poultry fence mesh size

[speckledhen]

Yes, weasels can get through most fencing, however, they seem to be active mostly at night, when hopefully, you have your flock locked inside. I used 2x4" opening welded wire fencing with the bottom 2-3 feet covered with hardware cloth, so dogs cant get their muzzle through the openings to get a grip to pull on the fencing.

 

[fargosmom]

I think a 1-inch space is also large enough for rodents which can also be predators. Our run is 100% 1/2 inch hardware cloth and I'm really happy with it. We were able to score a huge roll of it cheap on craigslist, and our run isn't huge so it wasn't too bad (compared to all the redwood and cedar we bought to build the rest of it

). If you're planning a larger area, the previous post about an inner and outer run seems like it might work and keep cost down.
Good luck - show us some pix when it's done!

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Yes, from what I've read, rodents can squeeze through the tiniest of openings.

I know we have rats on our property (everyone does in our area) but have seen no evidence of them in the pen.

My understanding is that raccoons can pull a chicken right through the larger mesh and apparently it's not pretty...

 

[bigoakhunter]

Do whatever is the best you can reasonablilly afford. I went with 1x2 inch welded wire for run. But put 1/2 inch hardware cloth on my coop windows and vents.

Like many have suggested, you can go bottom 3 ft. with one type then chicken wire up top to save expenses.