Is 2x4" welded wire okay for a run?

[naturemom]

Dh and I just built the doghouse coop that was featured in Mother Earth News recently. I read on here that people weren't happy with it, but I decided to go ahead and give it a try anyway because I could build it quickly and then have time to make something more substantial later. It turned out well, very sturdy and easy to move, but I'm wondering if I should be putting hardware cloth or something on the outside. The plans say to use 1x2" welded wire for the sides and 2x4" for the top and bottom. (We tried leaving the bottom off, but it was too wobbly without.) After tons of phone calls and internet searches, I am beginning to doubt the existence of 1x2" welded wire, so we made the whole thing with 2x4". Is that going to be enough to keep predators out? They will be shut in the doghouse at night.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Hardware cloth or some heavy gauge chicken wire should do the job.

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, if you use that, I would then put chicken wire over it for safety.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If you don't mind putting 1/2" hardware cloth over it, that would keep them a lot safer. Chickens tend to sleep against the wire and stick their heads through wire. It's a chicken thing. Sometimes, they get killed that way. It would also be really easy for a weasel to get through 2"x 4" wire. Even putting chicken wire over the top of the wire you have now, would be an improvement.

 

[Southern28Chick]

You should put something over the 2x4 inch wire. Snakes can get in through that.

 

[MTchick]

A photo would help.

We have a run of entirely 2x4 and have no issues so far. The potential problems would be that practically anything small (snakes and weasels) can walk right through the 2x4. Also, anything big (dogs and raccoons) can bite and grab through 2x4 if a chicken gets near the perimeter. So if the chickens could be accessed during the night through the 2x4, then it is a bad call for safety reasons. If they are only in the 2x4 protected area during the day, and dogs can't get near them, then you should be fine.

Hope that makes sense.

-MTchick

 

[naturemom]

It's only for daytime. They'll be shut in at night. I'll post a pic soon. I haven't taken one yet, and the coop is at the house we're moving to in a few weeks.

 

[dangerouschicken]

I'm one of the people here that built the Mother Earth News doghouse coop with run. I used 1/2" hardware cloth (from Home Depot) that came in 3'x10' rolls to make a 3'x9' run (bent ends over to make sturdy) with doghouse coop inside. We have all kinds of predators out here (Eastern Cascades, Oregon) and didn't want any risk taking, so only the bottom has 2"x4" wire. I had some problems with keeping it sturdy, so used rebar to reinforce the sides of the run. That worked great. I can post a pic later to give you an idea.