Run wall material??

[PippinTheChicken]

 

[sgtruglo]

View attachment 2626422

Thank you Pippin! Cute chickens!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I would avoid the plastic woven cloth. Most predators (probably including foxes) would be able to rip or tear through it. But if you ever need to divide the pen into sections, to keep some chickens apart from others, it could be a fine choice--chickens usually cannot get through it.

Chicken wire (hexagon shaped holes, usually fairly cheap, easy to bend, not very strong) might be a little stronger than the plastic woven cloth, but has the same problems. It will typically contain chickens, but most predators (probably including foxes) can rip it or chew it or bend it enough to get through.

Hardware cloth with 1/2" holes will keep most predators out, and will certainly keep chickens in. Just be sure you attach it firmly enough, because some predators (certainly raccoons or dogs, maybe foxes) can rip it loose if you just use staples to attach it.

Welded wire is usually stronger than hardware cloth, but you need to consider the size of the holes. 2" by 4" holes are common. That size will let baby chicks walk right out, some small predators can walk in, adult chickens can stick their heads out (and get grabbed by a predator), and some predators can reach in to grab chickens. Raccoons are the ones I hear most about, but they are not the only ones that can reach through.

Sometimes a combination works well, as several people suggested. A sturdy material with big holes (welded wire or chain link) often works well for the main material, and then the bottom few feet can be covered with a material that has smaller holes but is less strong. For just containing chickens, 1" holes will keep most of them in, but newly hatched bantam chicks can sometimes walk through that size, and partly grown chickens can stick their heads through 1" openings. Anything smaller will contain chickens of all ages and sizes.


Do remember to provide shade for the chickens as well, so they do not get too hot in the sun.

I use plastic netting, I can't even call it cloth, on the bottom two feet of my graduated woven wire field fence run. It serves exactly one purpose - it keeps my very smallest birds in, and it allows my slightly larger birds the opportunity to run at the fence, jump, then go thru one of the woven wire squares without having to go around.

It has 0 no nil zilch nada value other than as a low wall for my babies. The Coop is much more secure, the whole thing sits inside a larger run (inhabited by ducks, bigger chickens, and goats) which sits inside a 1.5 acre clearing, which sits inside approx 4.5 acres protected by electric fencing (2.2 joules, 5 strands).

I have a moderate sized flock (see sig), I am prepared for, and in fact budget, some loss to predation, primarily aerial.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Thank you Pippin! Cute chickens!

They were very wet when the photo was taken. It was before I used a canvas cover (gazebo cover) to cover the run

 

[Dian0509]

My run is two 10x10 chain link dog kennels added together to make a 10x20 run. I wire tied 1/4x1/4 hardware cloth on the bottom 3 or 4 feet up however wide it was to keep long armed critters from reaching in.

Frankly if I didn't have the dog kennels to use what I would have done was use 2x4 welded wire and still tie the hardware cloth on the bottom.

I will say my coop stays open 24/7 so I built the main run bullet proof. I even covered the top under the tin in chain link. I do have a 20x30 just cheap "chicken wire" uncovered run on the front of my main run I let them out when I'm home. Since I spend 90% of my time in my shop and they are behind my shop I can easily grab my shotgun and take care of things. At night they are locked up in fort knox and have 0 access to the less secure area.

I too, have a chain link run with hardware cloth attached. Was wondering if your roof was on a pitch to allow snow to slide off and how you were able to get that pitch on a dog kennel. I cant figure out how to build up one side and allow fall so roof is not flat. My kennel did not come with a standard kennel roof so gotta come up with something. Appreciate any advice.

 

[neo71665]

Yeah my roof is on a pitch but snow really aint an issue in arkansas. To make the pitch I just Layered some 2x4s on one side to build it up 4 inches. the other side the tin is just on the top pipe of the kennel. Just enough the rain runs off one side. There is a gutter on that side so I can collect the rain into barrels and use that to water the chickens.

Lived here for 41 years and can count on one hand how many times we have had more than 10 inches of snow. Last year we did get 16 inches over 4 days but I just took a wide shop broom and swept it off. I'm no help there, sorry.

 

[Bill752]

Depends on what predators you may be dealing with and what the predator load is.

If you really want to go for overkill, something like hardware cloth over larger opening welded wire or cattle panels or chain link) should do a good job deterring most larger and tinier predators/pests. If dealing with truly powerful predators (such as bears) then electric in addition to that would be something to consider.

We had 3 neighbor dogs dig under our fence to get to our chickens & ducks & the County Sheriff told us to shoot the dogs as long as they were on our property. So I talked to the neighbor telling him that I don't like shooting what I won't eat & recommended electric fence to keep them from climbing over to get out of their fenced in yard. ( I watched them do that) I also recommended that he put some concrete around the inside perimeter to prevent them from digging out as they had done digging into our chicken pasture. It wasn't until I shot one of his dogs that later that day got hit on the highway that our neighbor realized that he had to do something or that dog would probably get killed on way or the other, but with a 5 lane highway out front death was practically guaranteed once that dog ran out of its 9 lives. As for the other 2, they were just followers & quit getting out when it did. We filled in where they had dug under, but being on a pension & my wife working just part-time I went the cheapest route to protect our flocks.

 

[sgtruglo]

Forgot to post an update. No harsh critics please ... my husband and I built this in 2 weekends together. We still have some final things to finish but overall we are happy with it. There is a Door next to the coop so we can get in and out as need be.