Question about coop fence size?

[funonahonda]

I have some fence that someone gave me, almost a whole roll of 4' tall but the holes are 4"x2" and I'm wondering if that 2x4 hole is to big for the run, we will only have the chickens out during the day and not at night so that might help. Could someone please give your input, Thanks alot.

 

[ChickenWing]

I use that type of fence on my run, but not by itself. My fence in actually 5ft tall, but the same hole size. I also use 2 foot wide hardware cloth at the bottom to keep chicks from going out, or preditors from reaching in. I bury 12 inches of the hardware cloth into the ground, and have 12 inches sticking up along the bottom of the larger fence.

 

[Cassandra]

I think that is going to depend on what kind of predators you have. If you have something small like weasels, they can get through holes that big.

The wire on my chicken run is the size you are talking about. The only predator that I have had to worry about so far is dogs. If I begin to have a small predator problem, I will rethink my situation.

The wire keeps the chickens contained just fine, but four feet tall will not keep them from flying out. My run has wire on the top, too.

In a couple of months, I'm going to be moving some younger pullets into the run. Before I do that, I'm going to take the same 2"x4" weld wire and put another layer around the bottom for about two feet. But stagger it, so it makes smaller holes around the bottom.

I probably would not recommend that someone go out and buy 2"x4" weld wire to make a chicken run. Chicken wire and hardware cloth are the best. But I had almost $100 worth of this wire on hand and I wasn't about to go out and buy something more when this perfectly good stuff was right there.

So evaluate the size of your chickens and the size of your boogers and it will help you decide what to do.

Cassandra

 

[funonahonda]

thanks for the input I will go out and just buy enough weld wire for the bottom, which will cut cost only have to buy alittle for the very bottom.

 

[youthpastor]

Quote:
Your supposed to evaluate the size of your boogers!!??

 

[Cassandra]

Quote:
Your supposed to evaluate the size of your boogers!!??

Didn't you know? Booger is the scientific name for "Rodents of Unusual Size."

LOL When I was a kid, my uncles would always try to scare me with "boogers" to keep me from going places they didn't want me to go. You never had a booger after you? A booger is any mysterious monster that is always behind you!

(Don't turn around)

Cassandra

 

[youthpastor]

LOL No, I've heard of the boogie man, and rodents of unusual size, but boogers is what you pick out of your nose! I know that can be pretty scary too.

 

[Beekissed]

I have 4 ft. fencing and the chickens never fly out. I have heavy breeds who have one wing clipped and I never lose a bird. I have read on here several times of folks who have chickens who fly out of the run....are these just light weight birds or show birds that can't have the wings clipped for cosmetic reasons? That has always puzzled me. We have always clipped one wing and have never had this problem.

 

[zippychickens]

OMG! I am laughing so hard I have tears! I had to close the office door so I wouldn't wake up the kids.
I knew what you meant by boogers, because we call it Boogie men, but when you said go check your boogers.... Oh boy, thanks for the laugh.

 

[Cassandra]

Quote:
Boogie men! Isn't that like The Bee Gees or John Travolta? (Daaaaaaaaaaaaance fevah)


How old am I, GEEZE!


Beekissed: I know what you are talking about with the wings. It is called something like pinioning? I tried that with mine once and it didn't work. Which I know just means I didn't do it right. LOL But if funonahonda is going to depend on that to keep his chickens from flying, he needs to know that it will have to be done periodically. The feathers do grow back. If he only has a few birds, this might be doable for him. But with twenty or more, it would be too much trouble to do it as often as it needed, in my opinion.

Cassandra