Double layer chicken wire?

[NapaChicknGal]

hi - I'm the rookie dummy who bought used (supposed to be weathered) 2-1/2" chicken wire and apparently there aren't any predators. However, my 5' coop & run doesn't appear to keep two leghorns in - even tho' they have clipped wings--there was a new 4-1/2' gate installed and I thought that was problem--I put green plastic and clever (I thought) clipped wire -- they still escape.
So, I am 75 yrs old and have trouble getting help so I'm a DIY person yet am perplexed and bummed about the Houdini Hens; especially since my veggie garden has been decimated twice--(I'm a vegetarian)

 

[nikkers390]

Having painfully learned to REALLY predator proof, I use 2x4 welded wire for the main fence, reinforce the bottom half with 1/2" hardware clot, top top half is covered with 1" chicken wire and a chicken wire skirt that covers 1-2 feet on the ground off the fence. I cover the wire adjacent to the pen with 1' patio blacks. Half the pen is roofed over with corrugated steel panels and the rest is 1" chicken wire. The total height is 6'. Rats do get in but we are fortunate that here we have no Norway rats. Ours are the small grey wood rats. Regardless, they do a lot of damage.
Predators here are Bobcats, racoons and hawks mainly. We live in a rural area and so far no stray dogs, maybe coyotes. Never seen one. The only time I lose poultry now is when they free range. Bobcats come out of the woods anytime during the day.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm rebuilding my run into a covered area; great for winter in Michigan, and as predator- proof as possible here. If/ when bears arrive, I'll add hot wire. I already had the woven wire horse fencing, or I would have used cattle panels instead. It's not stained yet, but otherwise about done. Mary

 

[nikkers390]

Very nice Mary. Chickens will be cozy in winter. Please keep the bears in Michigan. We have them here, but I've never seen one.

 

[MCCAIGALLEN]

Chickens can poke a hole through chicken wire, especially 2" wire. I've seen them do it many times. It's okay for a low security run or a top cover for a run. It will keep out flying predators, but that's about all. Yes, they call it "chicken wire, but it's not safe for chickens as many of us have experienced.

 

[JanetS]

hi - I'm the rookie dummy who bought used (supposed to be weathered) 2-1/2" chicken wire and apparently there aren't any predators. However, my 5' coop & run doesn't appear to keep two leghorns in - even tho' they have clipped wings--there was a new 4-1/2' gate installed and I thought that was problem--I put green plastic and clever (I thought) clipped wire -- they still escape.
So, I am 75 yrs old and have trouble getting help so I'm a DIY person yet am perplexed and bummed about the Houdini Hens; especially since my veggie garden has been decimated twice--(I'm a vegetarian)

Can you post a picture of your coop and run?

 

[MCCAIGALLEN]

For the last ten years my husband and I have taken in unwanted chickens and roosters. Our largest rescue was 43 chickens of various breeds and 17 ducks. People whose birds we take are told that the birds will be free ranging during the day and may be taken by predators, but at night are securely protected in thick plywood covered coops with locking doors.

We don't release the birds until at least 9:00 am on the theory that the predators will have made their morning kill by then. Our main loss is to coyotes. We have a collie who does the best she can to protect the birds, but free rangers are always at risk.

I have built seven chicken houses and am currently using four. I have tried every form of fencing. Welded 2" X 4" with the bottom buried in the ground about a foot works well to protect them while they are awake, but they MUST be in a fully enclosed coop at night.

Welded wire will eventually come apart at the welds in a few years. You just have to check your fencing periodically the same as any cattle farmer would do. Same reason, different scale. You can run chicken wire over the top of the run using 7' - 8' posts of hazel or alder scavenged from a woodlot, if you have one (we do.). Just leave a fork at the top of the stick, poke it into the wire on top and and it will stay there. Don't bother burying it - it will only rot off at ground level. My neighbor, who has more money than we do, has framed his run top with 2" X 4"s to hold the wire up. That's the best way because snow can't crush it. My strongest run has a roof of metal panels on 2" X 4" frame supported by 4" X 4"s.

Our maternity ward is a horse stall with 1/2" hardware cloth stapled to every bit of it and run across the floor. Yes, it costs money but it's a one time expense. Hardware cloth lasts for years. It will eventually come apart, too, but ours is ten years old and hasn't come apart yet.

I learned all these things the hard way. We lost 7 turkey poults to coyotes a few years ago. The poults wanted to perch in the tree in our covered chicken wire maternity run. We humored them. Coyotes dug under the wire which was only buried 6". In the morning all we had left was a pile of white feathers. Chicken wire has it's uses, but no way will it keep predators out or chickens in, if they are determined to get out. It is NOT woven. It is twisted together and it can be untwisted. Take a piece of it apart and you will see what I mean.

You have a learning curve to go through. We all love our chickens, but sometimes we lose one or more. Yes, it hurts. Do the best you can and try not to beat yourself up over your mistakes. Let your friends and neighbors know that you will welcome any used building materials they want to throw away. I just made a 40" X 30' run out of a chain link dog run that one of my neighbors gave me and a "chicken conservatory" out of five big plate glass windows, also scavenged. My farrier is bringing me used metal paneling today so I can make a roof for the "conservatory" and the new double walled insulated chicken house. BTW, JanetS, I'm 72.

 

[Skyfeathers]

Raccoons can bite through chicken wire, and one was so intent on getting in our house after the cat food he tore the kitty door off the wall! They get huge around here. My runs are 1/2 inch hardware cloth up the sides for the first 3 feet, then 4 feet of 2X4 inch welded wire, which also covers the top. A welded wire apron about 14 inches wide is staked to the ground under pine needles all around the sides. The perches are at least 18 inches from any outside wall of the run. I've seen lots of dig marks, but no predator has ever gotten in. So grateful for that! It is not overkill, it is worth it!

 

[Skyfeathers]

NapaChicknGal, if I lived near you I would come help! I'm 60, just a youngun'

 

[NapaChicknGal]

Ok. I misspoke - the 5' coop & run is the HEIGHT!!!! And today while working on fence, turned around and the Houdini Hen was out again -- noticed where she was there was a corner that had not been tied down -- and under pomegranate tree -- so the skinny s..t has been escaping which is kind of funny since when I discover and try to get her in she does not remember her escape route and last nite was scrambling thru some other bushes --thought it was a possum--but HH couldn't find way back in -- this was opposite side where there is abt 10' area where there are weeds -- so I climbed over, grabbed her and hurried to bed! Stay tuned everyone and thnx so much for input. I love it. Much appreciated