I know, I know, I am hard headed.....Chicken wire question

[Chicksdigit]

I have read over and over that Raccoons can and will go through Chicken wire....I also see many pictures of peoples coops and runs are covered and fenced with 1"x1" poultry netting.
My question is: has anyone on here ever had a raccoon go through chicken wire ? I am sure a lot of folks are quoting someone else and I just wonder how many true occurances of Raccoons going through chicken wire there are.
There is a reason for this question ........years ago when there was no Backyard Chickens Forum I had 52 Chickens in a Coop and run covered by chicken wire it was too small by BYC standards and I lived in a heavily forested area where there were lots of Raccoons , I had no apron and no wire buried the chicken wire was stapled to a board that went around the bottom of the coop.
It was covered on top with Chicken wire as well but the pop door was never closed and I never had a racoon break in for the 3 years I had chickens. I appreciate your response to my informal
poll.

 

[Katy]

Yes, I've had coons go thru chicken wire and also dogs.....not recently, but I have had it happen in the past.

 

[Big C]

Have not had a racoon go thru my wire yet,
but;
1. we have a high joul wire charger at 4 and 8 inches and 2 inches above the wire on the outside. Wire is 7 ft tall
2. traps set each night
3. 6 ft 60% shade cloth against the wire (around the perimeter) so no predator can see what is inside
4. Wire is 1 ft in the ground at a 45 degree outward angle and 2 layers thick

In the last few weeks I've trapped 3 coons trying to get in and dispatched them with my 12 gauge

 

[Chicksdigit]

Quote:
Thank you Katy, that is what I was asking, I have had dogs go through it as well. (Rabbit cages)

 

[waynesgarden]

Around these parts, the chicken wire would have to be replaced with hardware cloth. It may be completely secure for your area if hawks and owls are the only concern, but not in areas with raccoons or fishers that will rip holes through it.

I've seen this happen in a previous coop of mine. Raccoons were the culprits. I've also had them break the welds of light gauge welded wire to escape from a home-made trap.

Wayne

[Edited to remove ling to photo, gone from the thread. It showed a hole the size of a plump raccoon in a run that was a poultry murder scene.]

 

[Judy]

My chicken yard is fenced with what looks like standard chicken wire, if you saw it in a photo. However, it is some heavy duty stuff, and galvanized. I want to say it is 18g or 19g but I don't really know what I'm talking about with wire gauges, and not sure I am remembering this correctly.

Sometimes when I see pics of chicken wire, and it does not look flimsy, is not at all out of shape, I wonder if they have what I have.

I also wonder whether chicken wire in years gone by was as flimsy as the cheap stuff I use to keep chickens out of the garden, which cost about $40 for a 150' roll, 6' tall.

 

[waynesgarden]

I believe that if chicken wire is installed properly, that is with the right amount of tension, (something we mere mortals almost never can do,) the material would offer a lot more protection than we give it credit for. I've never been able to master the art of stringing chicken-wire to piano wire tautness so I don't risk my critters with it.

Wayne

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

We had a raccoon go thrugh our original coop and run that was made with chicken wire. When we first started DH din't know anything about building a coop and run, Went to the feed store and they sold him the chicken wire. In all fairness it did last that first year but in the spring when the predators have their young we got hit. We lost almost all our chickens. Out of 12 we had three survive. Our rooster did his best to defend them but he was injured. It took months before our rooster could hold his head up. I had to hand feed him, but he survived. The first thing DH di was go buy a metal shed from Homedepot. He layed down a suported wooden floor and reinforced the shed. He dug dow 2 feet with 1 x3 welded wire for the run and installed a pop door. We have had several animals try to dig there way into this coop as well but they give up when they can't get under. We still use chicken wire but not to keep predators out. We used it to separate our larger run into three separate runs but the perimeter is still welded wire.

 

[kathyinmo]

I just read a post (yesterday) under the "predators," catagory where a coon chewed through 2 layers of chicken wire and did succeed in getting the chickens.

 

[Chicksdigit]

Thanks everyone this is the kind of first party info I was looking for. Now I know what I have to do.