*****To all you newbies!!!*****

[cluckmecoop7]

Question from the antipodes here.

Can someone explain to me why you call it hardware cloth?? Seems anything like cloth to me.
Bit like how you call petroleum 'gas' and artificial grass turf. Lol.

That's what I thought when I was a newbie!

"WHAT? I'm not using cloth for the pens! All my chickens will be eaten!"

But to be honest, I'm not really sure why it's called that. I know it protects my flock....so I just go with it.

 

[Tre3hugger]

@cluckmecoop7 just out of curiosity how long have you been keeping poultry?

 

[Trisseh]

Anyone who has had any predators get by electric fencing either didn’t have it set up properly or had poor conductivity somewhere. Sorry, but it’s one of the most effective deterrents out there if it’s properly assembled and maintained. I personally don’t have hardware cloth on my coop or run simply because the budget wasn’t there for it, and my coops are close to the house. If my coop was further away or I had more predators coming through I would probably add some to high risk areas though. Currently I have the plastic stuff that’s similar on design to hardware cloth they sell at Canadian tire on the windows and in the eaves. I know it won’t necessarily stop anything but it’s done a decent job of discouraging the barn cats so it works for me. It also keeps the wild birds out which is a plus.
It definitely is going to depend on what kind of setup you have as well. My birds are locked up at dusk or before every night in their very secure coops. If I left them with access to the run overnight I would certainly want it to be as “fort Knox” as possible.
The only places I’ve used actual chicken wire is to keep the birds out of the garden and as a ground plate for the electric fence.

 

[cmom]

I agree. If electric wire doesn't work then it's not installed properly. I had my first flock around 50 years ago. I didn't have a predator problem back then. I'm sure there were plenty around and the birds did free range and went into their coop at night. Back then my place was the only house on the road but over the years people have divided their land and sold parcels so more people are building and I have seen more predators.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

That's a lot how it is here. We never even saw raccoons or skunks until people started leaving their trash on trailers for months to take to the dump

 

[cmom]

@cluckmecoop7 just out of curiosity how long have you been keeping poultry?

I'm curious too.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I agree. If electric wire doesn't work then it's not installed properly. I had my first flock around 50 years ago. I didn't have a predator problem back then. I'm sure there were plenty around and the birds did free range and went into their coop at night. Back then my place was the only house on the road but over the years people have divided their land and sold parcels so more people are building and I have seen more predators.

I also began raising chickens over 50 years ago. My first "real" coop was a large guitar shipping crate that was open in the front and my run was 2" poultry netting with no top netting. I used green saplings to hold the fence up and used this set-up for 5 years with not a single loss to a predator. But that was before coyotes became prevalent in western NC and which would go through a similar fence with no problem. There were also far less hawks in those days probably due to the use of DDT.

 

[cmom]

I disagree.
I ain't trying to give you a hard time. I know you're just putting this out there to help inform newbies about chicken wire but I'm also trying to inform that although hardware cloth is a much better choice it too is far from the best choice and isn't near as reliable as many think.
I'm in the country where everything shows up occasionally to snag a meal but my hunch is that whether you're out here or in an urban setting the predator that most often ends up causing the most deaths in a flock is a dog. Or at least they do the most damage in a one time attack.
So IMO hardware cloth will work a lot of the time but when push comes to shove it isn't that reliable to kick back and think your birds will always be safe.
I'm sure there's a few threads here on the subject but without much effort I found this one.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dog-vs-hardware-cloth.1105056/

I saw that post. I have a friend who used hardware cloth. She wasn't considering larger predators and a bear destroyed her hardware cloth enclosure. I agree it may work for some people but not everyone. Every morning I make my rounds and check on the birds. This morning I saw tracks near a coop. I do have electric wire across between two coops. The predator didn't attempt to go over the electric wire. These are the coops where I saw the tracks. I was hoping to get a picture of the predator last night but my camera failed. Just my luck...

 

[cluckmecoop7]

@cluckmecoop7 just out of curiosity how long have you been keeping poultry?

Almost two years.

 

[KCD]

Hi! I’m brand new and building a coop. Do you have any suggestions for roofing material. I have several opossums in my area. Thinking plastic corrugated panels with hardware cloth underneath...would that be overkill or recommended?
Thank you!

We used an industrial rubber roof for our coop. My father in law does roofing so without him I’m not sure where to get it. We’ve had our coop for going on 8 years and the roof is still in perfect condition. We used metal roofing sheets for our run. I think we got them from Home Depot. We also used hardware cloth for the run, vent coverings and dig it down 2 feet into the ground around the coop and run. Nothing has ever made it into either the coop or run.