Horse wire mesh for the coop? NON-CLIMBABLE, AND PREDATOR SAFE?

[Chick_a_dee]

We're moving to our new farm in about 3 weeks, and weren't sure what to use for the run's for our chickens. We don't really want to use the hardware mesh, cause it costs an insane amount for what you get here, which isn't much... so I was flipping through the System Fencing catalog we have for our farm, and came across THIS

http://www.systemfence.com/pages/fencewiremesh/index.html

There's two types, one is not climbable, but I'd get the other.. the one on the top, with the V mesh, it's predator safe, and not climbable I believe. We'd sink it 2feet into the ground, or have the base of it set in a cement "foundation" around the run.

Anyone else think of using it? It's more expensive, you get something like 100' of wire, at 6' high I believe, but it's strong. We were going to sink some fence posts (probably just your bog standard privacy 4x4 fence posts, but if we can get the log posts without them being cedar, then we'll do that, and wire that horse wire up around it, and make a roof our of it for the run too.


Opinions?

 

[Wildsky]

I use regular field fence, and keep my chickens locked up tight at night.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

See, I'm not sure about what predators are in my area, I haven't seen anything and I've been there at night, not even a deer! and we see deer all the time at my old house. I want to be SAFE, and know I may have spent the extra cash, but it'll be a good thing if I forget, or someone else forgets to close the door to the coop one night.

 

[Eggseronious]

What they are saying is its non climbable for a horse, my friend uses this for his horses. Its not going to stop most animals. However its good and tough they wont tear it up. My friend had a bunch of coons that climbed a 60' silo, its nothing more than a ladder with 18' spacings going all the way to the top. A coon will climb this wire, trust me!

 

[LynneP]

Definitely not the second one, almost every predator known to chickens will get through. I think a raccoon , rat or weasel could get through the first, too. To be honest I think the cost of hardware cloth is worth it. I paid $69.90 Cdn per roll for 3' x 50 '. You put so much effort into the birds and facilities that I think the extra $$$ is worth it. You'll be roofing your run too? We used PALRuf ( you can see our run in the link to my home page below).

Another Canuck! Excellent...

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Oh man, our hardware clothe is like... $190 for a 50' roll!

 

[Dilly]

I can purchase a four foot high by one hundred foot long for a$100.00.

3ft. X 100 ft. for $80.
2x100 ft. for $ 56.

So I would check around on your pricing.

Dilly

 

[Bi0sC0mp]

that no climb a coon or weasel will climb that likes its nothing but theres realy no kind of fence they cant climb aslong as you have the top closed in with like welded wire you be alright but i use something else then that no climb

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Our local Home Depot doesn't sell it, Co-op doesn't sell it, TSC does, but it's really expensive. I might just splurge for the expensive, My run has to be big, we want the chicks as free range as possible without them being free range.

 

[patandchickens]

As others have said (but just to emphasize it), no-climb just means that a horse cannot easily 'walk the fence down' -- any normal varmint will climb it no problem. (Same with v-mesh, btw -- and also btw, for horses, the v-mesh is WONDERFULLY safe at first BUT will rust into a gazillion tiny metal points to scratch up your expensive foals or retirees' eyeballs or whatever you gots in there. Whereas the no-climb is always reasonably safe, esp. for barefoot horses, both at first and when it gets older).

DO NOT try to set the base of the wire in a poured cement foundation, because unless you make your foundation frost depth (which up here would be ridiculously expensive) the cement will heave and seriously mess up your fence in a way that will be near impossible to fix. I would not personally bury it, either -- it will rust in a few years and then what. I would suggest instead making a 2' "apron" of the fence, flat on the ground where you can replace it when it gets to need replacing, preferably weighted down with big rocks or chunks of concrete rubble or whatever.

Also, you realize that there is nothing whatsoever wrong with using cedar posts for the chicken run? Just checkin'

Pat