Chicken wire vs hardware cloth? Which should I get?

[Howard E]

In general, what the so called "chicken wire" does is form a barrier to keep chickens in or out of wherever it is you put them. Chicken wire is seen as flimsy in comparison to more sturdy stuff, like hardware cloth or one of the variations on the much heavier welded wire, and with good reason. Many have found chicken wire is not up to the task of keeping predators out. There are many predators who are vastly bigger, stronger and more determined than a chicken who can rip through chicken wire with ease. You may not think so, but they can. But if you don't have predators to worry about, chicken wire may serve your purpose and do so forever.
In your case, worst case scenario is you loose 3 birds and start over with HC or WW next time?

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I used chicken wire, but its chicken wire over chain link fencing. Nothing can dig into the covered area of my run as its on a concrete slab... I say that in your situation, the chicken wire would probably be fine... just make sure that you have a good secure coop, and your run is as secure as you can make it with chicken wire. There's also no reason you can't use two layers of chicken wire...

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

I was curious so I did a little research on predators in Iceland.
Wow---so few of them compared to my property in NY!!
BUT---one of the ones listed for Iceland was the mink. Minks are horrific killers of chickens. We have them here and they are total terrorists.
They can also slip through an opening as small as ONE INCH.
It is said they will kill every chicken they see, either "just for the fun of it" or to "drink their blood."
Research shows that they are sight and movement killers. Chickens go nuts, of course, and run around flapping and screaming and this gets the mink's adrenalin going and they will kill all the chickens that are still moving.
HARDWARE CLOTH.
http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/nature_and_travel/2015/06/30/invasion_of_the_urban_mink/

 

[Freisian]

Hmmmm, what about eagles and hawks? Sorry I am treating this post like a quizI did have chickens for 7 years when I was younger where there were mink and foxes and a strong hunt instinct laborador dog when I was and we only had chicken wire and it did the job, my experience of English town foxes and badgers is that they are relentless and unfearing unlike their country cousins. This time I have I inch hardware cloth and Anti dig border with an internal run that is one inch weld mesh with an automatic door, and the top covered with fruit netting, yes .......it's like fort knox

 

[nomirawr1]

I would put wire that's slightly thicker/stronger than chicken wire. I know what you mean about less predators - we have very few chicken predators here, only really ones that will take the odd chick or egg (in urban areas anyway).

Anyway - I would say definitely go for wire - the cloth stuff I think you mean, is easy for predators with good teeth/claws to rip through, but chicken wire tends to be very soft - so I would either go for thickened wire with small holes (like chicken wire) or if you can't do that, then I'd layer. Chicken wire under thickened wire that cannot be bent and moved so easily. That gives you small gaps, and hard to bend/move. I think thats what I'd do anyway, personally.

Also, I'd stay away from anything a domestic cat can rip. Ours like to just sit above and watch the chickens - and would have no issue scaling it, and in the process ripping anything cloth-like.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

The biggest (and only) threat comes from cats and little kids.

I think most chicken wire has about a one-inch opening. That is plenty of room for a cat to reach in and injure the birds.

Putting up wire of any kind should be a 2 person job. I did mine by myself and my arms were torn to shreds by the time I finished. Keep in mind that those raw edges can also injure the birds.

 

[GraceAndPickles]

I agree that hardware cloth would be best - I think it just holds up better, regardless of predator pressure.

But, I am curious - will your chooks be locked up in a well-fortified coop at night? I skimped and have chicken wire protecting part of my run (the rest is chain link), but I have gotten away with it for a couple of years with no losses because I traipse out every night and close them into their solid and secure coop, and then let them out in the morning.

So, if you're willing to close them into a safe place at night, you may get by with chicken wire in the run, especially if your coop is going to be close by where you are pretty sure dogs aren't going to be around.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chicken wire is not just to keep chickens in, it can be quite effective in keeping many predators out. I don't know what predators you actually have where you are in Iceland, you might chat with animal control on that topic. Many people would be greatly surprised by what animals live in the middle of suburbia other than rats. Here in the States chicken wire will stop skunks, possum, small dogs, certain members of the weasel family, most birds or prey, and many others. Chicken wire, like hardware cloth, comes in different gauges and with different mesh sizes. How effective either one will be depends on the gauge of the wire and the size of the holes. Hardware cloth is normally going to be more effective.

Larger animals like a big dog, coyote, a large raccoon, and others can tear chicken wire or hardware cloth. There are threads on this forum showing pictures of torn hardware cloth, usually torn by big dogs. For either to be torn the animal has to be big enough to have the strength to tear it and has to be able to get a grip. That's another place small mesh comes in, small mesh may make it harder for the animal to get a grip.

One danger point can be around the edges. Excess wire mesh there may make it easier for the animal to get a grip. How well the wire is attached to the frame is important too, your connections may fail. If you don't have a top on the run a flying or climbing predator can get in. You might want to Google "fox climbing fence". You may enjoy watching some of those U-tube videos.

Another thing to watch for is the area around the ground. Many critters only need a tiny gap between the bottom of the wire and the ground to squeeze in. I use the apron method to keep chickens in and critters out.

Many decades ago I spent two years in Denmark outside Copenhagen. If your style of building is similar I can see why you are pretty comfortable ground based predators that can't climb aren't much danger. In suburbia dogs are probably your largest danger.

A story. We had a member of this forum years ago that was a certified poultry judge that raised and showed chickens. For decades his breeding pens were made from chicken wire and he had no problems. Then one day while he was away two large dogs found his chickens. His wife, who just the day before had come home from serious surgery, took the shotgun out to try to stop it but those dogs wiped out his breeding stock. His wife was not seriously injured doing that but he was really worried about her. And he was so heart-broken he wasn't sure he was going to start again with his breeding program.

The moral of the story is that your protection works until it doesn't. You never know until it is tested and if it works you may never know it was tested.

Some people can free range and not lose a chicken to a predator for years. Others would be wiped out as soon as they tried. A minimal coop may be all you need. We all have different risk tolerances and different predator pressures. As long as you build wisely, the more you spend the safer your chickens can be. I don't know what level of protection is right for you.

 

[jeria]

I live in the city and we have fox as well as other critters, there are often photos of coyotes in the middle of Kansas City as well. My dogs will go through a chicken wire fence in an instant and one digs holes under my chain link fence to get loose now and then. She likes to explore. Just an FYI