Help, I need the Marjority oppinion....

[flopshot]

if you're only going to use one type of wire the hardware cloth would be the choice. a multi layered system might utilize chain link or welded wire fence as a defense against a larger predator but it should always be backed up by hardware cloth to prevent reach in or a bird sticking it's head out through the larger openings of the stronger chain link / welded wire fence. a term i learned here : "chicken wire is for keeping chickens in or out". it has little use as predator defense.

 

[SpringChickens]

Hardware cloth for sure. It'll be cheaper to do it right the first time rather than do it right the second time.

 

[nwmud]

I have read about people using chicken wire inside the run area and then using welded wire on the outside of the coop. anyone else doing this? Does it seam to slow down the predators from getting in. My coop will be completely enclosed for safety at night and an enclosed run during the day. then I have a fully fenced area they can be in during the day when we can watch them. I was thinking about using a 1/2 inch chicken wire arround the inside of the run with 1 x 2 welded wire on the oputside of the run.
BTW - all openings on the coop itself will be 1/2 inch hardware cloth.
what do you all think about the multi layer system?

 

[MD Chicken chic]

That's what we've decided to do...put the welded wire on the outside around the chicken wire. I would think that would be more secure. My hubby doesn't want to put it over the top though. He says the chicken wire over the top of the run will be fine as long as the stronger wire is around the outside perimeter. Hope that's right....

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I use 1x1 cause its thick, its tuff, chickens cant poke out their heads (which is usually what happens when most things attacks them and they loose a head) and nothing can get inside with them.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

In case I didn't say it earlier, that's a great coop! Your husband did a nice job on it.

If you are going to keep the chickens locked up in the coop at night, make sure the window and vent openings are covered in 1/2" hardware cloth. This keeps out weasels, some species are quite small, rats and keeps raccoons from either getting in or reaching through and pulling your chickens apart. Gruesome, but another thing that has happened to people's chickens. Honestly, once you get the housing done, the rest is pretty fun. You just have to deal with the predator issues up front.

For a daytime run, I would still want something stronger than chicken wire. Unless you have a livestock guardian dog on patrol. All you need is one stray dog to really ruin your day. Sometimes, it's a neighbor's dog or even the owner's own dog. Even if you have a good fence, sometimes gates get left open. That's happened to people, too. Or a dog dug underneath.

I know some people layer chicken wire with welded wire over it. I haven't read of any losses from people doing that so far on this forum, so I think that's an option. For a small coop and run, you probably just need to figure out what the cost would be to buy both types to layer, compared to just the hardware cloth. Also, if you're going to put hardware cloth over the windows and vents of the coop, you'd have some of that roll left, anyway. I'd just look at those numbers and see what you think after that. As an example, you might be looking at 1 roll of hardware cloth, 1 roll of chicken wire and 1 roll of welded wire, compared to 2 rolls of hardware cloth.

For the person with only chicken wire over the top of their run, I would definitely add welded wire on top of that if you need to keep raccoons out at night. They definitely have been known to climb up and go through any gaps or flimsy covering. If it's just to keep out hawks during the day, chicken wire works great.

 

[chick818]

Quote:
Thank You, yes he did do a great job.... I have to show you a more updated picture, it looks real cute. Complete with shutters and a flower box. We are completely fenced in with a 6' fence, we have a senior dog who has kept all at bay, but the past 6 months he has lost some vision and hearing. But he is a Jack Russell Terrier and they are pretty fiesty dogs. He has some "chick therapy" everyday so that if the encounter should accidently happen without me hopefully the therapy sesseions will pay off.....

We don't have weasels but we do have coons, rats and hawks. I believe he said that we will use the hardware cloth on the bottom and the other on top. We are also thinking about setting up a sensor with an alarm or something. (just a thought right now).
Thank You agian....