How best to install overhead netting?

[MenelausMontrose]

I think you'll be able to install it over that space fairly easily. Your bushes seem to be at the edge of the run, so if you have to slit the net to go around a trunk and then sew it back up, it won't be too difficult.

The big question is how high are your fence posts? If they aren't taller than your coop and bushes, you may want to install a high tent pole in the center of your run. Then run nylon monofilament out in an umbrella pattern to your fence posts, and drape the net over the top of that assembly.

My netting is still pretty new compared to ChicoryBlue, but it's held up great. I get large pine branches falling on it all the time, along with heavy loads of wet leaves. The netting hasn't failed (aside from one or two points where I stretched it too tight), and I've had no predator losses since getting it fully installed.

I do see some failures from that tarred lacing cord used to stitch the netting back together when going around a tree, so if you can get something thicker or double up on the lacing cord, I'd recommend that.

 

[Rick&Chris]

I think you'll be able to install it over that space fairly easily. Your bushes seem to be at the edge of the run, so if you have to slit the net to go around a trunk and then sew it back up, it won't be too difficult.

The big question is how high are your fence posts? If they aren't taller than your coop and bushes, you may want to install a high tent pole in the center of your run. Then run nylon monofilament out in an umbrella pattern to your fence posts, and drape the net over the top of that assembly.

My netting is still pretty new compared to ChicoryBlue, but it's held up great. I get large pine branches falling on it all the time, along with heavy loads of wet leaves. The netting hasn't failed (aside from one or two points where I stretched it too tight), and I've had no predator losses since getting it fully installed.

I do see some failures from that tarred lacing cord used to stitch the netting back together when going around a tree, so if you can get something thicker or double up on the lacing cord, I'd recommend that.

Great info!! My posts are about 6’ and the coop roof is taller. Bushes are approx 7-10’ (I think they will need to be cut lower). They’re not quality plantsand covered in vines, but good shade. One is a lilac but not in good shape - very old). Thinking about removing them but not sure what to replace them with for shade.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I'm thinking about the pinnon hatch netting - just trying to figure out the best way to get it up and over some shade bushes in our chicken yard (good summer shade, so I don't want to get rid of them). How is yours holding up now? Easy to install? I've been reading horror stories on other netting products. This is the space I'm trying to cover (approx 50' x 35')
View attachment 4021238

I do have updates. Forgive the length here, if it is more than you were asking.

I can't tell from your picture where you want your aviary run. The lower left side or that upper right quadrant?

How my netting is holding up
1. My oldest netting is 4 years old now, holding up well as far as aging. I bought from Pinnon Hatch, yes their stuff is good, read what they say & believe them. I got the 2" knotted netting and like it. Get the knotted, not the woven! I am considering the 1" knotted, if the avian flu gets bad here, as that prevents songbirds from getting in. I used the 1" to cover raspberry plantings under tube framing just for when the berries come in and that has worked very well. The 1" behaves more like cohesive fabric than the 2". It is twice as heavy though.

2. It is very strong - under very heavy snow that fell overnight, 99% of it held up extremely well, BUT for the most part what it was attached to became damaged in places. A cheesy greenhouse frame collapsed under it. A welded-wire walk-in run (Omlet) did well but some places where I had clipped the netting got bent and pulled down a little under the great weight, and in a couple places the welding came apart. The run was entirely repairable and fixable. But the cheesy greenhouse frame tubing was for the most part lost, I salvaged several unbent pieces only.

3. Trees & bushes & the storm - I had laid the netting over a lilac bush (see below) and then around a few trees right next to that bush. For each tree I cut the netting, then went on either side of the tree /around the tree, and wove the two halves back together with good polyester 1/8" rope catching the squares. Then I'd eyeball the next tree and do that again. I held it up by attaching it with carabiners to a length of rope tied around each tree. I had attached it in one to three spots on each tree rope. Two of those places, carrying a ton of load as they were trees toward the open yard, pulled the knotting out, and in one place the net broke at that attachment point.

After the storm I relieved the pressure on the remaining carabiners as best I could, and eventually got the wet and hardened snow off the whole netting piece. I ended up keeping the sewed netting around the trees but removing the carabiners so it could sink down with any more ice and snow to come. I piled the rest of the netting around the base of this group of trees. The lilac bush and a few saplings are still holding up some of it, but I also piled most of that away, up and off of a lot it.

