a snake will be able to scale the wall and get into the run via the 2" x 4" fencing at the top 2 ft. of the run. We are doing a double fence due to all the different types of predators we have, but rattlesnakes scare me the most. Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated!

 

[Wise Woman]

Thanks everyone! Lonesome Dough that is exactly the answer I wanted! I need to know this before I get my run done. So I think we will do the 1/2" hardware cloth top to bottom and then put the 2 x 4 fencing top to bottom over that.

We have had chickens since 2001, so we are well acquainted with the mice/rat problem and have taken precautions to keep them away. We live in a forest though, so there is no way to 100% eradicate them, but we really haven't had an issue so far. Our new coop will be built about 2 ft off the ground as well to prevent them from getting ideas about moving in under the coop.

Those rattlesnakes show up in unlikely places though. The guys at our local water district find them in meter boxes all the time and my husband does propane and he finds them under the lids on top of the tanks a lot of the time, so I want to take any and all precautions that I can. Fencing is far cheaper than if I get bitten and have to go to the ER! Plus where I live, no one has any anti venom, so you are looking at a good hour or more until you will get any medical attention. I live in fear of those rattlesnakes.