What is the best wire to use......

[Jolyn]

Dh will be starting the run for my chicks this week and he's wondering what your experience has been with the types of wire. Should he stick to the traditional hexagon chicken wire or the no climb wire? Or do you have any other suggestions in light of predators and such.

Also i am curious....We are going to put a wire roof on it too....but how high can the birds fly. I see some runs that are just about three feet high. Could they get out of that if they wanted to? I mean obviously some roosts i have seen are higher than that so they must be able to go pretty high.

Thanks for any info,
Jodie

 

[alex]

Well, im no expert but, my silkies can only fly up 1,2 feet into the air...but it depends if you clip there wings, if not then i guess 5-7 feet would be great...
I hope i helped!

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

We used 2 layers of chicken wire and staggered it to make the holes half the size. Held it with zip ties and then attatched it. That's how we did our windows. The square mesh is better but it costs alot more. Raccoons and whatnot can totally stick their arms thru regular chickenwire and grab one.

 

[Yogiman]

For what it's worth, I long ago quit using the chicken wire and the 2X4 welded wire. It was a waste of money for me. I use only the 2X4 no climb wire that is 60 inches tall. I have not had a problem with the chicks getting over the top of it. For me, it's money well spent and lasts a life time as compared to the other stuff. Added to that, the predators don't like it at all. Makes things tough for them.

 

[Jolyn]

Another question real quick......Do predators usually strike at night? Do racoon's, coyotes and fox usually just hang out at night? My hens will be locked in their coop at night so should i worry as much about the predators coming around during the day....I'm home most days too so there is movement around here.

 

[Yogiman]

I don't know about your area but down here the predators don't have a time schedule. They strike when the notion hits them. It can be mid day or mid night. I always have to be on guard especially for the cayottes.

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

Most predators are nocturnal. I have mine out in a regular chicken wire aea when I'm home. My dogs run off anything that would want to get them anyway. Most of the worry is at night when they are locked up, but it does happen. I can see the run from my couch so mine are pretty safe.

 

[GlacierNan]

What is 2x4 no climb wire and where do I find it ?
Do you still cover the top with netting?

My run is enclosed with 8 ft chainlink but the bottom is where I'm vulnerable. I was thinking of using hardware cloth 2 ft up the fence and 2 ft out.
Any other ideas?

 

[Yogiman]

2X4 no climb wire is a heavy duty, woven, Class I, galvanized wire designed for horse fencing. Thus the name, no climb. It is available at TSC, Lowes and most any place that handles fence wire. It is really some good wire. I have gone to it exclusively due to the rising cost of chain link which was my favorite.

 

[Jolyn]

Quote:
What kind of netting are you talking about for the top? We were just going to put more wire but is there a netting that can be used?