Welded wire for chicken run? (on upper portrion)

Pretty much all the common chicken predators can climb, except for canids (foxes and coyotes). So don't count on critters not to climb. And pretty much all of them dig, too, including canids, so your apron should ideally be high priority - hardware cloth as opposed to welded wire with larger openings. You can get away with welded wire higher up on the fence, if your coop is completely predator proof and your chickens sleep locked in it at night. That way they'll be safe at least during the night. Small predators can still get in during the day, but it's less common than at night. I've had to make that compromise myself, because HC is so expensive, and I'd need a lot of it to wrap my large run. So on the top half of my fencing, as well as overhead, I have welded wire as well (2"x2" on the fence, and 2"x4" overhead, to allow snow to fall through). I can try to eventually cover the walls with HC as well, little by little so the expense isn't all at once, but I need to avoid snow load on top, so the top will have to stay 2"x4" and still exposed to smaller critters... But at least my coop is bomb proof.
 
Pretty much all the common chicken predators can climb, except for canids (foxes and coyotes). So don't count on critters not to climb. And pretty much all of them dig, too, including canids, so your apron should ideally be high priority - hardware cloth as opposed to welded wire with larger openings. You can get away with welded wire higher up on the fence, if your coop is completely predator proof and your chickens sleep locked in it at night. That way they'll be safe at least during the night. Small predators can still get in during the day, but it's less common than at night. I've had to make that compromise myself, because HC is so expensive, and I'd need a lot of it to wrap my large run. So on the top half of my fencing, as well as overhead, I have welded wire as well (2"x2" on the fence, and 2"x4" overhead, to allow snow to fall through). I can try to eventually cover the walls with HC as well, little by little so the expense isn't all at once, but I need to avoid snow load on top, so the top will have to stay 2"x4" and still exposed to smaller critters... But at least my coop is bomb proof.
Realistically what could fit through a 1x2” welded wire fence? Definitely a weasel. I don’t know what else. Are weasels only present at night? I’m not sure. Our one and only weasel attack was at 1am. Thankfully I heard the girls squawking from my sleep (light sleeper). When I went into the coop, he was attached to the underbelly of one of my hens.

I’m off to buy wire today. I’ll keep that in mind. I have already done the skirt. That was hard!
 
Realistically what could fit through a 1x2” welded wire fence? Definitely a weasel. I don’t know what else. Are weasels only present at night? I’m not sure. Our one and only weasel attack was at 1am. Thankfully I heard the girls squawking from my sleep (light sleeper). When I went into the coop, he was attached to the underbelly of one of my hens.

I’m off to buy wire today. I’ll keep that in mind. I have already done the skirt. That was hard!
Rats, mice, mink and fishers can fit through a gap that big. Rats and mice are just annoying and hard to get rid of, but they're after the feed, not the chickens. Mink and especially fishers though, are a threat to the actual chickens.
 
Rats, mice, mink and fishers can fit through a gap that big. Rats and mice are just annoying and hard to get rid of, but they're after the feed, not the chickens. Mink and especially fishers though, are a threat to the actual chickens.
Fisher cats? They’re huge! I mean, not huge but much bigger than a 1 inch gap. We do have Fisher cats here so it is always a concern.
 
Fisher cats? They’re huge! I mean, not huge but much bigger than a 1 inch gap. We do have Fisher cats here so it is always a concern.
Fluffy things are always smaller than they appear, sometimes shockingly so. And they vary in size... Younger ones are smaller, others are just smaller... Some may not fit, but some may, and that's not an animal you want to take risks with. They are adorable, but extremely capable and deadly.
 
Fluffy things are always smaller than they appear, sometimes shockingly so. And they vary in size... Younger ones are smaller, others are just smaller... Some may not fit, but some may, and that's not an animal you want to take risks with. They are adorable, but extremely capable and deadly.
True about the deadly. And their scream!!! But I wouldn’t call them adorable 🤣
 
But I wouldn’t call them adorable 🤣
But look at it though! It’s like if a kitty and a teddy bear had a baby 😍
IMG_2513.jpeg
 
@K0k0shka - ha ha!! That IS pretty good. Don’t be fooled. How about this one?
Still looks like a stuffed animal :lol: How about this one:

1726149004028.png


To us it's cute because we aren't normally among its victims, and because it doesn't tend to go after our chickens/livestock/pets, but... if we had to be realistic... this is one vicious, ruthless MF responsible for way too much death and destruction worldwide... And, worst of all, it kills for fun, not just out of hunger. But we still think it's cute. So, it's all relative.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom