Poky ends on chicken wire

[Annichka]

I'm building our coop against a wall in our garage, which is pretty secure so I'm really not worried about predators. We also live in the PNW, so no snakes here to speak of. For the front doors of the coop, I built two reinforced frames of about 2.5x4', and stapled chicken wire to them. The only problem is, I've never used chicken wire for anything but gardening before, and of course when I cut it the ends become sharp. I cut myself nicely on one tonight. So the question is, how can I finish them so that they won't be a danger to the girls? The chickenwire is, of course, on the inside of the frames, right where they will be, and one frame is already hinged to the coop and fitted with its latch, so there's not really any clearance to tack lath over the ends or anything (which would be my first response, I think).

 

[jessica117]

I don't know if it'll work in your situation, but I usually bend the ends back on themselves so they aren't sticking straight out. There is still the potential to get hurt on them but it isn't nearly as bad. The other option would be to take duct tape and basically fold it in half all along the edges, sticking it together in between each hole. It won't hold up forever, but should last at least a year or so, but it'll look pretty redneck.

Jess

 

[d.k]

*Hmmm, good question. You are using poultry wire, not hardware cloth, right?? What size?? 1" or 2"??

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Are you sure you don't have any raccoons in your area and that no dogs can get in your yard? My run isn't as secure as it could be, but it's fine for during the day. We have perimeter fencing and a big protective dog. On coop openings that have to stand up to night time predators here, I need to have hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Maybe you are fine there, I just wanted to mention this, in case it could be a problem for you.

Edited to add:
Never mind! I thought you wrote, "against a wall of our garage" not "against a wall in our garage." I thought it was being built on the outside. Sorry! I am half blind, but I usually do better than that.

 

[Beekissed]

We just bend ours under but if you want to get fancy you can use wood stripping to cover edges!

 

[Annichka]

Thanks. The coop is inside the garage, so I can't imagine any predators getting in there. The chicken wire is 1", so even if they did, it seems like it would be pretty secure. I will bend the ends back on themselves - maybe I can even wrap them around. Painstaking, but better than cuts on my chickies. I would love to put a piece of wood lath over them but I don't think I have enough clearance between the door and the coop wall.

 

[LynneP]

Needle-nose pliers help and there is a device called a wire-crimper that hardware stores carry, just snip off the sharp ends and catch in a bucket.

 

[dixygirl]

I really don't think the chickens will cut themselves on the corners of chicken wire espcecially if it is twisted on itself. It is really soft wire so you can do it with your fingers in a few minutes.... just don't touch the point.