chicken wire upper, hardware cloth lower?

[Kyguylal]

Hi all, I'm currently building my coop for our 7 golden comets who are four days old right now.

I see that chicken wire isn't good and animals will rip through it.

I'm planning on building a run which is 5' tall. Could I use hardware cloth on the bottom few feet and chicken wire on the top couple feet for cost savings? My main concerns are coyotes and foxes. We do however have a resident bald eagle too, but I am roofong it.

Where do you all get hardware cloth by the way? Home depot and lowes only has 10' rolls by me.

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's up to you to decide if it's worth the risk vs the cost. Frankly don't know if a coyote or fox could try to climb/tear through the chicken wire or not - I suppose anything is possible, but I'd think it'd be less likely?

Hardware cloth can be bought in large rolls from amazon or ebay.

 

[Kyguylal]

That's up to you to decide if it's worth the risk vs the cost. Frankly don't know if a coyote or fox could try to climb/tear through the chicken wire or not - I suppose anything is possible, but I'd think it'd be less likely?

Hardware cloth can be bought in large rolls from amazon or ebay.

Thank you, got a bobcat on my game camera this morning. Going to get a 100' roll of hardware cloth. Now to figure out what to do about bears.

 

[Pixielily]

Hi all, I'm currently building my coop for our 7 golden comets who are four days old right now.

I see that chicken wire isn't good and animals will rip through it.

I'm planning on building a run which is 5' tall. Could I use hardware cloth on the bottom few feet and chicken wire on the top couple feet for cost savings? My main concerns are coyotes and foxes. We do however have a resident bald eagle too, but I am roofong it.

Where do you all get hardware cloth by the way? Home depot and lowes only has 10' rolls by me.

I use 6 foot welded wire fencing to make my pens. Animals can't rip it open. Yes, canines and larger Wildcats can rip chicken wire apart. I use hardware cloth to cover openings on the house, such as windows or people door. A pen top is wise, if you know captors are nearby, plus chickens can fly over 5 foot height. The six foot wire usually keeps them in. My pen also has single strand electric fencing 3 feet high and 8 inches from ground, to prevent climbers or diggers getting in.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am wondering how big the run us and if 5' is tall enough.

I would go 6+' tall so you can walk in it without knocking your head on anything.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you, got a bobcat on my game camera this morning. Going to get a 100' roll of hardware cloth. Now to figure out what to do about bears.

Electric wires. With a strong charge.

Our new country property has neighborhood dogs, coyotes, possums, raccoons, hawks, and foxes for sure. Bear and wild boar are not *known* to be in this area (NC Sandhills), but the flooding from Hurricane Florence a few years ago is thought to have driven them further west as they sought to escape to higher ground so it's unlikely but possible.

Advice received is that electric wire is the best bet for big predators.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Electric wires. With a strong charge.

Advice received is that electric wire is the best bet for big predators.

x2. Electric is the only real deterrent to a bear. They can rip through wood, metal mesh, etc.