Huge enclosure ideas? I need advice!

[JulieFS]

We are thinking of significantly increasing the size of our duck/goose enclosure to completely enclose a large swampy area and part of a pond in the back of our property. I know they would just LOVE it! It doesn't look like much more than a field of dead grass, but has a lot of small open water areas and is very swampy. The pond is owned mostly by our neighbors, but we have about 20 feet of it- there's already a fence dividing the pond - but we would probably want to make it taller.

The area is approximately 1/4 of an acre. We normally use 2"x4" mesh welded metal fencing, but are willing to use anything that might help keep costs down. I'm guessing that we will need about 600-750 feet of fencing to do this, not including the top.

Usually we pay $110 for a roll of 100 feet x 6 foot welded metal fencing. I feel that might be a bit too pricey for the size that we'd like to build. What kind of fencing should we use?

We've considered using regular mesh chicken wire, and even thick vinyl netting but I'm not sure how safe that would be to protect against predators (which we have NEVER had a problem with so far) As for the top, I was considering running a "grid" pattern of clothes-line-quality rope...and then possibly putting that thin deer netting on top of it... I'm not sure if that would be secure enough, though. We get a lot of snow in winter and I don't know if it would weigh it down too much.

Does anyone have a website where I can see what they have for large quantity fencing?

I’ve included some pictures below. I’ve highlighted the proposed fenced area with a pink line.

Any suggestions???

 

[Chemguy]

Whoa! That will be one great run. I hope that others can advise on the materials. My question is: How are you going to set posts?

 

[JulieFS]

Whoa! That will be one great run. I hope that others can advise on the materials. My question is: How are you going to set posts?

We are thinking of using steel fence posts...hopefully. That's what the neighbors used in the short fence that goes through the middle of the pond and it works pretty well. This "pond" is more like a 3 foot deep mud puddle, so if we used 6 foot fence posts in the REALLY wet spots, we would have to figure out how to attach wooden posts to the tops of them to increase the height... I have great IDEAS it's just putting them into action that's the scary part!

Really hope this works.

 

[junglebird]

We're in a high predation zone and have had our flock behind 2 kinds of fencing with no loss of any birds (knock on wood).

1. 8' tall black plastic deer fence with 2 strands of electric
2. 4' tall electric netting from Premier (pricey, but durable and easy to move)

When we have juveniles running around, to protect against hawk attack we use the really lightweight black plastic netting to keep birds out of trees. It's so lightweight I can just stand tall pieces of bamboo up here and there to prop it up, kind of like a circus tent - no need for lateral supports.

 

[jerryb]

You should be able to get 8 foot posts at the TSC so no need to extend the fence posts. If you are going to cover over it then no need to go 6 foot high fence in the first place IMO.

so consider the following: 4 foot 2x4 fence all around then cover with a netting by using 10 (12, 14?) foot 4x4 posts set in the ground to give you a circus tent type arrangement of a height that makes you happy. one source for this type of netting is: http://www.memphisnet.net/category/netting

If you keep your current enclosure for the little ducks then maybe you do not need to cover the whole thing for the adults?

 

[JulieFS]

Thanks for the Circus Tent idea!!! I never thought of that! I think that will be the easiest AND least expensive option for us!

GREAT ADVICE!!!

 

[jerryb]

Thanks for the Circus Tent idea!!! I never thought of that! I think that will be the easiest AND least expensive option for us!

GREAT ADVICE!!!

I hope it works out for you, I saw this type of deal at a place about 20 miles from here that raises tons of ducks, like thousands. It is also used at game farms for pheasants and quail.

cheers
jerry

 

[dmclalin]

Check this BYC page in Large coops section.https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/ddrlonghornss-chicken-coop

 

[FarmGirl01]

We fenced in about an acre with woven wire and wood corner post with T post every few feet. The cost was not to bad. We also added 2 strands of barbed wire to make the height taller. When we build fences we are always thinking about what we want to keep OUT. The small runs are built with the same materials only there is netting over the top to keep out the hawks and keep the small birds from flying out.
I don't like the welded wire because the weld will break if stretched tight.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Don't you think they may want to be able to at least walk inside it without bending over?