Chicken wire strength...

[Shadrach]

My first generation chicken tractors were built with 1" chicken wire held on with staples to the wood frame. One of the top doors was wire and the other tin, the back half was tin. I also run 3 hot wires around the base with a half joule solar energizer. It worked great for two years only lost a couple of birds to the coons.

This spring I had my last two backup holland cockerels in one to keep them safe during a time of heavy predadation. The coons jumped up and down on the lid until the staples failed, ate the birds, then tore a hole in the wire to exit.

My upgraded tractors now have 2x4 welded wire attached with pipe strapping and all of the chicken wire has been covered with 1/2" welded wire. I've also replaced the poly hot wire with galvanized steel. Yup they broke the electric wire on their way out.

Another important note, I quit using staples. I use screws and fender washers to hold the welded wire in place. On my cattle panel hoop houses, I use heavy duty zip ties.

We use electric fencing here, or at least we did.
It doesn’t really work as a predator deterrent and just about works to contain certain livestock.

 

[aart]

hardware cloth normally comes in panels while weldmesh fencing comes in rolls.

No. See this is where terms like 'hardware cloth' and 'weldmesh' are confusing,
colloquialisms or slang, varies widely across regions, countries, and the world.

I believe that hardware cloth is called 'cloth' because it is fairly flexible, like cloth...who knows where that term was coined...in the southern US it's often called 'rat wire'.

Almost all fencing/mesh is welded..so 'weldmesh' is a generic term that shouldn't be used.

The panels(called 'sheets' on the website you linked) you may be thinking of are called livestock(cattle,hog,horse) panels here in the US. The wire gauge(~1/4") is way too stiff to roll, and it comes in various heights and hole spacing and mostly in lengths of 16' or sometimes 8'.

For clear communication, descriptions(hole size, wire gauge, height, and sometimes length) should be used...especially in a forum that reaches across the world.
As an engineering tech, detailed descriptions are second nature to me. A lot of time is wasted(and hot air jabbering until understanding is reached) and sometimes crucial errors are made without them.

 

[Shadrach]

No. See this is where terms like 'hardware cloth' and 'weldmesh' are confusing,
colloquialisms or slang, varies widely across regions, countries, and the world.

I believe that hardware cloth is called 'cloth' because it is fairly flexible, like cloth...who knows where that term was coined...in the southern US it's often called 'rat wire'.

Almost all fencing/mesh is welded..so 'weldmesh' is a generic term that shouldn't be used.

The panels(called 'sheets' on the website you linked) you may be thinking of are called livestock(cattle,hog,horse) panels here in the US. The wire gauge(~1/4") is way too stiff to roll, and it comes in various heights and hole spacing and mostly in lengths of 16' or sometimes 8'.

For clear communication, descriptions(hole size, wire gauge, height, and sometimes length) should be used...especially in a forum that reaches across the world.
As an engineering tech, detailed descriptions are second nature to me. A lot of time is wasted(and hot air jabbering until understanding is reached) and sometimes crucial errors are made without them.

Awww, come on, don't burn me because I'm British and use the terms I've come to accept over the years.

 

[Shadrach]

That's my truck in the picture above. I had a security fencing contractors company for 12 years. You've got to expect a bit of trade slang.

 

[aart]

Awww, come on, don't burn me because I'm British and use the terms I've come to accept over the years.

Has nothing to do with you being British. I love most British terms/slang and find them brilliant(see what I did there?) when reading books set in the UK.

I had a security fencing contractors company for 12 years. You've got to expect a bit of trade slang

Know your audience. and adjust your vocabulary to it, if you want to be understood.

 

[BYCforlife]

Underestimating in my opinion. The recommendation now is hardware clothe 19 g 1/2 inch. The chicken wire can easily be broken where the staples are with any pressure it just snaps it allowing a predator in immediately. We have repaired ours three times with a staple gun. No attack on the girls. I catch it on first rounds in am and repair right away. If build new and looking at that right now will use the HWC as recommended that has more strength and will not snap. Feel the difference.

If you use screws and washers instead of a staple gun it'll hold a ton better. Also, try doubling up the wire and then screwing it on.

 

[farmboy222]

There are 3 gauges of chicken wire in our area : 22 gauge - thin but cheap , 21 gauge - medium strength and price, and 20 gauge - the heaviest wire and most expensive. For the main fence always use the 20 gauge , the 1 inch is stronger than 2 inch. The 22 gauge is so light it is almost useless, the 21 gauge is good for upper level or overhead protection. The BEST is the 19 gauge hardware cloth , which is impervious to rodents and critters. I have about an acre of pasture and woodland fenced off for my free range flock ( with 20 gauge) , with 2 strands of electric fencer wire at the base to keep the raccoons out. In open areas I string up the lighter wire overhead to deter hawks , and block off their flight path. This seems to work. In the area close to the barn I use a 4 foot height , with a 2 foot piece added on to prevent the chicks from flying over.
I used the 19 gauge under the pen floor to keep rodents from tunneling in , with concrete slabs over that . Murphy's law , if you leave a hole the critters will find it sooner or later .

 

[BYCforlife]

I think I'll stick with chicken wire. I have never seen a raccoon in my life, and skunks leave my chickens alone. I cn't imagine a coyote getting their teeth in between a 1 inch hole and chewing through the wire. A raccoon, maybe, but not a coyote.

 

[jvls1942]

BYCfprlife
you build it and they will come..
You are living in a dream world if you really believe what you wrote..
I had a dog chew through a cyclone wire kennel..
a 110 pound dog similar to the one in my avatar..

 

[Seniah]

My beagle can dig through one inch chicken wire, in a hot minute.