What is the best wire or fencing? I have all kinds of predators here so we know to put a top over the run and make sure everyone is in at night, but need ideas on the type of material to build the run itself.
They sell all types of fencing Theres the regular thin wire chicken coop fencing which is kind of flimsey or they sell the green wire which is a little more sturdy. but if you take the gardening posts with the notches you can attach it to it or zip tie it at the holes and cut off the excess to make it sturdy and just bury it in the ground or you can take bigger round metal posts or wooden posts you would have to find a way to attach to the post to make sure it holds up and dig the hole deep enough to insure it's secure. another option is to make a run to an open area and build allmost like another house(could even make a roof with 1 door so you can look in on them one that flips open , with boards high enough to where predators cant acces it if you choose not to put a roof on it , and just put wire in the run connecting one house to the other . We had the same idea and had the same dilemma of where to begin
Hi Peggy, Short answer: hardware cloth. 1/4" Though, as you've probably gathered by my name I'm a noob to all this, but I've been doing a bunch of reading. First off, a raccoon or fox can easily get through standard chicken wire. It's simply flimsy wire twisted around itself that they can pull apart. What you need is hardware cloth extending at least three feet up (depending on predators) and about a foot into the ground. (Alternatively you can extend it outwards and weight it down, as these predators dig and do not burrow.) From there up if you want to save some money you can *try* chicken wire. I guess maybe a raccoon could figure to climb up four feet or so and try from there, but I just envision it repeatedly falling off..... I'm not familiar with the green wire as the other poster stated, but it sounds like gardening fence to me. Much like chicken wire, it can contain a chicken, but it won't keep a fox, dog or raccoon out. Idk how high you plan on making your run, but it'd be pretty easy to skimp once you get a few feet up. Squirrels would naturally be able to get in and get at food, and I've read some sights that say that squirrels are a natural predator....I just don't see it. I doubt even a large gray squirrel would mess with a flock of chickens. They eat mice after all..... As far as protecting from above, kite string will do. If you 'net' the area off no hawk or owl will mess with it. ( You can pretty much just zig-zag it.) If they try they'll be in for a rude awakening as soon as they get tangled up. But then again, you could have squirrels going after the food. If you really want them to be safe and happy, hardware cloth all over. If you want to test nature and save a bit, go with hardware cloth (buried or extended) a few feet up, chicken wire surrounding the top parts and any type of string over the top. Idk where all those spaces came from.....but chicken wire is perfectly acceptable for keeping chickens in. It doesn't keep predators out though.
X2. Chicken wire won't keep anything out. Hardware cloth is more expensive but well worth it. My run is a chainlink kennel covered with a tin roof. I covered the sides and floor with hardware cloth. We live at the edge of the woods and nothing has been able to get at my chickens so far. You can get a bigger selection of sizes and a better price on ebay. I've bought it at Lowes and Tractor Supply and its pretty pricey there.