Keeping predators out

1/2 x 1/2 or 1 x 1 hardware cloth seems to be the best. Chainlink is good too except that paws & claws can reach through it. Chicken wire is great for keeping chickens IN but critters like coons just laugh at it

 

Quote: That totally depends on the predators you're concerned with.
2 X 4 Welded Wire will keep most things out pretty well

 

All my pens are 2x4" opening welded wire fencing. I'm on sloping ground so sometimes, I have to double layer it since it doesn't flex for slopes well. Some places, it's 5' high and some, it's about 7' high at a double layer site. Then, I wrap the bottom with hardware cloth folded outward for a dig barrier. Some pens have big rocks surrounding the edges sitting on those dig barriers. I cannot bury the wire since I am on a mountain with too much stone and root interference.

Mine are all inside at dusk locked up tight so only the bantam coop has a cover on it to keep the little rascals from flying out.