Is 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth really necessary?

[Over Easy in Adna]

My run is 16 x 40. If the chicken is standing within reach of the racoon, oh well.

 

[Jx2inNC]

The only reason I intend on running hardware cloth is snakes, for the most part, in respect to eggs and biddies.
In all honestly, I have several cats, as do the neighbors, along with a number of dogs around.
I can see the coop from the house, albeit a little ways away, but the chickens are good at alarming you.

As far as the bigger land predators, I think a bottom layer of stronger wire and buried fencing, rocks, or an apron would generally be suffice. The rest, in my mind, is for the hawks and snakes.

You just need to decide if you are trying to protect your chickens like you would your children or if you are trying to protect them like....a chicken. I assure you, if chickens couldn't survive without being protected like the Pope, they wouldn't have made it to the year 2010. Free range chickens are great example of how they can manage quite well.

What predators are you aware of in your area?
This is one of the biggest things to focus on, as many of us may have different needs when it comes to coop/run setups.

 

[Dogfish]

Many folks have posted their horror stories of where they lost a bird to predator due to poor security, yet they did nothing about it, then they lost more, and more, and more.

Seldom will you ever hear of someone complaining that they over built their coop. Almost to a "T", every predator issue on the predator section is due to a lack of care on coop security, or inattention towards free-ranged birds because they wanted their chickens to be happy.

Now if a bear or a person is involved, nothing short of razor wire and a guard tower would stop them, but by going cheap by $50-100, you stand to lose an investment in your birds. If these birds are also your pets, there is an emotional cost as well.

Build it as securely as you can, then have someone else come over and test it for weak spots.

 

[elmo]

Chickens have made it to the year 2010 not because they are able to elude predators so well, but because they are able to reproduce more quickly than predators are able to kill and eat them. Additionally, many of the chicken breeds that we humans have developed have characteristics that make them "sitting ducks" for predators: they're large, heavy birds that can't fly much if at all.

Different people have different approaches and risk tolerances for their flock, and that's fine, of course.

 

[columbiacritter]

I have 1/2" hardware cloth buried 1 ft down and 2 ft up around my runs with the top 5 feet being chicken wire. I also have around the coops and under the floor of the coops hardware cloth sheathed. I have found several times where critters have tried to dig down under the fence to get into the run and once found a raccoon who'd tunneled under the coop tryitno get up through the floor. He's gone to raccoon heaven, bacuae he charged out of his tunnel and went after my dog.

I have light weight plastic bird net over the run itself since it's far to wide for anything heavier to be reasonable. Several times hawks have hit the net and wripped holes in it. One of them very grumpily was sitting in the run unable to escape when I got home. I took down more net and she flew off. I wouldn't hurt a bird of prey just following instinct.

So far after 4 yrs my only losses were of eggs, and padlocks on the coop took care of that. People are the worst.

 

[Dogfish]

You are correct Elmo, that people have different risk tolerances.

Think of it another way. What is the value of 9-10 egg laying hens? What is the cost of 25-50 feet of hardware cloth? One is a revenue stream over time, the other is a one time cost.

Overbuild your coop.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
And for other people, like myself, chickens do not represent a revenue stream at all, they are pets. All of our chickens have names and we love them just like we love the elderly Boston terrier who has slept at the foot of our bed for 12 years now. My father (who was raised on a farm in Vermont) teases me about how we treat our chickens. He's joked that before long we'll be putting up a roost at the foot of our bed for our chickens to sleep there, too!

I won't go quite that far, but I did put our chickens in kennels in the garage last winter on freezing nights, and made my husband park his car outside. Even I have limits!

 

[merryberry]

One thing I considered when planning my coop design is that I didn't want to ever have to rebuild part of my coop/run because some animal came along and tore it up. That kind of thing would just tick me off, aside from the cost of any lost animals.

And the money I would have saved in the beginning is then diminished by the time & money spent on repairs. So we've got the whole thing wrapped in 1/2 inch hardware cloth.

 

[calista]

I agree with a "risk tolerance" assessment for your investment in your birds. Only you can judge whether the extra expense is worth it for your peace of mind.

I'm of the opinion that you can pay NOW, or you can pay LATER -- one way or another.

 

[Lumenos]

Quote:
I'm in a fairly affluent suburb, very close to wilderness with about a 5 foot fence at the lowest point. Animals that have been in the back just for my compost/middens/garden or to catch animals feeding off it, have been raccoons, coyotes and skunks. I suspect an owl is what killed a full grown rabbit I had, but I only saw the bushes move when I came out. I believe owls are what I am hearing at all hours of the day here.

Years ago I found two California king snakes on streets near here. Wikipedia doesn't mention them eating eggs. I would think a muscovy hen could/would protect the ducklings from a king snake and I don't plan to have many chicks; if I have chickens they will be for eggs only. Once there was a baby rattlesnake in the front. A rattlesnake might be a problem if there are ducklings. It's difficult to imagine a rattlesnake attacking a full-grown chicken and again no mention of them eating eggs.

My chickens were making an unusual sound today, I looked outside and there was a squirrel (a California ground squirrel, I think) poking around the temporary pen and eating a scrap the chickens tossed out. I've never seen one of those in the backyard before. He went through the 2 x 3 wire and I pushed open the screen window. I tried talking sweet to him but he ran away.

Have these ever been known to attack chicks or larger birds? (I have young chickens now.)