I posted this some time back:
I use a carabiner in mine. It is attached to the door handle with a long cord and is then also useful for holding the door open by clipping the carabiner to the welded wire on the side of the coop.
I definitely want stronger wire so I guess half inch definitely is best. And oh wow, those weasels seme scary haha don't think we have any here. And oh yeah, that's a good point about the coons. Forgot the chickens are only so tall aha*I* would not use 1/4" hardware cloth. As Deb said, it is a much smaller gauge of wire, therefore less strong. What you are accomplishing with the hardware cloth is keeping predators out. There are no predators that can get through a 1/2" hole. Coons will reach through chicken wire, chain link, 2x4 welded wire fencing etc and snag a bird that is close to the side. That is why the suggestion to have HC the first 2 feet from the ground. Yes coons can climb but the chickens won't be in reach if the coon climb up to where they can reach in. If you have weasels, especially smaller ones (AKA short tailed, stoat, ermine), you want all openings on the coop covered with 1/2" hardware cloth. They can easily get through holes in chicken wire or wire fencing. Here is a picture I found (Wikipedia) of one killing a rabbit. This is how they kill chickens on their roost at night.And don't forget to have a buried skirt (which could be welded wire fence) so that digging predators can't get in under the wall into the run.
Impressive coop. How many Chickens will you have?
Here is ours. It's not finished yet, but we do have chicks inside. We plan on adding a 35 foot run off of the side and they will have access under the coop.
Hens will love the seclusion of the access under the coop but if they ever get comfortable to lay eggs under there you better have a long handle grabber to collect the eggs under there LOL! Love the color of the coop and the multiple windows. A couple of our hens like the "window seat."
Here is ours. It's not finished yet, but we do have chicks inside. We plan on adding a 35 foot run off of the side and they will have access under the coop.
