How much hardware cloth?

[Hen-a-gadda-da-vida]

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.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'd suspect something would climb the hardware wire to get to the poultry wire section. Poultry wire barely even contains chickens, it won't keep predators out.

 

[IamRainey]

How many birds are you willing to lose?

I know hardware cloth gets expensive but I put mine all round anything that wasn't already wood-clad. And I dug it 18" into the soil. I have coyotes that roam the neighborhood and leap 6' walls. I haven't lost a chicken. We haven't had an attempt that went anywhere.

Also keep in mind that hardware cloth comes in different gauges. You want the heaviest gauge you can get. You'll only pay for it once and next year you'll forget what it cost you and still have your hens.

PS I'm assuming you're planning a sturdy roof. If not, make sure your flock is protected from birds of prey and climbing predators like raccoons coming in from above. When we get chickens we're taking on the responsibility to keep them healthy and safe.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

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.

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

It kind of depends on what your goal is... will you be locking up the coop at night?

Hardware cloth will keep everything out including free loading, possibly disease or parasite carrying wild birds that come to feed on the open grain buffet.

If you aren't worried about that or night time issues, then standard chicken wire will work for keeping birds of prey at bay... which is the only time I actually go on lock down.

For me, daytime ground predators aren't an issue due to my own dogs.

If you will be leaving the coop unlocked, I would spend the extra on HC, and know that my reduced feed bill and increased bio-security and standard security more than makes up for the cost difference, especially long term.

Another thing... I've never YET had to upgrade HC... but have multiple times upgraded to HC from chicken wire... time and energy spent are hugely valuable to me... just do right the first time. You won't regret it!

 

[PirateGirl]

If you are not using hardware cloth on the whole thing, I would use welded wire fencing instead of poultry wire on the remainder.

 

[imnukensc]

I used 1/2 X 1 welded wire on the bottom 2 feet of my run and 2 X 3 welded wire over the rest. No HWC anywhere.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you are not using hardware cloth on the whole thing, I would use welded wire fencing instead of poultry wire on the remainder.

I would go this route as well, if you don't want to cover the whole thing with HWC.

As far as if you should cover the entire thing with HWC, it really depends on your predators, predator load, and your tolerance for loss. I only have HWC at the bottom 2' of my run, and aproned out another 2' or so. My run walls are chain link, the top is netting. There's obviously some risks with setting it up like that, but my most frequent visiting predators are hawks/eagles/owls.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

I had to wrap hardware cloth all over my outdoor dove aviary because hawks would land on it, then reach in with their talons. The male doves would fly right up into their talons thinking they were defending the females.

The walls on my chicken run are just chain link, with a steel roof. Works just fine for the chickens, did not work for my ducks. A raccoon waddled up to the fence, and my very trusting duck walked up to the waiting raccoon. It was very sad. My chickens are much more predator savvy and have never had any issues with predators as long as they were not free roaming at the time.

Good luck

 

[LarryOdom]

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.

I’m doing a 6’x30’ run with 1/2” hardware cloth 3’ from the ground up and chicken wire the remaining 4’ I hope that’s enough to keep the ladies safe. The top is to be covered also.

 

[LarryOdom]

I used 1/2 X 1 welded wire on the bottom 2 feet of my run and 2 X 3 welded wire over the rest. No HWC anywhere.

Is it working out for you?