Which Hardwire Cloth

[thisjed]

I'm in the process of building a coop / run and need to order some hardwire cloth. Holy smokes, the options and prices are all over the place. Here's what I'm wondering...

- Is there a go to brand, one I should just get regardless of anything else?

- What gauge should I get? I've found 16 gauge and 19 gauge so far.

- I'm assuming 1/2 inch mesh. I've seen some at 1/2" by 1". What's the right size?

Thanks all, appreciate the advice!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It depends on what size openings you are covering and what kind of predators you have.
If you're covering windows, 19 gauge should be fine. If you are covering the entire run and/or have big predators, I'd go with something heavier.
I'd go with 1/2" square openings. Smaller and it may catch dust, larger and weasels can enter.

http://www.darbywiremesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wire-mesh-glossary.pdf

 

[thisjed]

It depends on what size openings you are covering and what kind of predators you have.
If you're covering windows, 19 gauge should be fine. If you are covering the entire run and/or have big predators, I'd go with something heavier.
I'd go with 1/2" square openings. Smaller and it may catch dust, larger and weasels can enter.

http://www.darbywiremesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wire-mesh-glossary.pdf

Thanks! I'm using it for windows and the entire run. The framing for the run is in 3' increments.

I'm just outside of Chicago - so my biggest threats are coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. There are supposedly weasels in Illinois - but I've never seen one in my 38 years living here - guess it doesn't mean they're not out there though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My family has been raising chickens within a couple miles of here since the 1870s. We never had an encounter with mink till they killed $4,000 worth of chickens three or four years ago. I had too many buildings that were raccoon proof but not mink proof. I had to close off every opening over 1/2".
I'm in the suburbs of St. Louis and recently game cams in the county have caught bears and mountain lions.
If you build it, they will come.

 

[aart]

Amazon is the cheapest.
19 ga should be fine.
You might want heavier larger mesh on your run too, like 14ga 2x4 welded wire fencing to guard against larger animals like dogs.
Might be cheaper and stronger than using 16ga HC.

Will you have a solid roof on run, cause you know snow load.
(I'm thinking I should remember this from another thread, but I don't)

 

[genesis120]

My family has been raising chickens within a couple miles of here since the 1870s. We never had an encounter with mink till they killed $4,000 worth of chickens three or four years ago. I had too many buildings that were raccoon proof but not mink proof. I had to close off every opening over 1/2".
I'm in the suburbs of St. Louis and recently game cams in the county have caught bears and mountain lions.
If you build it, they will come.

Thank you for the information. I live in Mid-Missouri and I've only had problems with raccoons and possums maybe a fox. I found that chicken wire and wooden lattice are useless to protect chickens. So I rebuilt my chicken run using my leftover chain link fence. Now I'm wondering if I need to get something with smaller holes I never thought about weasels or minks. I do however live in town so I don't know if they would be a problem.

 

[LadyVictorian]

I would go 1/2 inch squares as everyone has said. Don't forget to bury the fence underground as well for critters looking to dig their way into the coop. Luckily for me we have concert foundation under the soil so even graboids aren't getting those birds xD. But weasels and mink are awful animals. My grandpa had one kill his flock of 20+ birds in ONE night. They can kill for sport rather than just fun and his beautiful big rooster had even been cut to hell and died a few days later from the wounds. Like a lot of other people he had proofed for the big animals like hawks, coyote's, foxes, raccoons. He just didn't think such a tiny animal could do so much damage to take his whole flock in a single night.