chicken wire or netting for top of coop?

[davimi]

I was wondering if netting would be strong enough to keep out predators. I'm very nervous about putting the chicks out next week. I know the coons are awfully crafty. Chicken wire seems safer. Anyone have any opinions?

 

[TipsyDog]

We put up chicken wire. I was afraid a coon will climb the walls and walk around up there. We put beams 3' apart and rolled out the chicken wire nice and tight. I'm sure a coon can walk around up there and not fall in!

----edited to add:----

We put chicken wire on top of the PEN. The coop is solid roofing. Not sure which you mean now???

 

[lunkerchicken]

I have a hard plastic corrugated material across 3/4 of the roof for protection from the elements and the last 1/4 is all chicken wire - seems to be doing fine so far.

 

[jjhuntsalot]

I agree chicken wire is the only way to go to keep out pest.

 

[cafarmgirl]

We used hardware cloth on top of the run, coop is solid roofed. Racoons and other predators seem to be able to go thru chicken wire with no trouble at all. It'll keep your chickens in but won't keep out much when it comes to determined predators.

 

[davimi]

We were going to put the chicken wire around the run. Just wasn't sure on the top. I hope the predators can't get thru the chicken wire. If so....we are all in trouble. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[chickenguysmom]

This is my rule of thumb. Netting will keep out other birds. A determined bird could chew through it if they wanted to. Most raptor-birds-of-prey do snatch-and-grabs and therefore it will keep flying predators out and flying chickens in.

Chicken wire will keep your chickens in and some dogs and smaller predators out. A determined dog can chew through chicken wire (sounds painful). A raccoon can def. chew through chicken wire. Not so sure about opossums but they look nasty enough to do the job. Same with foxes and coyotes.

Hardware cloth keeps everybody out. For extra security put hardware cloth on top of the soil (grass, gravel, etc.) around the parameter from the bottom of the run/coop extending out 2 feet and stake it down with landscaping pins or clips.

Apparently, animals that dig like coons & dogs aren't smart enough to back up two feet and start digging there. So when they dig next to the coop or run they soon run into your wire and give up.

I dont have much problems with predators so the top of our run is chicken wire and the sides are hardware cloth with the aforementioned ground skirting of hardware cloth. Coop gets "locked" (closed) at night. If you lived in an area with alot of those predators you may need to be more sturdy.

Also, during the day the dangers are flying predators and dogs (cats if you have chicks or small breeds). At night is when you shoud really worry - Owls, dogs, cats, coons, possums, coyotes, foxes, skunks and even snakes.

 

[BigPeep]

I converted our old 40 by 20 ft dog kennel, which our dog refused to go into once he got used to the house, by adding the one inch by 2 inch heavy metal fencing material to the top. We had to add a foot on to the height on one side so we could walk under it and then sloped it up to connect with the side of the barn which puts it at 7 ft at that end. I then had to put chicken wire around the bottom up to two feet to keep the smaller birds from going through it.

I imagine that a martin or weasel could get through the wire but I have my "guard goose" inside with the chickens who can easily deal with them (and probably a racoon as well). You might try including a goose with your chickens.

Our dog is about on his last legs so we will be getting a new one probably next year. Since the dog house will not fit through the door of the pen, I am going to put the new puppy right out with the chickens and goose from the beginning (but I might have to protect him from the goose). Your best deterent is another animal that can guard the place. You can also try electric tape around the base which you can turn on at night.