How much hardware cloth?

[joydix]

I have been raising chickens for quite some time and have gone through many "live and learns"... Chicken wire is useless. It's meant to keep poultry in and NOTHING out. I have built my pen with hardware cloth on the bottom and welded wire for the remainder and top. Make sure there are NO gaps. You'd be surprised how small of a space a raccoon can squeeze through. With welded wire on the bottom as well, a fix can get their paw in enough to rip bird(s) right through and make a mess. But like it was said, make sure its a good quality guage and not just cheap one bc it is in fact a one time investment that will save lives.where the doors open we put big flat slate / blue stone so nothing can get in from under that opening as well. Another option would to be possible burying a large enough flat piece of wire so nothing can dig.

mine was similar. my first loss was from a hen roosting near that large wire. coon reached in and punctured her chest cavity. it was awful. my first fix was to nail up a barrier so they could not sleep close to that wire...eventually i rebuilt the entire set up for safety and ease....it was costly....but worth it.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Basically, the answer to "how much hardware cloth do I use" is "all of it".

 

[Brookliner]

Is hardware cloth necessary over my entire run? Could I get by with 4 feet of 1/2” cloth plus 2’ buried and then do the rest in poultry wire? The run is going to be quite large- big enough to stand in and walk around for sure.

If you are trying to exclude predators like mink and other weasels from your run 1/2" hardwarecloth is necessary because they can climb and can get through any opening that is larger.

 

[chickenmeadow]

Is hardware cloth necessary over my entire run? Could I get by with 4 feet of 1/2” cloth plus 2’ buried and then do the rest in poultry wire? The run is going to be quite large- big enough to stand in and walk around for sure.

We have always just used 2" chicken wire for the roof area above on our metal pole carport "chicken run" enclosures. Any prey type birds can't get through that size & it's the least expensive.

 

[Chickywolf]

My girls are in the coup and locked up at night which is the prime predator time here. Their food is also kept inside at all times. My runs (there are 2 of them) consist of cable going from the coup to trees 50' away and is covered with 1" chicken wire making a mostly 5' wide x 5' tall run, the cable acting as a roof support. It looks kind of like a chicken wire tent. Because the runs are in the woods it was impossible to sink the wire so it is folded outwards at the bottom and piled with large branches and rocks to keep it down and bad guys out. The only hardware cloth I used was around the base of the coup where I sunk it a foot into the ground and nailed it to the bottom of the coup. This has worked for over 4 years now with no losses.

 

[WELDON99]

I've had chickens for about 4 years now. I have lost one to a water moccasin (just last week!). I have lost a few baby chicks that might have been able to squeeze through the chicken wire. I only have regular chicken wire on all my runs and coops. Did not bury any of the wire but do have everything set on 2x8 boards. I live in the country in the middle of a forest, on Toledo Bend Reservoir. I do have several dogs and cats that seem to keep most predators away. Right now, I have around 40 chickens, in all stages, from 3 week old chicks to some birds that are close to 4 years old! Over the 4 years, I've lost about 5 chickens that showed no signs of predator damage (other than the one last week). I'm pretty sure that the Brahma Rooster I lost last week was protecting his hens from the water moccasin. I also have a few ducks. Maybe I've just been lucky. My birds do not run free but remain in the coops, all the time. Too many domestic predators in the neighborhood to let them free range. I am in the process of constructing a large, common yard so they can move about a little more freely. All my coops have covers and I am planning to cover the larger yard to keep out overhead predators (Eagles, hawks, falcons and owls!). I know we have racoons and foxes in the neighborhood, but My dogs keep them at bay! I started out with around 7 chickens that were given to me. I tried the chicken wire on the first coop with no problems, so as I expanded, I kept to that theme. At the present, I have 5 different coops in place. Living here in the south, we don't worry much about cool weather, but I do have fans set up for the summer months. Taking care of my flock takes about 10 to 20 minutes a day. And some days, I do spend more time with them, handing out treats and checking their health and well being. What started as a hobby for my wife, has turned into my egg farm! Not showing ant profit yet, but closing in on paying for itself!