Chicken Yard Fencing

[Willowspirit]

My husband is fencing what we think is the old chicken yard outside of our coop and he wants to know if sheep fencing with aviary cloth over it would work. Ideas?

 

[lutherpug]

When you say sheep fencing, are you talking about the 4x2 woven wire fencing from RedBrand? If so, I would consider the following-

They can (and will) fly over 4' fencing if you don't clip wings
Are you more concerned with keeping chickens in or keeping other animals out? You might consider adding some hot wire to the outside of the fence if dogs, raccoons, coyotes, etc are a concern-especially if your openings are 4x2 or along those lines.

Aviary netting works great to deter hawks. I use it and haven't had any problems. You didn't mention how big of an area your chicken yard is. I have a fully enclosed run that is 15x40 and the whole thing is covered in cheap aviary netting I got on Amazon.

 

[Willowspirit]

Thank you! That's exactly what we meant! Wouldn't the aviary netting keep the chickens in too? In any case adding electric wouldn't be a problem. They would be inside at night but who knows who would show up in daytime once we got chickens! So far our game camera has only caught photos of my husband outting it up and taking it down and one photo of our barn cat. But who knows who we will see once we start "offering" chickens?

 

[Willowspirit]

Oh and the yard is about 24 x 60.

 

[lutherpug]

Thank you! That's exactly what we meant! Wouldn't the aviary netting keep the chickens in too? In any case adding electric wouldn't be a problem. They would be inside at night but who knows who would show up in daytime once we got chickens! So far our game camera has only caught photos of my husband outting it up and taking it down and one photo of our barn cat. But who knows who we will see once we start "offering" chickens?

Sorry, yes, it would keep them in as well. I would definitely use electric at different levels....obviously you don't want anything climbing your fence as the aviary netting won't keep anything out. You're right-predators have an odd way of multiplying once there is a potential food source out there. Also, the 4x2 spacing won't contain baby chicks-you would have to use hardware cloth along the bottom to accommodate babies if that's in your plan.

Given the large area, you may consider putting some taller supports in the actual yard itself to support the netting and give you room to walk around.

 

[Willowspirit]

Sorry, yes, it would keep them in as well. I would definitely use electric at different levels....obviously you don't want anything climbing your fence as the aviary netting won't keep anything out. You're right-predators have an odd way of multiplying once there is a potential food source out there. Also, the 4x2 spacing won't contain baby chicks-you would have to use hardware cloth along the bottom to accommodate babies if that's in your plan.

Given the large area, you may consider putting some taller supports in the actual yard itself to support the netting and give you room to walk around.

good point about the taller supports. My first set of chicks is going out into a prefab coop and prefab run to make it easier on me. Lol. Electricity isn't a problem because we have it for horses.

 

[mowin]

Coons are smart and relentless. They can reach through the 2x4 fencing and snatch a chicken.

 

[Willowspirit]

Coons are smart and relentless. They can reach through the 2x4 fencing and snatch a chicken.
View attachment 1738924

In the day time?

 

[paneubert]

In the day time?

Yes. If there is a chicken within arms length of the fence, they will grab it. Now the question is if there are chickens dumb enough to be in arms reach in daylight with a raccoon there. Some will tell you that some chickens are that dumb.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

My husband is fencing what we think is the old chicken yard outside of our coop and he wants to know if sheep fencing with aviary cloth over it would work. Ideas?

I think it would work fine. Chickens are really easy to keep contained and it sounds like you are keeping the top covered. I would just worry about daytime predators coming to get your chickens if you have coyotes, cats, dogs, bobcats or mountain lions, etc... Will the fencing be strong enough to keep those things out? If you are only worried about nighttime critters, just make sure your coop is bulletproof.