How much hardware cloth?

[Ghosty]

Yes they can if you mean tunnels, especially in loose dirt, Aspen, etc. Hognose snakes and colubrids in general love to burrow, and make tunnels in their environment. ... Few snakes “dig” holes. (Kind of hard to dig with no hands) But many snakes can push their bodies into sand and soft soil.
Snakes travel along the ground, up trees, through water and underground.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Just wonder...... how deep do you have to go for rats?

At least 18 inches.

 

[charliewhiskey]

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 build a run and a house, make sure the birds are in the house at dark and l.ock them in. The run is a temporary "unsafe" place for them during the day. What you described is similar to what I do. Just remember that they are not completely safe during the day.

 

[Clgmann]

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 have basically the same setup for the last 4 years. Chicken wire starts about 3' high overlapping the hardware cloth that is also buried 18". Chicken wire is also used cover the framed roof. Never an issue although I did have a fox that scoped the entire perimeter and then quickly left. I have cyottees & raccoons also but they haven't even tried to get at any of my 17 chickens.

 

[joydix]

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.

Agreed! Use hardware cloth everywhere. Safe for them and you won’t learn the hard way and have redo with hardware cloth later!!

 

[joydix]

Also rats can get thru chicken wire. They ate a couple toes off one hen. Also weasels.

 

[KRAtotheZ]

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 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.

 

[cactuskid47]

I learned the hard way about hardware cloth versus chicken wire! Originally I had 2”x4” wire 4’ high buried about 6” with the rest of the walls and top covered with chicken wire! The skunks dug in! I believe the feral cats slipped through the 2”x4” wire”! I watched a huge raccoon tear the chicken wire apart while my wife went to get a gun! I think the craziest was after everything was replaced with hardware cloth and I was still doing free range a bobcat sat happily eating a chicken long enough for me to go to the house for the gun! Making the entire run with hardware cloth to begin with would have saved a lot of cost in 2”x4” wire, chicken wire, chickens and a lot of frustration!

 

[hrkimer4]

I had a weasel easily get through the hexagon chicken wire. Cute little thing but nasty creatures. Thankfully my older hen jumped on it and was pecking at it! lol I don't think she would have won the battle in the end if I hadn't heard her creating such a rucus. I now have hardware cloth all around the pen.

 

[joydix]

ALL GREAT ADVICE!!! do it once and be done with it! i won't say my set up is unpenatrable as that would be invoking the universe to show me a thing or two...but i have had no issues after i redid my coop and my whole chicken free range area is very complicated...it would not be an easy dinner...we r however having a run of foxes this year and they have eaten all my neighbors hens (3 or 4) and two from some neighbors also in our "hood". we have bobcats, AND mountain lions tho i have never seen personally, and every other form of predator.....right now the worst is northern fowl mites....