The lesson here is that the netting needs to have an even load along the whole edge and attach points, and the attach points need to be very, very strong. You might want to do the calculations of the potential weight of wet snow and how much area of snow the netting might carry versus the strength rating (245?/85).

One knot of netting alone can't bear a lot of square footage of weight pulling on it, but lots together are strong. But the structire it's attached to must be insanely strong. I would like to know what professional aviaries do in Upstate New York winters. I suspect they take the nets down in winter and house their birds inside.

In any case I have decided I will not leave big stretches up in the Fall /Winter once a snowstorm like what we just had is expected. Since it fell overnight I couldn't (wasn't willing to) be out there clearing it periodically in the night. Also, once it snows heavily like that, it turns out my gang here doesn't have any interest in going outside their dry, spacious roofed run anyway. Even when I shovel a spot for them.

They will stand on the threshold and look out, but that's it. One of the very adventurous hens died late this Fall, and the rest have no interest. So I've just been out there guarding for the couple times when it's warm and bare enough and they actually want to venture out.

Best way to get it up and over some shade bushes - I took a scrap bedsheet and pulled that over the lilac bush and maple saplings. I think my partner might have helped there. Maybe I tied a corner and threw the rope over and my partner pulled? Then I pulled the netting over that! Worked really well! Of course, this was after struggling without the bedsheet for a while as the net caught on every little sprig and nubbin.

The bush and saplings will bend over under the netting unless you attach the other edges of the net at the same height, or support the netting with poles, or something at the height of the bushes. In my case I am fine with it because that bending over makes it even more sheltered. Some leaves and twigs will grow up through it over the course of the growing season, so be prepared for that, if/when you remove the net some will be lost (with 2" netting I was able to feed a lot of new growth back through the squares. But there's some that will rip off).

I WOULD NOT, repeat NOT try to enclose a multi-stemmed bush as if I were doing netting around a tree trunk. Cooper's Hawks will go down through the unprotected middle of that bush. Yes, they are that good at predation and used to manuevering within tight branches and stems.

Easy to install? - Hmmmm not really, but somewhat yes, because it's not that bad once you understand it and what you can expect of it. The bigger pieces - 100x50 - are heavy and more unwieldy. I don't have a nice square clear area with straight strong fences or something straight to attach to, all ready to just lay the net out along the whole length and attach a side edge working my way down all evenly.

Have you ever dealt with professional fishing net? It is the same thing, according to a friend who looked at what I had. So you have to work with what it wants to do.

It wants to catch on every little thing. It's also stretchy, in a sense. It gets manufactured so that width-wise, it wants to stay together initially with the squares like diamonds, even the knotted type. A length of it will come out of the box like a tube. Once you stretch the sides out it will be less inclined, but it's still there a bit. That's the best way to pack it up and store it later too - pull it along the length until it's all straight and wants to come together again, then fold in the sides again and again, then double up the length, and double that again, etc.

I would put it up initially with attachment bits that you can un-do so you can make adjustments once it's up.

Remember to account for sides in your dimensions if you are going to ground with it. I have electric poultry netting surrounding the whole area including coop and run, then have the aviary netting set up on structures within that yard, and the netting goes to the ground on all sides except where it meets the run.

For me - for ease in dealing with it, ease in storage and ease in creating different aviary spaces - I think I would prefer to get small pieces, 25x50 or 25x25, and add adjoining pieces as needed with the smooth polyester rope (I bought this below - it works well, and I was able to pretty easily remove it from the separate netting pieces after the storm, even after it had aged in place for a season
https://qualitynylonrope.com/produc...5FVI0W6rRwElAsggj_DtjpiGDoUBIMKRoCPEgQAvD_BwE ) I just weave the rope in and out of the adjoining squares.

The first year I bought netting, to save money I bought a long length and thought I could cut off what I needed for a smaller separate bit I wanted to cover. Mistake! It's very hard to keep things straight. Might be possible right out of the box to cut the length, but not for me once I had laid it out.

Hope this helps!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

The big question is how high are your fence posts? If they aren't taller than your coop and bushes, you may want to install a high tent pole in the center of your run.

