Hog Rings?

[Seaecho]

Hubby and I are STILL getting a coop and run together. (I know, it's been forever). These will be our first chickens and this is all new to us. We've heard hog rings are great, and do not rust, are strong, etc. We have been using UV resistant cable zip ties to tighten up our galvanized runs that are hooked up to our coop. But now we need to attach the hardware cloth (1/2" 19g) to the cage, and we are thinking of using hog rings. But my question is, what size hog rings? I'll attach a pic of the runs we have below. We are thinking of using the hog rings in ADDITION to zip ties on the rest of the cage, since zip ties don't last forever. Also what pliers are best? Thanks so much!

 

[blackdog043]

I got my hog rings and pliers at Lowes, they worked fine for me. Using them on the 1/2" hwc doesn't give you much room to crimp them, some I crimped a little then put it through and finished crimping. It will be easier with 2 people, one on the outside and one inside.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-40-Pack-Gray-Metal-Steel-Fence-Hog-Rings/3160363
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Fence-Hog-Ring-Pliers/50121121

 

[Folly's place]

I've used the stainless zip ties; are they still available? Plastic zip ties work well but will degrade after a few years, so not bad but not 'forever'.
Mary

 

[squadleader]

I tried hog rings when I built mine, gave up on that idea pretty quick after trying it. It was very hard getting a bite with the rings, you're better than me if you can make that work.

In retrospect I should have used this product. It's a double loop 16 gauge wire. You push the wire through, then put the hook on the handle through the two loops and twist a few times, it draws down tight.

Ok, regular ones rust like a son of a gun, better to either buy stainless steel, or the vinyl coated ones.

These are primarily used in concrete construction, to tie the steel rebar mats together that are in reinforced concrete (the steel in concrete is the reinforcement).

These mats, which can be huge, sometimes in floor slabs, ceiling slabs, wall slabs, and building foundations, are made for each concrete pour, according to the building plans. It's not uncommon for thousands of wire ties to be used in a single pour. I've actually helped the guys wire tie on a few of my projects, when I was younger.

Here's the tool to twist from $5 to $10.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00067T9OA/ref=pd_aw_sim_469_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0C0Q7J6G2JS8HAJ0R2S3&dpPl=1&dpID=514+KaoxtBL

Ok I wouldn't use plain ones, they rust too much.

Here's PVC coated ones, double loop rebar wire. $53 for 5,000 4 inch PVC coated ones. I don't know this outfit but it came up first in a Google search of "pvc coated double loop rebar wire"

https://www.conacweb.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=DFA8FA51DC654494A72F6F07C28B630E

Not that seller but they look like this.

I ended up using big, black, UV resistant zip ties. I liked the 120 lb tensile rated the best. You can search Amazon, they have them, couldn't find them at Home Depot they only had 75 lb rated, much smaller.

My tractor is a 8 x 16 hoop structure and has 72 linear feet of 48 inch wide anti-dig mats around it. I used zip ties everywhere, probably a couple thousand at least.

I did inch laps on my half inch hardware cloth, zip tied along both sides of the lap, tying it to the underlying cattle panel wire. I didn't zip tie the middle, I figured two rows on the laps, with 48 inch wide hardware cloth, and a six inch lap, that's two rows every three feet, plenty.

I even zip tied the 1x3's under the roof membrane.

I did a little reading on it, if the UV resistant ones (never buy white, no UV resistance) are big and thick like the 120 pound ones, out of sunlight, like under the roof membrane, there's no telling how long they'll last, could be well over ten years.

Unless you want to use stainless steel ones (they exist, even at Home Depot), which are better than what I'm using.

The $10 hook tool and 5,000 4 inch double loop PVC coated wires for $53, is hands down the best solution, and the cheapest too. You can also get stainless steel, probably expensive, and galvanized (probably cheaper, and it would match the hardware cloth). I really did use at least 3,000. Do confirm the size of the loop, to make sure it's smaller than the opening in the half inch hardware cloth.

Most decent sized cities have a construction supplier that specializes in things used in concrete construction, tools, forms, chemicals, rebar, and wire. Heck call around to the concrete companies who send out the concrete trucks, they'd know who the local suppliers of concrete stuff are. Then you could take a little hardware cloth over there and I'm sure they'd let you try it out.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You can afix 50 hog ringers while your fumbling around with one Zip Tie.

Time is money !

 

[Howard E]

So who knows the origin of the term "hog rings"?

And yes......it does involve hogs.

 

[jthornton]

Also what pliers are best?

There is only one tool for hog rings... hog ring pliers.

JT

 

[chickencheeper]

So knows the origin of the term "hog rings"?

And yes......it does involve hogs.

Were they used to identify hogs/pigs by clipping them to their ears?

 

[Howard E]

Were they used to identify hogs/pigs by clipping them to their ears?

Nope......closer to clipping a chicken's wing......served a similar purpose.

 

[Howard E]

Nope.......you used a scalpel for that. (ouch)