which material to enclose a run?

[kichohana]

1/2 inch hardware cloth. why chance it? better safe than sorry imho.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I don't have problems with racoons here because of my dogs. But in Florida I had problems with raccoons and hawks pulling the parrots through the 1X2 welded wire. They would literally eat them through the wire. If a raccoon can get their paws through it and reach the prey they are doomed. The only thing I think that would be raccoon proof would be wood lattice with chicken wire on the inside to keep their paws out. A friend of mine in Fl used this setup successfully.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
Ok, maybe it would have been worth it

 

[bigoakhunter]

My runs have 1x2 inch welded wire fencing, screwed with washers to the wood the runs are made of. This size was the biggest opening to see in that I felt kept my girls safe from an attack.

 

[Badlatitude]

Not to restate the obivious but if the feathered pigs are locked in their coop at night whats the difference? My run only keeps the birds in.

A raccoon can literally grab the corner of plywood and tear it off a roof. Had a customer ignore us telling her to wait and let us soft plug a hole in her facia to make SURE all the residents were caught. Instead she called the contractor and had her roof , facia and soffit redone. Big ole raccoon literally grabbed the corner of her roof and I guess with some working pulled it up. ya think they cant do that to half the coops here that have plywood or texture 111 nailed to them? Its all about work vrs reward IMHO

We use welded wire for repairs or temp repairs untill a customers contractor can get there. we use 1/4 in because they cant get a grip on it like 1/2in or bigger 1/4 in also keeps out bees


Honestly the folks with the metal posts set in cement holding up chainlink with the hardware cloth apron are as secure as it gets. Heck It would probably keep a determined person out!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
What's the difference is that it's not only raccoon at night you have to worry about. Half the Jack Russells I know a can rip through chicken wire in less than a minute, not to mention a larger dog bent on destruction. Chickens may be locked up safe and secure at night but chicken wire isn't gonna do crap to protect them during the day.

 

[5chickenluver7]

I have tons of predators in the area. We used chicken wire but doubled it for the first 3 feet, so it crosses over each other so the holes are smaller. I have never had a problem with anything getting into our run. I think chicken wire is fine but i would do 2 layers on the bottom 1/2. It also depends on what predators you have in your area. We have coyotes, racoons,possums,bigger birds,dogs,cats,etc.
Chicken wire worked for mee!

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, but, how can I say this gently and politely, there is a big difference between "nothing bad has happened SO FAR" and "nothing bad is going to happen".

Predatorproofing is one of those things that you don't know you have a weakness til something tries to exploit it. Nothing bad having happened so far doesn't necessarily mean anything. Look at how many of the "something killed all my chickens last night" threads come from people who had chickenwire for months or years with no incident, or who have neighbors whose chickenwire was never bothered by predators... right up until the morning you come out to a pile of bloody feathers.

If a person is ok with risking losing chickens (possibly all of them) to save really quite a small amount of money, that's fine, everyone has to make their own choices about what's important... but I think it's really important to understand that just because there are people who haven't YET had problems with chickenwire does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that it is as predatorproof as stronger wire, some of which is not really any much more expensive (although needing smaller hole material added low down).

Dogs etc. REALLY DO go through chickenwire. Heck, they can rip through the cheaper lighter chainlink too. How well do you want your fence to stand up to a dog (etc) that is sorely tempted?

Pat

 

[Cindy in PA]

You can solve the rusting problem by using vinyl coated chicken wire. I don't like to use anything that is not vinyl coated.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

Quote:
What's the difference is that it's not only raccoon at night you have to worry about. Half the Jack Russells I know a can rip through chicken wire in less than a minute, not to mention a larger dog bent on destruction. Chickens may be locked up safe and secure at night but chicken wire isn't gonna do crap to protect them during the day.

I agree my Lab/Rot mix chewed through 2 steel run leads in a matter of minutes both times so I know chicken wire and maybe even hardware cloth would be no match for him oh and did I mention he is only a 1year old puppy (currently hooked to the run with a 1"steel chain, he chews through that I give up I will rename him junkyard dawg

) I would rethink the whole chicken wire deal go with the chain link and hardware cloth at the bottom 2-3 feet high and at least 2-3 feet below ground level cause dogs foxes coons and a few others can dig under the fence.