Input needed...

[EggsForIHOP]

From seasoned people!


Construction is underway on the Grand Coop and Run! It isn't that grand, but to me, it's a lot of work!

I was thinking...if I covered the bottom of the run - let's say 3 feet up - with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, and the top half and overhead with actual chicken wire...would that cover all of my predator bases? Or should I not worry all that much and just go with the chicken wire all over?

The plan is for lock down in the coop at dark and only bright daylight hours in the run - and it shall be like fort Knox - and there will be electric fence around the outside...but I just don't know....I don't want to over do it (is that even possible when we talk of chicken safety?) but at the same time I do want them safe and i want to avoid learning the hard way.

I guess the question is this: with the electric fence in place, how necessary would ya'll feel the smaller wire is as opposed to plain old chicken wire? Husband calls it overkill...that's why I ask...

 

[Intheswamp]

I'm not a seasoned person, but have seriously overkilled my research on keeping them.

Some unknowns here...

Size of coop?
Size of run?
Rural or urban?
Known predators?

I would definitely think that you would want 1/2" wire around the bottom of a small run. If the run will be large then you might get away without the 1/2" wire since the chickens will not be as prone to be close to the fences (though they will still try to stick their heads through to get that piece of prime grass). Chicken wire will not stop predators, raccoons and dogs will tear right through it. If you're locking your birds up securely at night then you primarily need to protect the run against daytime predators such as dogs. A good solution would be 2"x4" welded wire...much heavier and can withstand pretty much any dog attack. For a small run I would still run 1/2" wire along the bottom (would end up being a double layer of welded wire and hardware cloth...not simply hw cloth on the bottom and welded wire above it). Also, be sure to have an apron around the perimeter to thwart diggers. Some people use bird netting or chicken wire to cover the top with...this will stop most avian predators but still a coon can tear through it.

Just some thoughts to get you going...

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No.

Your biggest daytime predator (aside from hawks, which is obviously a separate issue) is peoples' loose dogs. Dogs go easily through chickenwire. I would not trust an electric fence to prevent it.

It is really nearly-pointless to put hardwarecloth on a *chickenwire* run fence. It is like using an $80 case-hardened padlock on a loop of baler twine, you know? The chickenwire is the weak link in the system. If you want to beef up something, beef up THAT. Budgetwise, you might consider 2x4 welded wire mesh, with something smaller-mesh along the lower parts. The smaller-mesh stuff would ideally be hardwarecloth but if you are using a STRONG run fence material like 2x4 wire all it is really for is preventing reach-through, so if you cannot afford hardwarecloth there at present it is not really much less security to use something weaker, like 1/2" poultry mesh or 1/2" garden netting or even 1" chickenwire.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat