Hawk proofing an outdoor run

[TomZilla43]

So my father in law lost one of his hens to a hawk last Thursday, I was with him when we went up to the coop/run and the hawk was actually still in the run enjoying lunch when we got up there but flew away on our arrival. We rigged a temporary covering over a smaller section of his run to prevent further losses until he could find a more permanent solution. So he goes on Amazon and orders a 50'x50' net to cover his roughly 25'x20 run which consists of a 6 ft. tall welded wire fence. According to most of the reviews on the netting it works well for this application but is a ROYAL pain to deal with in terms of untangling and snagging on everything within a country mile of where you're working. So here's the question: anyone out here have any experience working with this over head netting and perhaps have any tips or recommendations on the best way to handle it? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be over there helping him install it in the next day or two.TIA

 

[GotCoop]

My coop run is covered with similar netting. Mine is 12 x 40. He should have plenty of material to work with (with narrower nets you can run into problems when stretching it where the width decreases as you pull out the length). However, he may have a problem with sagging in the middle of the coop. Definitely going to need several sets of hands to maneuver a large square net. Mine came bunched together and tied along one side (like a giant net snake) and then was folded over to fit in the box. If you can lay out one side and "walk" it over the coop that would work best. Laying on the ground it will pick up sticks and snag on stuff. I used zip ties to secure mine to the pen. It has discouraged the hawks...they used to be brazen enough to go right in the small coop door.

 

[SueT]

I used bird netting over a 25' span, tied with zip ties. It definitely takes more than one person to stretch and install it! It has endured wind, ice, branches falling on it, etc, for over 2 yrs. Our kitten liked walking/napping on it, it would sag, but bounce back. You can always tighten it up by re-doing zip ties, if you need.

 

[aart]

So he goes on Amazon and orders a 50'x50' net to cover his roughly 25'x20 run which consists of a 6 ft. tall welded wire fence.

My coop run is covered with similar netting. Mine is 12 x 40.

Links to these netting would be very helpful.
There are so many out there.

@TomZilla43 will you have to deal with snow load there?

 

[TomZilla43]

Here's the one he ordered: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078YPMGCL/?tag=backy-20

 

[TomZilla43]

And to answer your question about snow load.....typically not although I'm always afraid to say anything definitive about Tennessee weather

 

[aart]

Here's the one he ordered: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078YPMGCL/?tag=backy-20

Looks like a pretty good one....tho it always bugs me that the 'string' is not spec'd like metal mesh wire gauge is...anyway....

20' span is pretty big, any framing the run fencing is attached to?
Pics would help for suggestions, you'll have to be creative and probably make adjustments along the way. My only thought at this time is posts/poles set in concrete in buckets to hold the thing up in the middle. Like 2x2's with a 'string' slot cut into top.

 

[TomZilla43]

20' span is pretty big, any framing the run fencing is attached to?

His fence is built using the metal fencing T-poles, so no not really any framing to it. And I was thinking along the same lines as you that he would need some form of center support for that span. I hadn't considered the idea of sinking the support poles in buckets w/ concrete, that may well be the easiest way create said center support. Thanks @aart and to everyone else who shared ideas and thoughts.

 

[aart]

His fence is built using the metal fencing T-poles, so no not really any framing to it. And I was thinking along the same lines as you that he would need some form of center support for that span. I hadn't considered the idea of sinking the support poles in buckets w/ concrete, that may well be the easiest way create said center support. Thanks @aart and to everyone else who shared ideas and thoughts.

You're Welcome...Good Luck...Have Fun...Take Pics

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unless you get an insane amount of snow all at once, snow shouldn't be a big issue with larger opening netting like this.

Yes two pairs (or more) of hands helps a lot with netting install, mostly just to get it up there. For support you'll need posts or cross braces of some kind, because netting does tend to sag over spans. Here's a couple of ideas.

Netting on one side of my run. I used 6' U-posts and ran tension wire at the top from post to post to make a frame to drape the netting on. The coop is the central support here.


Netting on the other side of run (roughly 10'x20'). There's 2 of these cross braces extending up about 12" and going across the 10' span, to keep the netting from sagging. Across a larger span you'd probably need a support post under the middle to stabilize the whole thing.

Looks like a pretty good one....tho it always bugs me that the 'string' is not spec'd like metal mesh wire gauge is...anyway....

The higher strength nettings do have a break/burst weight listed, that's about the best you can do as far as gauging nylon(?) nettings.