is chicken wire ok to use?

[backyardchickenfarmer]

hello, i just got done making my chicken run and i went to lowes and the 1/2 inch harware wire is outragious!!!! 53 bucks for a 4 foot by 25 foot roll! so i got chicken wire, i have 1/2 inch hardware wire at my house but not enough to do the whole thing. so i put the chicken wire on and now ive read that raccoons can rip through chicken wire! so i was wondering if i put the hardware wire around the bottom that would keep things out. so can i do it?Thanks

 

[rooster-red]

Chicken wire was made to keep chickens in, it won't keep predators out.

 

[BrackenFarms]

most use chicken wire ... then go back and use 1/2 in hardware wire to make a 2 ft tall band around the bottom

 

[gckiddhouse]

I will second what rooster-red said. If you want to KEEP chickens, you will have to pay for the stuff that will keep the predators out. We use chain link with 1/2 inch mesh over the bottom 2 feet to keep mice, rats, and snakes out. Coyotes dig under. Many folks have told me that they lost their whole flock in one night that way. We have big rocks piled up around the chain link.
Good luck with that flock.

 

[FunnyFarmer]

I think it might depend on where you live. In central NC we don't have a serious predator problem--I have plain old chicken wire on my run and have never had a problem. (Well, there was the dog, but it was my dog and she went to live with my MIL.) My coop & run is also near the house and the donkeys are between the run & the woods. If you lived way out in the boonies with lots of predators I could see where it wouldn't be enough.

 

[patandchickens]

The problem with using hardwarecloth to reinforce a *chickenwire* fence, as opposed to any other fence material, is that you're basically just beefing up the bottom 2' of something that a predator can reach up a little higher and get right through. (Unless you are one of the fortunate souls who has found a heavier gauge chickenwire. But probably not. And even if you *have*, it is still not as strong as something like 2x4 welded wire in a decent gauge).

Is it too late to return the hardwarecloth *and* chickenwire? If not, you might consider doing 2x4 welded wire (in a decently heavy gauge, as it usually is when bought for animal fencing) for your main fence material, and then back it up with 1/2" or even just regular 1" chickenwire on the bottom 2-3'. The chickenwire prevents reaching through, and the 2x4 main fence keeps the chickenwire from getting ripped open.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[backyardchickenfarmer]

i got it guys thanks for all the help, i found some hardware cloth in my shed and it was just enough to do the front of the run. the back of it is chicken wire but its up against a fence so i dont think anything is going to get through it. then on the top i put 3 layers of chicken wire on it lol. so i dont think anything is getting through there either and the side is ply-wood. so i think im secure anyother info. is great also

 

[sandypaws]

chicken wire might be OK.. WITH a few strands of hotwire on it...
but the wire alone is a bad idea..
one of my runs is chain link on the bottom. 4 feet,,, 2 feet of chicken wire WITH hotwire..