need run / mesh suggestions help.

[affacat]

We're building our first coop/run, and we need some suggestions.

We have a secure coop, and the run will be approximately 12'x40'.

Here's the exact scenario:

one 40' long wall is our house (which was built in the late 70's and never painted with lead paint, so we don't have to worry about chickens eating lead paint chips).
the other 40' long wall of the coop is a 6' tall wooden fence.
one 12' long wall is that same 6 foot wooden fence.
the other 12' long wall is to be built by us, including a gate, with mesh of some sort.

(to visualize this, we basically have a small 'yard' on one side of our house that is perfect for our run. it's already fenced in on 2 sides, and one side is our house.)

Here's the question -- we have hawks and raccoons, and would like to keep both out of the run. The coop is secure, so we're not totally concerned about raccoons at night, but all the same, we don't want them wrecking the run roof every night either.

Our plan is to connect -something- from our house to the fence. We will likely need to build some framework to prevent sag/add structure.

Any ideas on what we should use for the roof? How we should do this? It would need to be something that allows daylight and rain through - not a solid surface by any means. We were looking at a heavy-knotted aviary mesh for this purpose, but aren't sure how it will withstand raccoons and/or neighborhood cats jumping on top of it. Finally, our last criteria is that it doesn't break the bank.

Thoughts? Experience? Things we should Avoid At All Costs?

 

[Tenmore]

Hello I have a few Ideas for you.. you will deffinatly neeed to build some supporting structure no matter what you use. the heavier the roof material the stronger the support it will need. I would stay away from chicken wire wont stop a persistant coon. and the hard ware cloth will get pretty pricey to cover 12x40. I would look on your local online classifieds for used chainlink fence and you can piece it together to cover your run its strong and not much can get through it. A i have seen 50 to 100 ft rolls for fairley cheap Just an idea. Another thing to consider is securing the bottom of that wood fence I seen dogs and skunks dig right under them and Im sure raccoons will do the same. Hop ethis help good luck.

 

[affacat]

would using some sort of aviary netting be a bad idea?

 

[fireguy56]

Ditto on the chain link. Very tough and durable. Home Depot has a roll of 6' x 50' for around 85.00. Also, check Craigs List as one other reply suggested. I bought 6' x 10' construction fence sections complete with framework like yu see around jobsites for 10.00 each. I used them for the sides of my 540 sq. ft. run in between 4" x 4" posts and am in the process of framing the "roof" of my run using treated 2"x 4" for rafters and rolls of chain link for netting. That was scored from a construction site in town tearing down after project completed. They just wanted to get rid of it.
So, for what you are doing, already having three walls to work from. Your end wall and roof would be easy to do with chain link fencing as far as I see it. And last a long, long time and provide peace of mind. Hope this helps.
Erik

 

[dianaross77]

You could also use welded wire livestock fencing. It's a lot cheaper than hardware cloth.

 

[affacat]

I'm starting to get sold on chainlink, though... I still haven't heard any arguments against aviary netting.

This is specifically what I'm talking about:
http://bfproducts.com/2-knotted-heavy-mesh/25x50-knotted-netting-2-heavy-mesh/

The original plan was to fasten this across the area, with support as needed.

PROS:
-$55 is extremely reasonable, and price is definitely a concern.
-Will certainly keep hawks out.
-Relatively light weight, so support structure will also likely be low in cost. (basically, just need to run some supports from house to fence, I'd think).
-the coop itself is very secure.

POSSIBLE CONS:
-We are worried that if a cat or raccoon jumps on the netting, it'd just tear from a wall. We do NOT know this to be the case, it's just a concern (anyone know?). We could do something like wraps the ends around a board a couple times to reduce this possibility somewhat (less direct pressure on staples).
- Even though the coop is secure, a racoon might rip part of this down trying to get to the coop at night. It would stink to have to rebuild.

If this IS an option, I'd love suggestions on how to mount it. I'm concerned it would rip too easily if we simply stapled it -- staples provide a 'cutting edge' when weight is placed on netting.

To be clear, I'm not against the chain link in principle. But I'm wondering if anyone has any reasons the above would NOT work, because, all things considered, we'd prefer this over chain link if it's an option. Chain link, to get enough of it, would require a sizeable investment not just in the chainlink, but also in support structure to hold the weight across the 12 feet. We could definitely eventually find stuff on Craigslist, but that's obviously a waiting game.

 

[dianaross77]

Aviary/Deer netting will keep the chickens in and any other birds out but it could tear under enough weight and racoons could just tear through it rather easily.

 

[affacat]

ok. darn. i figured as much. and they'd probably be goofy enough to tear through it just to get to the coop, which they can't otherwise get to.... nor get it, anyway.

 

[Java_chicken_man]

I dont see why it wouldnt work thats what pheasent farms use to contain their birds.

 

[dianaross77]

You could use bird netting if you ran a hot wire around the run. Nothing would be able to climb to the top to break the netting.