Ditto what Pat said above.
I'll add that...
There's already a risk that something could quickly wipe out your flock even if you have heavy gauge welded wire or hardware cloth installed. Diseases, viruses, poisons, doors left open, unknown gap in a fence, fire, just an assortment of things that could happen. There is no gurantee that you can 100% protect your chickens from everything. It's like Clint Eastwood said..."if you want a gurantee, by a toaster".
But, there are things that we can do that are pro-active in improving the level of protection that we give our flocks. We can do things like having a closed flock, practicing bio-security, offering good feed and clean water, providing a sanitary environment, and providing secure housing. If you're comfortable with a known higher risk factor of something destroying in a few minutes the flock that you've worked on for a couple of years then by all means use the chicken wire, it's somewhat easier to work with and a bit less expensive than welded wire. But, if you would rather have an edge on the boogey-critters out there, then go with something stronger than chicken wire and rachet your level of overall protection up a few levels.
Best wishes,
Ed
I'll add that...
There's already a risk that something could quickly wipe out your flock even if you have heavy gauge welded wire or hardware cloth installed. Diseases, viruses, poisons, doors left open, unknown gap in a fence, fire, just an assortment of things that could happen. There is no gurantee that you can 100% protect your chickens from everything. It's like Clint Eastwood said..."if you want a gurantee, by a toaster".
But, there are things that we can do that are pro-active in improving the level of protection that we give our flocks. We can do things like having a closed flock, practicing bio-security, offering good feed and clean water, providing a sanitary environment, and providing secure housing. If you're comfortable with a known higher risk factor of something destroying in a few minutes the flock that you've worked on for a couple of years then by all means use the chicken wire, it's somewhat easier to work with and a bit less expensive than welded wire. But, if you would rather have an edge on the boogey-critters out there, then go with something stronger than chicken wire and rachet your level of overall protection up a few levels.
Best wishes,
Ed
