The Truth about Chicken Wire / Hex Netting...

[Ferdinand]

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Her in the UK its cheaper to buy the chicken wire and double it up than by the wire mesh that you guys use. That said for me its all in the design of your coop and your location.

 

[columbiacritter]

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My runs are only netted over. My birds are locked in secure coops at night so the net is just to discourage hawk attacks which it has does very successfully. So far all the coon attempts have been trying to dig in or tear through the gates. Our dogs usually alert us immediately to the coons presence. I've slammed one with a full shovel swing that sent it flying and another one I chunked a cinder block that slammed it's head itnot the wire of the run. Neither was killed but neither ever came back.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

My coop is this:
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/d5/d547b6c1-4636-46b2-ac49-97ca7a3cf32d_300.jpg

With chicken wire in the windows instead of the plexi glass that it came with.
I have seen large (bigger the a house cat!) opossums around here, but they can't get to the chickens, because it is high, the windows have a frame and sections, and the chickens are not close enough to be pulled through, but if they were I would switch it with the tiny hardware cloth.

 

[patandchickens]

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Well in some (common) circumstances it actually makes perfect sense.

The most common daytime fourlegged predator in most areas is the dog (own, neighbor's, or stray). While *some* dogs will jump or climb, *most* will not bother. Thus having a dogproof fence, even if the TOP is not dogproof (be it open to the sky, or netting, or chickenwire), really does have a lot of value. And chickenwire is just not dogproof.

If you have a privacy-fenced yard and are POSITIVE that your kids or neighbors or meter-reader will NEVER leave the door open nor anybody's beagle dig under the fence, then I can understand not sweating the daytime-dogproof thing.

But for most people, it is a significant issue and thus it makes a lot of sense to use something stronger than chickenwire EVEN WITH an open-topped run

JMHO,

Pat

 

[Carrie Lynn]

dangerouschicken,
I worry for your chickens.
Please know they are very vulnerable with a hex wire door.
Any large dog or raccoon would make short work of it to get to your birds.

 

[NonnasBabies]

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So basically what your saying is that a netting is stronger than chicken wire??

 

[Ridgerunner]

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I suspect you have things other than foxes. Members of the weasel family, for example.

I do not have any personal experience with how strong foxes are or what fence will keep them in or out. I can't help you there. There are a couple of things to consider about wire. One obviously is the gauge. The other is construction method. I've seen what a 40 pound dog can do to window screen and light gauge wire. It ripped amd shreaded the window screen (and ate some. We think chickens are dumb!). The light gauge wire was not torn, however, but it was ripped apart. In its fabrication, it was twisted together, not welded or woven. The dog pulled and chewed on it until it had unwoven enough so that a big hole resulted. You might look at the wire you have and decide not only could something break it, but can it dismantle the construction.

There are different strategies with dealing with predators. I used 2" x 4" welded wire for my run with 1" light weight chicken wire around the bottom. That chicken wire is to keep the chickens from sticking their heads out to graze and to keep baby chicks in more than keeping anything out. At night they are safely locked in a coop with every opening covered with hardware cloth.

Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

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So basically what your saying is that a netting is stronger than chicken wire??

Nonononono. I mean, use a FENCE material that is stronger than chickenwire. (2x4, 1x1, chainlink, whatever, with appropriate smaller-mesh stuff on at least the lower portion). You want a dog-rseistant FENCE, even if it is topless (or has a non-dogproof top such as netting or chickenwire).


Pat

 

[redfeather]

I have never had a problem with predators... I still use 1'' hex.

But I also have a 3 tier electric fence surrounding the run, and even better, if the chicken fence is messed with by anything reaching over the hotwire, it will bulge out and bump into the hotwire and electrify the whole thing! xD I got zapped the other day myself because I thought I'd open the door in the run when the fence was on.... Nope... haha, just me opening the door caused it to contact the fence a bit.

Anyway, see photo below....


You can see the white/greenishbyalgea hotwire running around the bottom.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
So basically what your saying is that a netting is stronger than chicken wire??

Nonononono. I mean, use a FENCE material that is stronger than chickenwire. (2x4, 1x1, chainlink, whatever, with appropriate smaller-mesh stuff on at least the lower portion). You want a dog-rseistant FENCE, even if it is topless (or has a non-dogproof top such as netting or chickenwire).


Pat

aaahhhh okay gotcha!!