two layers of 2"x4" electrified mesh?

I'm thinking about building my first chicken coop - a newbie to chickens, but I've been doing a lot of reading here on BYC (Mahalo nui loa to everyone who contributes here - fantastic information!)

I have built houses, parts for rocket ships, etc, and have lots of tools, so construction is not a big deal but I generally stick with the KISS principle.

My choices of building materials are somewhat limited on the Big Island of Hawai'i. My main predators are the Indian Mongoose and feral cats, maybe a neighbor's dog. We have no other varmints here - no snakes, no skunks, opossums or raccoons.

I want to build a coop for chickens to roost at night, going to let them free range on 5 acres during the day. I can use 1/2" mesh 19 gauge hardware cloth or I was thinking about using two layers of 2"x4" 14 gauge mesh offset so the holes look like 1"x2" - separated by a few 1x2's (3/4" spacing) and put an electric fence charger on the grid. Hex chicken wire, according to what I've read here on BYC is out.

The electric grid would do more to scare the critters away I think. It would be a little more complicated to build, cost would be about the same.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated. Crazy, not or ?

 

Good point - power outages! I'm on grid here, and being at the end of the line, we'll get some outages. And then there's also component failure - if it can break, it probably will at the wrong time. So rather than go with buying a backup fence charger, the hardware cloth is a better design.

 

The inside panel would be tied to the negative output of the charger and earth ground, the other panel 3/4" away and on the outside would be tied to the positive output of the charger. When a critter touches the positive panel, they complete the electrical circuit either thru their legs contacting the earth, or by touching the negative panel. Either way, they get a good shock and learn not to come back pretty quickly. The education part would be good for any stray pets that come by.

 

Thanks JT, I think that would be easier. I'm going to go with the 1/2" mesh hardware cloth - wish I could find it cheaper than $.62 / sq. ft.

 

Thanks Howard, the electrified chicken wire sounds like a great idea. One question Terri had is "what if the chickens walk up and touch the electric fence when they are outside the coop?" I was thinking to turn it off before letting the hens out. However, I wanted to have an automatic door. But those who come home late and try to get in would get an unwelcoming shock! Guess it might teach them to come home on time, or run them off like a runaway teenager.