Coops & landscaping cloth? Help!

[Bizzy]

We're building our first coop so I've been reading a lot of the posts in this section. I've seen several people mention using landscaping cloth, but I'm not understanding how this is actually used & why. Does anyone have any pictures they can post, or direct me to some already here...?

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Hey friend here is what I see happening with landscspe cloth and chickens; The chickens are going to get their feet and maybe even heads caught in the fibers. When they finally get free the strand is still going to be wrapped around the foot or head and cut off circulation. Parrots have this happen when given toys with rope etc. Your birds will be loosing toes, or end up with weeping messy infections from embedded petrolium fibers. The other issue is when they eat a long stringy piece. Its not a natural product, their bodies dont know how to deal with it. Use landscape fabric for your landscape not your chickens. Just my thoughts!

 

[Bizzy]

OMG! Well then...why do people use it in their coops...? So many people have mentioned it, but if it's dangerous for the chickens...!! What am I missing...?? Yikes!!

 

[patandchickens]

I don't recall seeing anyone metion using landscaping cloth - is it possible you are thinking of HARDWARE cloth? which is totally entirely unrelated, being a small-mesh (1/2" or less) welded wire mesh.

Pat

 

[Bizzy]

Ah! You may be right about that. I hurriedly scanned some other coop design posts & of course I can't find anything about landscaping cloth. Guess I was dreaming/hallucinating...?!

Anyway, is hardware screen (if that's what people are using in their coops) the same as the screen that is used for windows?

 

[Chicabee19]

Hardware cloth is sometimes called cattle panel.

You can get it at the feed store - usually there's a big batch sitting around outside.

it's sort of like chicken wire, only comes in flat panels and the 'holes' are square - it's much sturdier than chicken wire.

It is popular to layer offset chicken wire over hardware cloth -- one layer on each side to sandwich it in -- for better security.

Here's a link that shows what it looks like: http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...59|14368|35694?listingPage=true&Special=false

 

[Bizzy]

Ok, I saw what you're talking about. We were actually planning on using a dog pen that we're not using, the kind made from panels of chain-link fencing, as the run, with chicken wire over the top. Would the "holes" in the chain-link be too big, & let in predators (I'm thinking snakes)? Should we put another layer of something else (like the cattle panel) on too? And it sounds like we're going to have to find a way to bury some of the fencing in the ground, too.

Reading some of these posts about eagles, dogs, raccoons, etc. getting into coops is scaring the daylights out of me!!!

 

[Chicabee19]

Chain link dog run should be great! You will want to do something more to it to keep predators out ... chicken wire and hardware cloth, layered so that no holes line up....

You will want to place and bury something around the bottom perimeter to keep things from digging under the fencing. I plan to partially bury cement blocks and railroad ties around my run.

 

[the1much]

they use the cloth on the OUTSIDE of the pen, run it about a foot or 2 OUT from the pen, and cover it,,is better to dig out some dirt, then LAY IT ON THE GROUND and COVER,, and when something tries to DIG into your pen, they cant get past the cloth.

 

[Bizzy]

Thanks chickabe19 & the1much, those are good ideas. Now that I think on it, that's exactly what we did with our perimeter fence; we rented a "ditch witch" & dug down about 3-4 inches & buried wire fencing (I guess it's cattle panel, altho it came in a big roll) below the wood fencing, so our dogs wouldn't dig their way under. Didn't think I'd have to do that for the chickens - this site sure has taught me a lot!!!!