Exactly. I do recall reading a post by someone that they lay their tent pole down when they expect snow, that takes the strain off the fence posts.

My posts are about 6’

If you want to be able to walk under the netting, I agree with @MenelausMontrose ...the netting sags no matter how tight you run it, and you don't want to run it real tight or it reduces the life of the net. I don't remember what the recommendation is, but every X number of feet you'll want supports.

 

[MenelausMontrose]

Great info!! My posts are about 6’ and the coop roof is taller. Bushes are approx 7-10’ (I think they will need to be cut lower). They’re not quality plantsand covered in vines, but good shade. One is a lilac but not in good shape - very old). Thinking about removing them but not sure what to replace them with for shade.

Yep, with a 6' fence, you'll definitely need to create a high point for the net to prevent it sagging down to head height. With your coop being centrally located, you might be able to build something onto the side of it that stands a few feet above the roof, rather than sinking a stand-alone pole.

As far as your bushes go, cutting them back a bit makes sense, but the chickens will absolutely destroy anything new that you plant in their run. I'd be inclined to leave them since they are established. You'd have to put down hardware cloth to protect the roots of a new plant, and hope the birds don't develop a taste for the leaves.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Great info!! My posts are about 6’ and the coop roof is taller.

Depending on how tall the coop is you can use that as support on one side. It is a pain to throw a net over a tall coop, but that's how I did it, in lieu of support beams in the center on one side of the run.

 

[Rick&Chris]

I do have updates. Forgive the length here, if it is more than you were asking.

I can't tell from your picture where you want your aviary run. The lower left side or that upper right quadrant?

How my netting is holding up
1. My oldest netting is 4 years old now, holding up well as far as aging. I bought from Pinnon Hatch, yes their stuff is good, read what they say & believe them. I got the 2" knotted netting and like it. Get the knotted, not the woven! I am considering the 1" knotted, if the avian flu gets bad here, as that prevents songbirds from getting in. I used the 1" to cover raspberry plantings under tube framing just for when the berries come in and that has worked very well. The 1" behaves more like cohesive fabric than the 2". It is twice as heavy though.

2. It is very strong - under very heavy snow that fell overnight, 99% of it held up extremely well, BUT for the most part what it was attached to became damaged in places. A cheesy greenhouse frame collapsed under it. A welded-wire walk-in run (Omlet) did well but some places where I had clipped the netting got bent and pulled down a little under the great weight, and in a couple places the welding came apart. The run was entirely repairable and fixable. But the cheesy greenhouse frame tubing was for the most part lost, I salvaged several unbent pieces only.

3. Trees & bushes & the storm - I had laid the netting over a lilac bush (see below) and then around a few trees right next to that bush. For each tree I cut the netting, then went on either side of the tree /around the tree, and wove the two halves back together with good polyester 1/8" rope catching the squares. Then I'd eyeball the next tree and do that again. I held it up by attaching it with carabiners to a length of rope tied around each tree. I had attached it in one to three spots on each tree rope. Two of those places, carrying a ton of load as they were trees toward the open yard, pulled the knotting out, and in one place the net broke at that attachment point.

After the storm I relieved the pressure on the remaining carabiners as best I could, and eventually got the wet and hardened snow off the whole netting piece. I ended up keeping the sewed netting around the trees but removing the carabiners so it could sink down with any more ice and snow to come. I piled the rest of the netting around the base of this group of trees. The lilac bush and a few saplings are still holding up some of it, but I also piled most of that away, up and off of a lot it.

The lesson here is that the netting needs to have an even load along the whole edge and attach points, and the attach points need to be very, very strong. You might want to do the calculations of the potential weight of wet snow and how much area of snow the netting might carry versus the strength rating (245?/85).

One knot of netting alone can't bear a lot of square footage of weight pulling on it, but lots together are strong. But the structire it's attached to must be insanely strong. I would like to know what professional aviaries do in Upstate New York winters. I suspect they take the nets down in winter and house their birds inside.

In any case I have decided I will not leave big stretches up in the Fall /Winter once a snowstorm like what we just had is expected. Since it fell overnight I couldn't (wasn't willing to) be out there clearing it periodically in the night. Also, once it snows heavily like that, it turns out my gang here doesn't have any interest in going outside their dry, spacious roofed run anyway. Even when I shovel a spot for them.

