Painting hardware cloth?

[eggspletive!]

I have read that painting the hardware cloth a dark color will allow you to see your chickens a lot better--but how in the world do you do this? If I do it after the hardware cloth is wrapped around the coop, then the paint will get on the wood. But doing it before it's installed sounds impossible, and anyway wouldn't the paint come off with all the bending during installation?

Brilliant solutions welcome!

 

[SproutGirl]

Spray paint would probably be best. But, I'm confused; how would painting hardware cloth allow you to see your chickens better?

 

[mtnhomechick]

Never heard of this

 

[StacyK]

A darker color makes the wire blend into the background more so your eye doesn't "see" it as much as the silver color of the natural wire. I have green coated field fencing around our main yard (not the chicken run) and it really does make a nicer view.

Before we put the roof panels over our run I had the black colored bird netting & a couple times I actually walked out there to make sure it was still in place since I couldn't see it!

Sorry...I don't have a brilliant solution for painting the wire, besides a LOT of masking off if you do it after construction. I am about THE messiest painter in the world,

 

[poltroon]

If you look through a black screen versus a light colored screen, it's easier to see/the screen disappears more. But, painting hardware cloth is kind of a PITA and there'd be a lot of waste in terms of paint going other places. My strategy is to make the chicken run large enough so they don't really need to see out.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

You dont see objects. You see the light reflecting of of objects. Silver wire reflects a lot of light. Its like trying to see out the window at night with the lights on. But if you turn the light off you can see fine. Your eyes are blinded by the light of the silver screen an cant decipher the light behind it. When you paint the wire black it reflects almost no light an you only see the light from behind it.

Use a roller.......

 

[elmo]

I'd imagine it would be a lot of work, but I've heard of people doing this for smaller cages (say, for finches).

I used black vinyl coated hardware cloth. It looks better, and the vinyl coating helps the wire to last even longer.

 

[allison finch]

Use a roller.

 

[SimplyForties]

Quote:
Exactly! Build your coop and then just roll over the wire. You would certainly get paint on the wood but you don't need to paint that because you can't see through the wood anyway. You just roll up to the wood.

It really does work as far as allowing you to see your chickens more clearly and it's not hard.

 

[insiderart]

I do this, I just use a cheap brush. No biggie. Really does make a huge difference.