Stretching wire over duck run ceiling

[TheSnowyOwl]

I'm laying out the area to put my duck coop. Tentatively I'm planning a 12 ft x 4 ft coop inside a 15x20 enclosed run. The enclosure would be 4x4 posts with hardware cloth as a fence. The roof is an issue. I was thinking of using a 16 ft 2x4 running on the tops of the 4x4s and stretching hardware cloth or chicken fencing over that. Has anyone done something like this? Would a 2x4 that long sag too much with nothing in the middle?

 

[aart]

Would a 2x4 that long sag too much with nothing in the middle?

If you can even find a 15' long 2x4, it would still need to be set on edge and supported in the middle.

 

[svh]

Sag would absolutely be a problem within a short time. One solution that might work would be to lay one board on edge on top of the posts, with another flat on top of that, forming a "T". Also mind the crown of the lumber .....

 

[Roosterinthecity]

Even if you have wire stretcher, it is going to sag. It’s best to put some sort of beam supports ever few feet to keep it up.
The sag is just a visual thing. Chicken wire is strong. One little loose wire can hold a lot (chicken wire is a pain to work with). It’s going to hold/stay in place, just depends on how pretty you want it to be.