They will stand on the threshold and look out, but that's it. One of the very adventurous hens died late this Fall, and the rest have no interest. So I've just been out there guarding for the couple times when it's warm and bare enough and they actually want to venture out.

Best way to get it up and over some shade bushes - I took a scrap bedsheet and pulled that over the lilac bush and maple saplings. I think my partner might have helped there. Maybe I tied a corner and threw the rope over and my partner pulled? Then I pulled the netting over that! Worked really well! Of course, this was after struggling without the bedsheet for a while as the net caught on every little sprig and nubbin.

The bush and saplings will bend over under the netting unless you attach the other edges of the net at the same height, or support the netting with poles, or something at the height of the bushes. In my case I am fine with it because that bending over makes it even more sheltered. Some leaves and twigs will grow up through it over the course of the growing season, so be prepared for that, if/when you remove the net some will be lost (with 2" netting I was able to feed a lot of new growth back through the squares. But there's some that will rip off).

I WOULD NOT, repeat NOT try to enclose a multi-stemmed bush as if I were doing netting around a tree trunk. Cooper's Hawks will go down through the unprotected middle of that bush. Yes, they are that good at predation and used to manuevering within tight branches and stems.

Easy to install? - Hmmmm not really, but somewhat yes, because it's not that bad once you understand it and what you can expect of it. The bigger pieces - 100x50 - are heavy and more unwieldy. I don't have a nice square clear area with straight strong fences or something straight to attach to, all ready to just lay the net out along the whole length and attach a side edge working my way down all evenly.

Have you ever dealt with professional fishing net? It is the same thing, according to a friend who looked at what I had. So you have to work with what it wants to do.

It wants to catch on every little thing. It's also stretchy, in a sense. It gets manufactured so that width-wise, it wants to stay together initially with the squares like diamonds, even the knotted type. A length of it will come out of the box like a tube. Once you stretch the sides out it will be less inclined, but it's still there a bit. That's the best way to pack it up and store it later too - pull it along the length until it's all straight and wants to come together again, then fold in the sides again and again, then double up the length, and double that again, etc.

I would put it up initially with attachment bits that you can un-do so you can make adjustments once it's up.

Remember to account for sides in your dimensions if you are going to ground with it. I have electric poultry netting surrounding the whole area including coop and run, then have the aviary netting set up on structures within that yard, and the netting goes to the ground on all sides except where it meets the run.

For me - for ease in dealing with it, ease in storage and ease in creating different aviary spaces - I think I would prefer to get small pieces, 25x50 or 25x25, and add adjoining pieces as needed with the smooth polyester rope (I bought this below - it works well, and I was able to pretty easily remove it from the separate netting pieces after the storm, even after it had aged in place for a season
https://qualitynylonrope.com/produc...5FVI0W6rRwElAsggj_DtjpiGDoUBIMKRoCPEgQAvD_BwE ) I just weave the rope in and out of the adjoining squares.

The first year I bought netting, to save money I bought a long length and thought I could cut off what I needed for a smaller separate bit I wanted to cover. Mistake! It's very hard to keep things straight. Might be possible right out of the box to cut the length, but not for me once I had laid it out.

Hope this helps!

This is great information, thank you! FYI - we are looking to cover the entire space (L shaped) that is fenced in, including the coop and the bushes. Fence posts are approx 5' high.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I do have updates. Forgive the length here, if it is more than you were asking.

I can't tell from your picture where you want your aviary run. The lower left side or that upper right quadrant?

How my netting is holding up
1. My oldest netting is 4 years old now, holding up well as far as aging. I bought from Pinnon Hatch, yes their stuff is good, read what they say & believe them. I got the 2" knotted netting and like it. Get the knotted, not the woven! I am considering the 1" knotted, if the avian flu gets bad here, as that prevents songbirds from getting in. I used the 1" to cover raspberry plantings under tube framing just for when the berries come in and that has worked very well. The 1" behaves more like cohesive fabric than the 2". It is twice as heavy though.

