welded wire instead of hardware cloth?

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

so I am looking at building a second coop for bantams this summer. I live in a rural/suburban area but we have a few miles of cornfields directly behind our house. Our existing chicken coop is right next to the corn field. We have seen coyotes countless times right behind the coop in the corn field, we also have opossums, hawks, and tons of stray cats, and maybe racoons? my barn cat has even brought me a weasel! our coop is in no means "fort knox" but in 4 years the only predator problem we have had is hawks. The coyotes can easily go right into the run thru the gap in the fence beetween the coop and the post, and we don't close the coop door! we have always planned on fortifying our new coop once we got settled into our new house, and it never got done. so here is my question, Could we cut costs on a new coop by using the same welded wire that we used for our run instead of the hardware cloth?
it has 2" by 4" rectangle spacing. the only problem with this is that weasel, But who knows how far my cat went to find it, I don't really think I have to worry about weasels because we don't have weasels here.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Could you? Sure. Would it be worth it?... maybe, maybe not. I guess it depends on how secure of a coop you're desiring. I certainly understand wanting to cost save but the question you should ask is if you're willing to chance it. I prefer hardware cloth but I know it can get pricey. It's your decision and what you feel comfortable with.

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

if i had predators that would get in thru the welded wire, than i would do hardware cloth, But my main coop's run has been welded wire for 4 years and iv'e never had a single issue. I also like the welded wire because the chickens can get the grass on the other side

 

[Kessel23]

The run on my coop has that welded 2x4 wire and I have not had a big predator problem in over a decade. It won't keep in most bantam birds though OEGB can easily get through 2x4. Ours is wrapped in a layer of chicken wire to keep the chickens in. Raccoons can reach through it with their hands easily so don't let the birds roost near the wire, you could lock them in the coop at night. I have seen some people say possums can slide through it but I have never experienced this problem, it might be because they can't get past the regular chicken wire to slide through. I had a mink get in and kill rabbits last winter, for whatever reason he wanted nothing to do with the chickens, he got killed by me pretty fast anyways. I have had a coyote come and shred the chicken wire that wraps the 2x4 wire before, the 2x4 was a little bent. The amount of birds I have lost to predators that snuck into my run by getting through the wire would only be one pullet that was killed by a raccoon who reached his hand through. I have had several raccoons get in and kill birds but they got in through open spots that I had not put wire over. I did not have one of these attacks on my run for over a year and I thought I had gotten all of the run covered but a raccoon snuck in the other week and killed 3 birds and a rabbit, I searched for an entry point and it took me three days to find, a hidden 6x6 hole by one of the support beams 7.5ft off the ground that I had missed.

So for me the welded 2x4 worked out great, we have had this run for over a decade and only lost one mixed breed bantam pullet that was a result of the 2x4 covering. That mink could have probably taken out more than a few birds if he wanted to but I guess he was just to focused on the rabbits. That pullet would only be worth like $5 so I definitely saved a ton of money with my choice. Hardware cloth is still the safer choice though, you never know what situations you will run into.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

My coop and covered run is 2x4 welder wire, we live in the middle of nowhere with lots of chicken eaters and no dog, and have not had any problems ( knock on wood)....

But we don’t have weasels or Norway rats.

You can see some pics here for reference:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rustic-covered-lean-to-coop-and-run.74040/

 

[Folly's place]

My original run (daytime only) was chicken wire with some welded wire over the lower two feet. Bantam chicks easily went through it, and so could rats and weasels. Big dogs could have busted through it too. We didn't have any problems, but safe? Not really.
Now we have a combination coop/ run, roofed, with hardware cloth, and 2"x4" woven wire over the lower 4', all very well attached. Only bears could breach it, IMO. MUCH safer, and functions as one big coop. It's worked very well, and worth the extra money and hassle.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd use the welded wire with a layer of hardware cloth over it, that'll give the HWC more support while closing up the larger holes. If that's too costly do HWC at least the bottom few feet.

 

[jdlx4]

I've got the 2x4 welded wire and just to put icing on the cake, I added an electric fence at the bottom all the way around about a foot off the ground, and at the top. I grounded the 2x4 wire with a ground rod so that any predator that got past the the bottom electric wire, would come in contact with the top electric wire while still touching the 2x4 fence. That would be the same as standing on the ground and touching the electric wire. I also laid 18" chicken wire on the ground at the bottom to prevent any predator from being able to dig under the fence. So far in 8 years I haven't had a single predator problem.

 

[aart]

our coop is in no means "fort knox" but in 4 years the only predator problem we have had is hawks. The coyotes can easily go right into the run thru the gap in the fence beetween the coop and the post, and we don't close the coop door!....Could we cut costs on a new coop by using the same welded wire that we used for our run instead of the hardware cloth?

You have been incredibly lucky(or your barn cat is muchoferocious)....it's your bet to place that the luck continues.


These two things don't go together<scratcheshead>

I don't really think I have to worry about weasels because we don't have weasels here.

my barn cat has even brought me a weasel!

 

[fldiver97]

Not to be a pessimist but.... you have weasels. You’ve just been lucky!! I never thought they were around my property until 4 years ago..... found one in the coop, luckily before he injured or killed chooks. Agree that hardware cloth is expensive but your welded wire or chain link will not keep rats, weasel, snakes etc out