Hardware Cloth and Chicken Wire

[nittanyxi]

If I have hardware cloth wrapped 2 feet high around the entire base of my run can I get away with using chicken wire for the rest of the sides over 2 feet high and the roof?

 

[ChooksChick]

Only if they're locked in a coop at night!

 

[newchicksnducks]

Use chicken wire anywhere you don't want your chickens to get through. Use hardware cloth anywhere you want to keep other animals from going. If you just want to make sure your birds stay in their designated area, chicken wire is fine. (I use it inside my coop to make a "mini coop" area when integrating my babies to the older chickens.) If you want to use wire for protection of your birds, use hardware cloth. Even so, I would still make sure that at night time the chickens were inside a secure wooden coop safe from predators. JMO.

 

[RoninComputing]

Preditors can climb.... 2ft is no problem and then easy in thru the chicken wire.

If chickens are left exposed inside the fence it needs to be Hardware Cloth,

 

[mike67909]

I haven't had any problems with my run, I just have the chicken wire.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Rather than chicken wire above the hardware wire, use 2"x2" welded wire. It is stronger and keeps out predators. The only thing that can get through it is mice and rats. Be sure you lock in your hens at night. Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Putting hardwarecloth on the bottom of a chickenwire fence is like putting an $80 case-hardened padlock on a loop of baling twine.

Any predator that ACTUALLY wants to get in to eat chickens will merely rip apart your chickenwire ABOVE the level of the hardwarecloth, and have dinner.

Those of you who have chickenwire and have not had a problem yet -- need to be aware of that last word there, YET. Lack of losses with chickenwire simply means no predator happens to have TESTED your run fence yet. When they do, we all pretty much know what will happen.

Unless you are comfortable using Lady Luck as your predatorproofing strategy, I strongly recommend ditching the chickenwire and using something stronger, like heavy gauge good quality welded wire with holes no larger than 2x4".

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[bfrancis]

Quote:
I agree. Here is an example of what you're talking about, I do still lock my birds up at night