2. It is very strong - under very heavy snow that fell overnight, 99% of it held up extremely well, BUT for the most part what it was attached to became damaged in places. A cheesy greenhouse frame collapsed under it. A welded-wire walk-in run (Omlet) did well but some places where I had clipped the netting got bent and pulled down a little under the great weight, and in a couple places the welding came apart. The run was entirely repairable and fixable. But the cheesy greenhouse frame tubing was for the most part lost, I salvaged several unbent pieces only.

3. Trees & bushes & the storm - I had laid the netting over a lilac bush (see below) and then around a few trees right next to that bush. For each tree I cut the netting, then went on either side of the tree /around the tree, and wove the two halves back together with good polyester 1/8" rope catching the squares. Then I'd eyeball the next tree and do that again. I held it up by attaching it with carabiners to a length of rope tied around each tree. I had attached it in one to three spots on each tree rope. Two of those places, carrying a ton of load as they were trees toward the open yard, pulled the knotting out, and in one place the net broke at that attachment point.

After the storm I relieved the pressure on the remaining carabiners as best I could, and eventually got the wet and hardened snow off the whole netting piece. I ended up keeping the sewed netting around the trees but removing the carabiners so it could sink down with any more ice and snow to come. I piled the rest of the netting around the base of this group of trees. The lilac bush and a few saplings are still holding up some of it, but I also piled most of that away, up and off of a lot it.

The lesson here is that the netting needs to have an even load along the whole edge and attach points, and the attach points need to be very, very strong. You might want to do the calculations of the potential weight of wet snow and how much area of snow the netting might carry versus the strength rating (245?/85).

One knot of netting alone can't bear a lot of square footage of weight pulling on it, but lots together are strong. But the structire it's attached to must be insanely strong. I would like to know what professional aviaries do in Upstate New York winters. I suspect they take the nets down in winter and house their birds inside.

In any case I have decided I will not leave big stretches up in the Fall /Winter once a snowstorm like what we just had is expected. Since it fell overnight I couldn't (wasn't willing to) be out there clearing it periodically in the night. Also, once it snows heavily like that, it turns out my gang here doesn't have any interest in going outside their dry, spacious roofed run anyway. Even when I shovel a spot for them.

They will stand on the threshold and look out, but that's it. One of the very adventurous hens died late this Fall, and the rest have no interest. So I've just been out there guarding for the couple times when it's warm and bare enough and they actually want to venture out.

Best way to get it up and over some shade bushes - I took a scrap bedsheet and pulled that over the lilac bush and maple saplings. I think my partner might have helped there. Maybe I tied a corner and threw the rope over and my partner pulled? Then I pulled the netting over that! Worked really well! Of course, this was after struggling without the bedsheet for a while as the net caught on every little sprig and nubbin.

The bush and saplings will bend over under the netting unless you attach the other edges of the net at the same height, or support the netting with poles, or something at the height of the bushes. In my case I am fine with it because that bending over makes it even more sheltered. Some leaves and twigs will grow up through it over the course of the growing season, so be prepared for that, if/when you remove the net some will be lost (with 2" netting I was able to feed a lot of new growth back through the squares. But there's some that will rip off).

I WOULD NOT, repeat NOT try to enclose a multi-stemmed bush as if I were doing netting around a tree trunk. Cooper's Hawks will go down through the unprotected middle of that bush. Yes, they are that good at predation and used to manuevering within tight branches and stems.

Easy to install? - Hmmmm not really, but somewhat yes, because it's not that bad once you understand it and what you can expect of it. The bigger pieces - 100x50 - are heavy and more unwieldy. I don't have a nice square clear area with straight strong fences or something straight to attach to, all ready to just lay the net out along the whole length and attach a side edge working my way down all evenly.

Have you ever dealt with professional fishing net? It is the same thing, according to a friend who looked at what I had. So you have to work with what it wants to do.

It wants to catch on every little thing. It's also stretchy, in a sense. It gets manufactured so that width-wise, it wants to stay together initially with the squares like diamonds, even the knotted type. A length of it will come out of the box like a tube. Once you stretch the sides out it will be less inclined, but it's still there a bit. That's the best way to pack it up and store it later too - pull it along the length until it's all straight and wants to come together again, then fold in the sides again and again, then double up the length, and double that again, etc.

