The Truth about Chicken Wire / Hex Netting...

[hokankai]

I would MAYBE consider using chicken wire if I double layered it so that the hexes overlapped a bit, making them smaller openings.

 

[Rivers]

I had already bought the simple 1" chicken wire and am eager to finish the coop, so I just used it doubled up. I dont even know where to buy stronger weld mesh from locally. I'll just see how it goes, if I get an attack ill change it for something stronger.

Im eventually planning to change the hole in the door into a window anyway, and having seperate venting near the top of the coop. So It should be more fox proof then.

 

[gavinandallison]

I have 3 layers around the base of my run, the initial chain link, chicken wire, then the green plastic on top of that. We have use "spare" chain link panels on part of the roof, with the closest part to the house being chicken wire with a tarp over that to give more protection from the elements.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I bought a spare coop off craigslist to use for growing out babies before they can be integrated into the flock. It has a vent opening that was covered in chicken wire. I couldn't figure out how to swap it out with hardware cloth as the coop is quite small and I'd have to crawl in it, laying on my stomach to try and work on it.

Everything was dandy for about a year, and this was the result. We are assuming it was a raccoon that did this. It pulled a fully grown 18 week old Orpington pullet through this opening. All that was left was a pile of feathers and one foot.

This opening is now screwed shut.

So in my opinion, chicken wire isn't good enough. My coops have hardware cloth on all openings nailed with threaded nails so it can't be pushed in. Here it is showing the vent openings on my new coop. (also will keep rodents out)

 

[Terri O]

Quote:
The only thing I can think of to beef this up a bit better would be to screw in 1x2 boards around the opening inside to make sure the wire wont be pushed IN. Terri O

 

[danielo24]

I agree with Terri about the wire mesh.

 

[ButchGood]

Carnage is right! A friend of mine had a raccoon that actually ate a chicken (while it was alive) a bite at a time through ONE ONE-INCH OPENING. It had to have taken at least an hour, but all that the racoon left was the feathers; that's it, just the feathers. There was no damage done to the chicken wire whatsoever, not even the one, one-inch hole in the wire.
Other than keeping the chickens in, chicken wire is worthless. When I build my run (hopefully, next week), I'm going with 1/4- and 1/2-inch hardware cloth on the inside of the fence and 2x4 (or smaller) farm fencing on the outside.

A Raccoon ate a full grown chicken through a one inch hole? It had to have been a chick or a very young bird. We have always used heavy guage 1"x2" livestock fencing. I bury a foot of it 4" deep to prevent digging in. We had tons of Racoons around. I even had one as a pet. We never lost a chicken through the fence in the 10 years we raised chickens in Pennsylvania. We did loose some while the chickens were free ranging. The size of the holes on chicken wire is not what concerns me. its the guage of the wire. A hungry animal could tear it apart. The only thing I use it for is the top of my run for hawk protection. I would see cats on the top edge every now and then, but I dont think they would want any peice of an 8 pound bird. In fact I pity just about any living thing that tries to cross the run. I live in Texas now and I built my run the same way as my father did in Pa. The only thing Im a little worried about is a possible Weasle getting past the cats, then the dogs, then through the wire, up the ramp and into the coop to suck eggs. But in the 20 years ive lived in texas I have never seen a weasle, but I know they are out there.

 

[michiele]

So, what size mesh should we use for the hardware cloth? Is 1/2" ok or do we need to go down to 1/4"?

 

[greatdanechick]

This is all very helpful! Im just starting with my chicken homework and probably wont have any for at least a year or too. I'm totally saving this one for when I'm ready to build! Now I can just save a little more $ up for the good stuff!!

 

[greatdanechick]

*two* stupid iPhone lol