Good, cheap online source for hardware cloth?

[JimNKC]

thank you. i don't know why it would be going up fast... maybe all us chicken people are building more

What craziness on the price, now it's down to about $61 per 50' roll! Still staying busy, so chickens are sidelined for the moment... maybe it'd be better to wait until the hottest part of the summer is over. I have a friend who has 2 roos and 25 chickens, may start with a half dozen pullets from him this fall. He's local, so they are already acclimated to this area, and of laying age...

 

[CzyChikenMath]

thank you JimNKC. I don't know much about one prices go up and down on hardware wire but yes I imagine it could go down when it's cooler. I will try that. I just can't help but thinking there have to be so many other uses for wouldn't be based on the weather. I had to make a hard decision has many of us do, and I decided that it was more important they had space through the winter months when we could not free Range them. We are so going to need to hard wire of course it was just too cost for what we really wanted to do. So we'll use 18 inches of hardwired out on an angle for the foundation. Dig down 2 cinder blocks in height and place blocks we already own around the perimeter of what will be our chicken barn. Then we will put free pallets to build the entire thing. I was fortunate enough to find plywood on eBay for $2 a sheet almost new. Just the size is a little strange and a tiny bit smaller than usual. So I think we're going to be able to build something 24 by 50. We still have expenses ahead of us we do of course want to make well ventilated which will with the roof, large, screened type barn doors under roosts and such. Also decided to build it right on the ground and use compost for most of the floor to generate some extra heat since we're not doing the greenhouse. There was a good chance we were going to do that anyhow and with the greenhouse. Also have some windows we kept, a friend will give us a few skylights, and a couple glass tempered panels from craigs list at the right price for the south side. We also want to make a rainwater catch system. My well water unfortunately is not even potable. Sad statement on how important people think it is for the lawn to be artificially green with chemicals. All in all I think we really lucked out in terms of being able to make it so large. It was cost prohibitive but we've managed to come up with a plain. I suspect the rain water catch will be the under budget but perhaps by time late fall comes, we will be able to. Thanks for the advice about the hardwire. From what I read, pullets are the way to go. Then you can give other ladies a rest if you prefer too Enjoy the new add-ons to the family!

 

[Nksg75]

Hi, I just wanted to add that the cost of hardware cloth fluctuates in my expierence. The only correlation I can see is with the steel prices.
For instance:
When I started my expansion on our run, I found 50' roll 48" high of 1/2" hardware cloth on amazon for $35.00 and free shipping. I bought 2 at that time. (Could have kicked myself for not ordering more!)
Then about 1 month later I realized I needed more. I went back to same site and it had jumped up to $50.00 a roll.
My dad owned a steel/metal recycling plant, and he did say that steel prices were on the rise. So best I can tell is that it could be due to steel/metal prices.
I have found the best prices online. Of course Craigslist sometimes has listings for it, however it is usually from a tear down, and sometimes not in the best shape.
Good luck!!

 

[CzyChikenMath]

thank you. that makes sense. i guess the people who scrap can probably tell be but i can look at the commodity prices too. Thank you Nksg75

 

[~KH~]

I ordered mine from Amazon. You can use this site to see how the prices on items have changed over time and know if you're getting a low or high price:

http://camelcamelcamel.com/

 

[Nksg75]

thank you. that makes sense. i guess the people who scrap can probably tell be but i can look at the commodity prices too. Thank you Nksg75

Your welcome!! Good luck, and hopefully you get a great price!!
I know for me that after expanding so many times, hardware cloth was really the biggest expense.

 

[Carey59]

I'm getting frustrated with trying to buy hardware cloth locally. Local sources sell dinky little lengths - like 10-20', for a lot of $$$$$$.

I need at least 100' to finish a run. I'm thinking maybe I can get a deal online if I look hard enough, especially if I find a 'free shipping' special somewhere. Does anyone have a good source?

 

[Carey59]

eBay has free shipping on hardware cloth

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

We bought ours at this place but we went and picked it up at the NJ warehouse. We completely covered a 10'W x 20'L x 86"H run with it and ran a skirt down and out from the run too.
They have centers in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Jersey.
We found their prices to be way below local stores (HD, Lowe's, TSC, etc) and they were great to deal with over the phone. Huge selection too. We made sure they had what we wanted in stock and it was waiting for us when we went for pick-up.

http://www.wireclothman.com/

 

[Sunnymommy]

Walmart.com has half inch hardwarw cloth right now for about 50 cents a foot of roll for 24" high. That was je cheapest we found online..