Plastic Netting Run?

[CampusChick]

Hello!

A friend is giving us chickens, and I’m looking to build a run for as cheap as possible, and I was wondering if plastic netting is a safe option.
The point of the run will be to keep the chickens from other parts of the yard (berry bushes, garden). We have a big fence and a dog guarding the yard, and I intend to make the coop very secure at night (no plastic there!).
Just wondering if it will keep them in, or will it fall apart in a month?

(Also considering doing the bottom in wire and burying it, then netting above it to make it high enough for me to walk in with less cost… thoughts?)

 

[nuthatched]

It depends what you mean by netting and what predators you have.
I use deer fencing which is a heavy duty netting.

 

[CampusChick]

Possums, probably snakes (although the maintenance crew kills any they find, which irks me), and cats. I’m assuming hawks, too, but I’ve never seen any and two of our neighbors have chickens.

I don’t have netting picked out, I was just noticing that every type I’ve seen has been significantly cheaper that wire fencing, enough that it made me wonder if I could get by with it, haha.

 

[RojoMarz]

The cheap bird netting is cheap. I have used it for "roof" over a run. I'm not very concerned with keeping predator's out (which it likely won't), it's more of a deterrent and to keep the chickens in the run that is only about 3 ft tall. I have to constantly add more zip ties to keep it together. I will say, though, it's being used in a horizontal manner and we have strong winds and lots of snow. Both of which are constantly tearing the bird netting.

 

[chicken1234]

Not sure where you are but I used the plastic netting across the top of our electrified fence years ago but the first snow fall /freezing rain the plastic netting broke all apart.