should I use chickenwire or hardware cloth

[happychickengirls]

We are just about finishing up on our coop and are getting ready to fence in the run. My question is should I use
hardware cloth or chicken wire or a different metal fencing? I have seen people using all different kinds but am curious
what is better??? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[wenlo]

Since our coop is secured at night, I decided to go hardware cloth for the windows of the coop itself. However, I'm hoping since most of our nocturnal predators (raccoons, foxes, opposums) won't be out in the day I can go with the more economical chicken wire for the run itself.

 

[teach1rusl]

Lots of folks use chicken wire, but it will not stand up to many predators. An average sized dog could tear through it if he/she was determined. So could a raccoon, and many others. Since you only have a few chickens, I'm guessing they are somewhat pets? I would use just about any wire heavier than chicken wire. If the wire you use has large openings, then hardware cloth added around the bottom 24 inches or so is important, so your chickens can't stick their heads out (for a predator to grab) and a predator can't reach inside. I used welded wire and hardware cloth on my coop. If you can do the whole coop in hardware cloth, that would be great, but it is $$$$.

 

[Intheswamp]

Are we talking about a self-contained, completely enclosed run/coop combo or do you have a stand-alone coop that will have a separate run surrounding it or attached to it? Most of what I'm calling self-contained coops use hardware cloth to enclose the coop/run area. For the larger runs it seems that most(?) people will use something like 2"x4" welded wire fencing with *maybe* 1/2" hardware cloth along the bottom 2-3' of the main fencing.

Got a picture of your setup?

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[zatsdeb]

we use welded wire, and put chicken wire across the bottom to keep little things in and bad things out, keeping a racoon from reaching through the holes and grabbing. Welded wire, I believe is 2 inches by 4 inches, and it is pretty sturdy and probably cheaper than hardware cloth.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Quote:
Same, but we use hardware cloth in the bottom instead of chicken wire. Raccoons can pull apart chicken wire.

 

[willkatdawson]

We used welded wire also. The same fencing we used to fence in our horses, it's called field fencing and it's really strong. It has 2 inch by 4 inch squares so a racoon could reach through so we ran a apron of heavy duty hardware cloth across the bottom. We also covered the top in the field fencing. I was planning on keeping them in the run because we have 3 large dogs and I wasn't sure how they would be with the chickens. Turns out they're great with the chickens and so they free range all day, but the runs there if I need it.

 

[happychickengirls]

Thanks to all of you by responding so fast. Thanks for all the great advice.