Chicken Wire = Dead Chickens

[SC-ChickMom]

We have a good population of Hawks on our property. Top will need to keep them from grabbing the chickens.

 

[stcroixusvi]

Sometimes the welded fencing is not the best, either, as the chickens can stick their heads through it, as mine did. People have to use what their environment and their budget will allow. We have chicken wire 12 inches up the welded wire to keep their little tasty heads inside, and chicken wire over the top to keep the flying predators and our cats out of the run. But I still worry when I go out during the day.....can't keep them locked up all the time.

 

[speckledhen]

My welded wire is backed by chicken wire and/or hardware cloth up to a certain height so they can't stick their heads through. I always use welded wire as the base, never chicken wire or hardware cloth.

 

[202roosterlane]

I totally agree!!!

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[NevadaRon]

We have predators coming from above, below and laterally. So I use a layered approach similar to speckledhen. I use 4 foot high welded wire as the base, extending 1 foot below grade. 3 foot high hardware cloth goes over that, also 1 foot below grade. The run is 6 feet tall. 4 foot chicken wire extends from the top of the run down over the welded wire to the top of the hardware cloth. Overhead the run also has chicken wire. This (so far) is keeping out hawks and eagles, coyotes and raccoons, and snakes.

 

[gale65]

Maybe they need to rename welded wire or hardware cloth to chicken wire. They'd make a lot more money that way.

 

[NevadaRon]

You can see some of the details of the construction of my "fortress" in these pics.

 

[deadchicken]

nice coop ,did it cost a fortune to build

and how much for all that chicken wire and alll that is is pvc right

 

[Hawkeye95]

I had a neighbor dog come over a few weeks ago. It was a large black lab, nothing huge or vicious. She just took a paw swipe at a pen I had that I was using chicken wire on. It came unraveled and tore a hole in it. Imagine if she was actually going after the chickens! At that point, she was just excited and interested in what was going on in the pen. I tore it all down a few days later and rebuilt the pen with hardware cloth and put up more wood supports and did it right. Which I should have done to begin with, but initially I was trying to save some $$$. I figured it wasn't worth it if I have to replace all the fencing, birds, etc if I had a real attack happen--- just do it right the first time. My main chicken run for the big coop is chain link fence with hardware cloth on the bottom half. So far, no issues.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We have one pen with chicken wire on it and a flight net top. It has this sleeping outside 24/7 no matter what the weather. Minus hurricanes in which case the birds inside also don't stay out.

200lb great Pyreneese who does his job very well, and we are lucky enough to have two of them that are poultry friendly.