Eave vents ~ Will chickens try to roost in eaves?

[catchthewind]

I went out this morning to start tacking up hardware cloth in the eaves. Not sure what the best way to go about it is. I hate working with hardware cloth.

This is what I started doing:

Basically shaping the cloth, fitting it in, stapling it down, then I'll use screws and washers to reinforce it. What a pain and I don't like how it looks, though it is a chicken coop so the looks aren't that important. I'm assuming once I actually have it secured with screws and washers it would look better since the ends wouldn't be all sticking out. Is there some easier way I'm missing?

I could just do it from the outside and run a length horizontally all along and it would be much quicker and easier, but then the chickens could get into the eaves. Is that something they'll try to do? There are a few exposed nails in the eaves, though we've banged most of them in.

 

[Noymira]

My shed has eaves set up just like yours. I've wondering about the exact same thing myself!

I hope someone else answers with experience, I would love to do mine on the outside as well, and I'm thinking about adding a layer of window screen behind the hardware cloth to help deter wasps.

 

[My6Chicks]

Quote:
I have eave vents along the front and back side of my coop, very similar to yours. I fastened hardware cloth from the outside (ease of installation, but done in pieces) with a pneumatic stapler to keep out predators. I was able to pre-shape the hardware cloth which made the installation easier. I used staples at 2 - 3 inch intervals (1" long) to secure the hardware cloth. Many posters feel that staples are insufficient, but they are very secure and I am confident that no predator can pull out the hardware cloth.

This does leave a very small nesting place for the chicks. A few months ago, a few of them were up there roosting, but they don't do that anymore. I suspect that they too big to fit comfortably.

My roof has many exposed nails, but they don't fly high enough for it to be a problem.

Hope this helps. You can see the eaves on my page, in the picture that shows the electrical outlet...

 

[bantiebabe1200]

My chickens always roosted in the highest place they could find (or atleast physically fly up to), so I would say yes, they will try to roost in your eaves if they are a lighter breed and can make the flight. I agree hardware cloth is not too pretty, but it does work well against this, and will keep outdoor critters out too. I can't truly say that there would be an easier way to put up the hardware cloth (I know it's a real pain), but it's usually worth it in the end.

 

[catchthewind]

Quote:
Thank you, that is really helpful! It's nice to see how it looks once it's actually all installed, not so bad at all. We can't fasten ours like that from the outside because the fascia (?) is slanted inwards. I can't get my hand up there to work. Otherwise that would have been my preference, so the pointy ends were facing out and not into the coop.

Our staples are only 3/8", and the staple gun won't hold the really good staples, so we plan to staple the cloth down and then reinforce the corners with screws and washers. In most other places we're stapling it down and then using trim to hold it down but that would be even more of a pain here.

Nice to know you have exposed nails and it's not a problem. Our coop is about 8 feet at the peak and almost 6 on the edges, but I was worried about someone flying up and hitting one of the nails so we hammered them all in, except we can't get at the ones in the eaves to nail them down properly.

 

[catchthewind]

Quote:
Yeah the eaves are definitely higher than the roost! Glad to hear confirmation it will be worth it though. My chickens better like their coop.

 

[patandchickens]

The easiest thing from a construction standpoint is to just run a continuous piece of hardwarecloth along the bottom of the rafter tails on the OUTSIDE of the coop, like soffit covering. That also makes it easier to block up in winter by redneck-type means such as "rags stuffed into the gaps up there"

OTOH there is nothing at all wrong with the way you've done it -- as long as you DO add screws/washers. It's mainly just harder, but clearly you're up to the job

Chickens don't usually try to roost up there b/c of the cramped room; if you have banties and develop a problem with it, it's real easy to tack some mesh up to prevent it.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
Love it! I'm definitely stealing this one!