Fence for my run?

[artfrae]

Other than chicken wire, what else would be a good option?
I want a 5 foot fence that surrounds my coop.

Also, I need to know how much it's going to end up costing too, so if you know, please tell me!!

 

[farmgirlroots]

We used 2x4" welded wire around the whole thing, then for extra security I did a layer of 1" chicken wire over that around the bottom only going up 3 feet, just because we had it on hand. It works well.

 

[Trefoil]

This depends so much on where you are located and your local predators. If there are weasels in your area, it takes .5" hardware cloth to keep them out. Coons need a top to your run,ect. As tx already stated, poultry wire isn't strong enough to keep anything except maybe hawks out. Find out what your potential predators are and then fence accordingly.

 

[cafarmgirl]

This depends so much on where you are located and your local predators. If there are weasels in your area, it takes .5" hardware cloth to keep them out. Coons need a top to your run,ect. As tx already stated, poultry wire isn't strong enough to keep anything except maybe hawks out. Find out what your potential predators are and then fence accordingly.

This. What you use to fence your run depends a lot on the surroundings, how your birds will be secured at night and what predators you are likely to have in the daytime when birds are out. Some people need a Fort Knox run, others can get by with less.

As an example, I live in the country, lots of predators. But where my coop/run is located there is a lot of daytime activity so my main predators are the occasional roaming dog and possibly hawks. My run is made of 4' chain link dog run panels because we already had them on hand. We covered it with heavy duty shade cloth to keep out birds of prey and also ran a hot wire around the outside, near the ground, to discourage dogs. Works like a charm. At night the chickens are locked up in very secure coops since we do have critters that come in closer at night such as fox, coons, possums and the occasional skunk.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

2 X 4 welded wire is a good option.
You'll have to figure your own prices locally, since there are too many variables you haven't given like the number and type of posts and fasteners, and the size you want

The easiest way to figure it out is to make a drawing with all the dimensions to take with you when you shop for the materials

 

[artfrae]

thinking of having my coop elevated two feet off the ground and then surrounding it with the fence. maybe 15x15, 5' tall no fencing on the top or bottom. Just around the perimeter.

 

[artfrae]

Opossums and other small rodents wouldn't harm the chickens?

 

[txnative]

Chicken wire does a good job of keeping chickens in, but doesn't do much for keeping predators out.

 

[yogifink]

Opossums and other small rodents wouldn't harm the chickens?

They will.

Our run is just a welded wire fence, but we don't have any predator issues with 2 large guard dogs and a big tom cat who sleeps just outside of the coop to keep it safe.

If your trying to make your predator resistant consider adding some hardware cloth to the bottom few feet of your welded wire fence and lay a few feet worth on the ground around the run to prevent any digging.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Presently TSC has 2x4 welded wire on sale @ $59 for a 4'x100 roll. 5'x100 is $99.
Not pimping for TSC, I just know how much their wire costs.