Have you seen the price

[CapricornFarm]

I used 1/4" hardware cloth for the bottom 36" and uncoated 1/2" HW cloth for the upper sides of my run. Because dogs could eventually tear through the 1/4" HWC, I put a layer of 24" welded wire rabbit fencing over the bottom two feet to make the tearing process much more difficult. The rabbit fencing is relatively cheap and gave the extra strength I was looking for to supplement the smaller gage HWC. My HWC is on the outside of 2x4 studs. If I wanted more separation for my birds from the outside mesh, I can put 24" chicken wire around the inside of the studs to keep my birds from being within easy reach of anything that managed to breach my HWC. I would put the Chicken wire up a couple of inches from the bottom footer, though, so that any debris that got between the layers of wire could be blown or swept out. I put part of my welded wire about two inches out from th HWC because it seems to signal my dogs that the birds are out of reach and should not be bothered.

I like the welded wire better, it is much tougher. I have 4 foot garden wire , also known as rabbit wire, on the garden. But i think live chickens are much more tempting than veggies. I had good luck with 20 runs and coops in TN using welded wire on the outside of the 2x4s and chicken wire on the inside. Right now i have chain link runs because i got a good deal on them and they go together fast.

 

[PirateGirl]

Also have you looked at fencing on Craigslist? There are seriously some incredible deals from time to time. We salvaged most of the materials for our coop and run. Make a budget and find ways to stick to it. Save on one thing to splurge on another. Next summer will be the duck coop and I think I can do it even better and cheaper than my chicken coop by sourcing even more through Craigslist.

 

[Rustyspokes]

"....we are getting old and don't want to have to re-do it in a few years."

LOL...I turned 61 last month and a T8 paraplegic at that. If these pens (and myself) last another 32 years I probably won't be too concerned about rebuilding them.

 

[imnukensc]

I don't use HWC at all. I use 1/2" X 1" welded wire on the bottom 2 feet of the run. Heavier gauge and less expensive than HWC. Above that is 2" X 3" wire fencing.

 

[Wise Woman]

Also have you looked at fencing on Craigslist? There are seriously some incredible deals from time to time. We salvaged most of the materials for our coop and run. Make a budget and find ways to stick to it. Save on one thing to splurge on another. Next summer will be the duck coop and I think I can do it even better and cheaper than my chicken coop by sourcing even more through Craigslist.

Yes I have. That is where I found the reasonably price 19 gage hardware cloth.

 

[blackdog043]

1/2 x 1/2 48 x 50 - 19 ga $65.50
https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth&cat_id=0

 

[getaclue]

I used 2" x 4" welded wire for the entire coop, then used this in addition for the pen skirt, and around the lower part of the coop. http://www.agrisupply.com/in-hardware-cloth-ft-roll-in-x-in-grid/p/32410/

 

[Wise Woman]

I don't use HWC at all. I use 1/2" X 1" welded wire on the bottom 2 feet of the run. Heavier gauge and less expensive than HWC. Above that is 2" X 3" wire fencing.

We thought about doing something similar to this, but I am worried about rattlesnakes getting in as they can climb apparently.

 

[Wise Woman]

I used 2" x 4" welded wire for the entire coop, then used this in addition for the pen skirt, and around the lower part of the coop. http://www.agrisupply.com/in-hardware-cloth-ft-roll-in-x-in-grid/p/32410/

Thank you kindly for the link. I think we are going to do something similar to this. My husband wants to run the hardware cloth over the whole run and then top the bottom half off with something heavier like the 2 x 4 welded wire. This is such an ordeal, but once it is done we should be set for a very long time.

 

[Wise Woman]

1/2 x 1/2 48 x 50 - 19 ga $65.50
https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth&cat_id=0

Thank you for the link. I actually found some even cheaper on Craigslist!