Huge Chicken Coop

[MrPepers]

50 x 50 will need considerable structure to support the chicken wire... Just like building a house for stucco.

I wont be building such a structure for mine....

I will most likely have posts every 10ft on the perimeter and the interior, and probable 2x4s in various places between the posts to support the wire. Should that be sufficient?

 

[Mylied]

There are wood 2x4s or something like that going across the top to hold the wire up. We didn't use chicken wire, but I imagine it'd be the same concept.

 

[kwhites634]

You must be inexperienced using chicken wire. It will keep predators from skunks to bobcats and dogs out. It is cheaper than hardware cloth, is easier to install, and is more readily available.

Tell ya what ya do. You build a run, any size you want, enclose it with nothing but chicken wire, fill it with your expensive birds (or mutts...doesn't matter), then message me in 6 months to a year & tell me how many of the original flock are still alive.
Do yourself a favor; listen to the voices of experience that have already posted here & recommended welded wire (I prefer 1x2) and/or hardware cloth (my preference being nothing larger then 1/2" mesh...1/4" even better). Sure, both these types of wire are more expensive, by a wide margin, than chicken wire, but how expensive will it be to keep replacing birds 'cause your friendly neighborhood fox or coon or bobcat or dog got hungry? You get pretty much what you pay for in this life; it's up to you what you spend your money on.

 

[perchie.girl]

I will most likely have posts every 10ft on the perimeter and the interior, and probable 2x4s in various places between the posts to support the wire. Should that be sufficient?

I dont know I dont build with chicken wire.... I have mountain lion and bobcat and Coyote and feral dogs. Anything at ground level needs to be at least ten gauge.... Even Chainlink isnt enough in some cases.

deb

 

[MrPepers]

Tell ya what ya do. You build a run, any size you want, enclose it with nothing but chicken wire, fill it with your expensive birds (or mutts...doesn't matter), then message me in 6 months to a year & tell me how many of the original flock are still alive.
Do yourself a favor; listen to the voices of experience that have already posted here & recommended welded wire (I prefer 1x2) and/or hardware cloth (my preference being nothing larger then 1/2" mesh...1/4" even better. Sure, both these types of wire are more expensive, by a wide margin, than chicken wire, but how expensive will it be to keep replacing birds 'cause your friendly neighborhood fox or coon or bobcat or dog got hungry? You get pretty much what you pay for in this life; it's up to you what you spend your money on.

I have had chickens for over 14 years using chicken wire. I have never lost a single bird to predators.

 

[kwhites634]

You just go with that then.

Good luck

Gary

x222222222

 

[Pyxis]

A raccoon can destroy chicken wire easily and kill your chickens

A raccoon doesn't even need to destroy the wire. It just reaches through. The reason the smaller size hardware cloth is recommended for the bottom two feet of enclosures is that raccoons reach through smaller things, and weasels fit right through anything bigger. That is why my runs are all welded wire, which a dog/fox etc can't chew through (unlike chicken wire), except the bottom two feet, which are hardware cloth. The ones that need to be covered will be covered in aviary netting. This design is what I personally would recommend for a large run. I just put one up that is 20' by 40', with posts every ten feet. Something flimsy like chicken wire would need significantly more posts to support it.

My friend watched a fox chew right through her chicken wire. Luckily she was standing there and had a gun handy, or that fox would have taken all her birds.

 

[MrPepers]

I dont know I dont build with chicken wire.... I have mountain lion and bobcat and Coyote and feral dogs. Anything at ground level needs to be at least ten gauge.... Even Chainlink isnt enough in some cases.

deb

I have never had an issue with mountain lions, and it is pretty much impossible to stop them. How ever the chicken wire has stood up to dogs, coyotes, and bobcats.

 

[MrPepers]

A raccoon doesn't even need to destroy the wire. It just reaches through. The reason the smaller size hardware cloth is recommended for the bottom two feet of enclosures is that raccoons reach through smaller things, and weasels fit right through anything bigger. That is why my runs are all welded wire, which a dog/fox etc can't chew through (unlike chicken wire), except the bottom two feet, which are hardware cloth. The ones that need to be covered will be covered in aviary netting. This design is what I personally would recommend for a large run. I just put one up that is 20' by 40', with posts every ten feet. Something flimsy like chicken wire would need significantly more posts to support it.

My friend watched a fox chew right through her chicken wire. Luckily she was standing there and had a gun handy, or that fox would have taken all her birds.

The chickens housing will not be near the perimeter of the fence and I do not fear a raccoon will grab them. As for supporting the wire, all wire needs significant support over the top of a run if you do not wish a predator to break in.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

FWIW, I have used poultry netting on runs(see my coop article for an honest explanation of my choice for my recent build) ...i am not anti poultry netting....i just believe in understanding the risk in doing so and the reality of it's uselessness in repelling predators.