Is it true some predators can break through chicken wire?

[chicken 86]

Also can some can grab a chicken through goat wire?

 

[saddina]

Yes.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Chicken wire can be easily chewed through by even a slightly motivated predator. And yes, anything with holes big enough to accomodate a raccons paw or snout will allow him, or other predators, to do just exactly that.

Edited to add: If critters can reach through the wire they are going to grab any chicken that gets close enough and shred it into pieces that will fit through the wire. Not a pleasant ending for the chicken.

 

[La Mike]

Yesd and yes goat wire is not a good deterent for predators.

 

[sourland]

Absolutely. Any mammalian predators can chew/rip through chicken wire. Coons, fox and even hawks and owls will reach in through larger mesh wire, grab your birds, and pull them through the wire a piece at a time. Solid pens are a must to guarantee long term safety of your birds.

 

[chicken 86]

Can you put the first few feet up a finer (and stronger) mesh and the rest chicken wire then?

 

[chicken 86]

Would a squirrel chew through chicken wire?

 

[Vivienne]

Have you considered hardware cloth? It isn't cloth, but a welded wire mesh with squares about 1/2 inch. It's sturdier and more durable.

 

[yinepu]

chicken wire is nothing more than dental floss for some predators

 

[msulaimain]

I have two roosters, one is a Dominique and one is a Leghorn. They've been kept together since chicks and I keep them inside a room that I have connected to my garage. A solid wood and four surrounding walls made of wood protect them. I've had a bad experience with chicken wire. Dumb hawks and crows. You gotta watch out for them and owls. I'm lucky that there isn't an owl in my neighberhood, but there was one in my friends and he would watch it every night just sitting on a branch. What I also suggest is to create a solid foundation out of pallets on the grass. And then build your pallet chicken coop like I did on top of that foundation of pallets. Cheap and effective.