I would put it up initially with attachment bits that you can un-do so you can make adjustments once it's up.

Remember to account for sides in your dimensions if you are going to ground with it. I have electric poultry netting surrounding the whole area including coop and run, then have the aviary netting set up on structures within that yard, and the netting goes to the ground on all sides except where it meets the run.

For me - for ease in dealing with it, ease in storage and ease in creating different aviary spaces - I think I would prefer to get small pieces, 25x50 or 25x25, and add adjoining pieces as needed with the smooth polyester rope (I bought this below - it works well, and I was able to pretty easily remove it from the separate netting pieces after the storm, even after it had aged in place for a season
https://qualitynylonrope.com/produc...5FVI0W6rRwElAsggj_DtjpiGDoUBIMKRoCPEgQAvD_BwE ) I just weave the rope in and out of the adjoining squares.

The first year I bought netting, to save money I bought a long length and thought I could cut off what I needed for a smaller separate bit I wanted to cover. Mistake! It's very hard to keep things straight. Might be possible right out of the box to cut the length, but not for me once I had laid it out.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for this. I bought Producer Prides Poultry Pens for my Ducks. I am having trouble keeping lots of sparrows from eating their feed. I have rescued some of my ducks and they have food 24/7 as they were starved at their previous home. I have some netting over part of my 6 pens and I was concerned about the weight of the snow. So far we have not gotten enough to hurt anything but where I saw some of your welds in your pens gave way I am concerned. I have netting along the sides and it seems to have not hurt anything either at this point. We got about 6 inches of snow so far and most of it fell through even though the holes in the netting are small. The netting is strong but not thick at all. I don't know how else to keep the sparrows out because they are increasing my feed bill quite a bit with 22 ducks and 22 sparrows.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Thank you for this. I bought Producer Prides Poultry Pens for my Ducks. I am having trouble keeping lots of sparrows from eating their feed. I have rescued some of my ducks and they have food 24/7 as they were starved at their previous home. I have some netting over part of my 6 pens and I was concerned about the weight of the snow. So far we have not gotten enough to hurt anything but where I saw some of your welds in your pens gave way I am concerned. I have netting along the sides and it seems to have not hurt anything either at this point. We got about 6 inches of snow so far and most of it fell through even though the holes in the netting are small. The netting is strong but not thick at all. I don't know how else to keep the sparrows out because they are increasing my feed bill quite a bit with 22 ducks and 22 sparrows.

I believe ducks can use a treadle feeder, that could be one solution, and you are likely losing feed to mice or even rats at night (I was losing feed to mice, treadle feeder solved that).

In the situation here the welds bent then broke in two places where the net at those points was carrying a good 100 square feet of wet heavy snow about a foot thick after the other supporting structures gave way. Then that put way too much strain on those remaining points.

It was about a foot of the wettest, heaviest snow I've ever had to deal with, the temps were just right to stick to the netting too. Then it got really cold and it all iced up.

So if you have lots of redundant strong points of support you're better off. Probably one every foot? The company may recommend the spacing. I did not have enough, and it wasn't equally proportioned along the netting either.

I noticed in a video about her netting the Chickenlandia lady (before they moved to their current location) had the netting well-attached to a board along the side of her house. I see in the videos since, she's got some good serious 4x4 posts and beams along the top on each side of the run, and along the middle too.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I believe ducks can use a treadle feeder, that could be one solution, and you are likely losing feed to mice or even rats at night (I was losing feed to mice, treadle feeder solved that).

In the situation here the welds bent then broke in two places where the net at those points was carrying a good 100 square feet of wet heavy snow about a foot thick after the other supporting structures gave way. Then that put way too much strain on those remaining points.

It was about a foot of the wettest, heaviest snow I've ever had to deal with, the temps were just right to stick to the netting too. Then it got really cold and it all iced up.

So if you have lots of redundant strong points of support you're better off. Probably one every foot? The company may recommend the spacing. I did not have enough, and it wasn't equally proportioned along the netting either.

I noticed in a video about her netting the Chickenlandia lady (before they moved to their current location) had the netting well-attached to a board along the side of her house. I see in the videos since, she's got some good serious 4x4 posts and beams along the top on each side of the run, and along the middle too.

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.