Getting in and out of fencing has been an area of frustration for me with our chickens. We have added field fencing around our enclosed run to give the girls lots more room. Therefore, getting to the run areas often involves unhooking fence from the t-post, ripping a shirt, tripping, and then having chickens tangled up in fencing!
For a while I'd had an idea about screwing "cup hooks" into the wood and hooking the end of the fence into that. Then I also had an idea of cutting the fence a few feet from the hooks and re-attaching it to make a gate. This probably isn't a new concept, but I did it and it works! I'm not sure how it will do long-term, but it's great so far!
Here's what I did:
1) I bought some "cup hooks" at Menards. Get whatever size of hook that you think will work best
2) I screwed 2-3 hooks into the wood where I wanted the end of the fence to hook to. Then I attached the end of the fence. EASY!
3) I went a few feet down the fence (wide enough for a "gate") and inserted a t-post into the ground for stability. I hooked the fence up to the t-post.
4) The fence is made of vertical rows of squares. From the t-post, I went over about 2 rows back towards the wall. Then I started at the top and snipped the horizontal wires right by the vertical wire all the way down. This cuts the fence into two pieces.
5) I aligned the two pieces and then bent the horizontal wires that were cut around the fence so it's reattached, but will move.
There you have it! A gate! I'll post pictures that will do a better job of explaining what I did in a bit.
For a while I'd had an idea about screwing "cup hooks" into the wood and hooking the end of the fence into that. Then I also had an idea of cutting the fence a few feet from the hooks and re-attaching it to make a gate. This probably isn't a new concept, but I did it and it works! I'm not sure how it will do long-term, but it's great so far!
Here's what I did:
1) I bought some "cup hooks" at Menards. Get whatever size of hook that you think will work best
2) I screwed 2-3 hooks into the wood where I wanted the end of the fence to hook to. Then I attached the end of the fence. EASY!
3) I went a few feet down the fence (wide enough for a "gate") and inserted a t-post into the ground for stability. I hooked the fence up to the t-post.
4) The fence is made of vertical rows of squares. From the t-post, I went over about 2 rows back towards the wall. Then I started at the top and snipped the horizontal wires right by the vertical wire all the way down. This cuts the fence into two pieces.
5) I aligned the two pieces and then bent the horizontal wires that were cut around the fence so it's reattached, but will move.
There you have it! A gate! I'll post pictures that will do a better job of explaining what I did in a bit.
