Coop RUN questions

[sjmarshall87]

I have 30 hens and 3 roosters.. What would be a good amount of space to provide for an outdoor area attached to the coop? Another question is what is the best recommended fencing? Would 14 Gauge be suffient?

 

[falinagirl]

From what I have read the rule of thumb is 10sq feet per bird. As far as fencing I think it depends on the predator situation in your area.

Good luck and have fun with the chickens

 

[Anianna]

Quote:
How predator resistant do you want it? It's my understanding that hardware mesh no bigger than 1/2" is best.

 

[patandchickens]

I would not go less than 8-10 sq ft per bird MINIMUM but really more is a lot better.

As far as fencing, the necessary gauge to withstand predators depends somewhat on the mesh size and construction of the material. As a general guide, I'd say:

stay away from chickenwire if you want predatorproofing, as the vast majority of what's sold these days can easily be broken thru by dogs, coyotes, raccoons, etc.

you don't want anything bigger than 2x4" mesh b/c too many predators start being able to get thru. 2x4 will stop most all predators *except* baby possums, the smallest baby raccoons, and the weasel family (or rats, but really not much keeps out rats). If you want to keep out the above, except for rats, you would need 1x1" mesh.

The larger-holed fence mesh types work better if you add something smaller-holed to the bottom 2-3' of the fence to prevent reach-thru "incidents" (ideally add material with 1/2" holes, but 1" is better than nothing, it does not necessarily HAVE to be real strong although strong is better)

Most hardwarecloth is fine, gauge-wise, tho do make sure it is galvanized. For anything else, you want reasonable gauge wire (preferably 14 gauge or lower, tho 16 is ok for 1x1) AND IT NEEDS TO BE LIVESTOCK TYPE fencing i.e. none of this thin wibbly poorly-welded garden or pet type stuff. I will mention that I have yet to see anything in 2x2" or 2x3" mesh that is NOT much too weakly made for me to want to trust chickens to.

Hope that helps some,

Good luck, have fun,

Pat