Confession: I'm skeered of chicken wire : (

[2DogsFarm]

I FINALLY got my henyard bush-hogged today, so I am ready to put up some temporary fencing.
The "real" fencing will have to wait until I get some $$ set aside to have it done. I am not good with tools

Now don't you country-bred folk laugh, but I'm a Big City Girl - just 5 years of living on my farmette - and I've never worked with poultry wire

I'm pretty sure I can handle putting the t-posts in and deer netting on top once the wire is up, but those big rolls of poultry wire @ TSC seem pretty inflexible and hard to work with.
Is there a trick to getting the wire off the roll and onto the t-posts?
Suggestions?
Ideas?
Thoughts?

>: ( I hear y'all sniggering.....

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

do you have someone to help you? even a child can hold one end while you un-roll it

 

[fhdogs]

It would definately help to have a helper!

I however did not.

I used long garden staples (8" long) the kind you would use to hold garden fabric in place to hold one end down while I unrolled the fencing. I also rolled the whole thing to the top of a hill, and let it unroll itself down. Then I measured, and cut.

One thing I did learn was to wear gloves, and if you are as clumsy as me safety glasses because that stuff can spring around a bit.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

get good snippers - you'll do just fine! yay you!

 

[patandchickens]

The beginning of the roll -- the first loose edge you find when you start to unroll it, you know? -- use a staplegun to tack that to an appropriate length piece of 2x4 or decent-thickness tree branch. This will make it EVER so much easier to handle by yourself.

Then lay it, concave side down, on the ground at one end of your run, on the outside not inside of the fenceposts. By concave down I mean the opposite way from the way people naturally want to unroll things. Unroll however much of the roll you need, along the fence line where it will go. (If corners are involved, either ignore them and start off with teh whole thing in a straight line, or let it bend upwards to allow you to turn the corners).

Then CAREFULLY walk on the unrolled fencing til it is more flatter than it was, and no longer wanting to re-roll itself.

Then you can start attaching it to the fenceposts and it will require a heck of a lot less wrestling than it would've otherwise.

BTW chickenwire is not a terrifically safe fence material -- most chickenwire being sold today is so flimsy that *I* can pull it apart, let alone raccoons and dogs. But the same steps would apply to installing any other wire mesh fencing too

Good luck, have fun, wear gloves <g>,

Pat

 

[berkeleysprings]

becareful the deer netting in no way gunna keep racoons out ,,, they will make short work of the chickens

 

[Violet22]

I won't tell you how many years I've been a country girl (I know I shouldn't be called a girl anymore, anyways!

) but I HATE chicken wire, hate it, hate it, hate it! It springs around and cuts you any time it sees a chance. I just finished my duck enclosure, and I am embarrassed when I go out lately, my arms and legs are covered with chicken wire scratches. Too hot to cover up! I actually hate all wire, but chicken wire is the absolute worst!
Good luck, generally people more careful than me have much better luck with it. I can't do anything without hurting myself!

 

[2DogsFarm]

Thanks all -
It is just me here so I'll have to use your great tips for dealing solo with the wire.
fhdogs & patandchickens those are things I probably wouldn't have come up with myself that make perfect sense!

berkeleysprings - the netting is to keep hawks from stopping in for lunch.
My girls will be safely locked in their coop at night, the wire is just to contain them in the yard when I'm at work.

We have racoons, possums & skunks here (and that's just what I've seen) and so far nothing has bothered the girls even with the back door to the coop left open at night.
This door is double-screened with chicken wire & hardware cloth.

My other option is to offer to pay the out-of-work husband of a friend to put up posts & wire for me.

Thanks again - I knew I could count on BYC smarts

 

[Phox01]

Even with two people working with it wire can tear you up . T he day after DH and I finished our hoop coop I went in to have my yearly Mammogram wearing shorts and the tech asked if I had been in an accident .

Told her " no just attacked by a chicken coop "

Mary

 

[cmom]

A neighborhood mutt dug under my chicken wire and killed one of my hens during the middle of the day. I had to go pick up my DH from the hospital as he had been in for several days. Everyone was fine when I left and I even gave them some treats. 3 hrs. later I was burying my dead bird. I still have the chicken wire but since have invested in electric wire that is around the outside of the chicken wire. 6000-8000 volts.