Why hardware cloth for the run?

[Ladyhawke1]

Quote:
Don't underestimate your predator population just because you are in the burbs. Citi-fied raccoons are fierce and some are completely unafraid of humans. And they will come out during daylight hours, especially if they have babes to feed (I know this from experience). Glad to hear that you will lock your chooks at night. Just be aware that things can happen during the day, too. It must be a risk you are willing to take. For me it was better to bite the bullet, get out my wallet, install the hardware wire and sleep comfortably...

Good luck!

I can vouch for that. In broad daylight, Mom raccoon brought her “five” babies right to my front door. However, that was before I had chickens. I heard mewing at my front door, and there she was and was not one bit afraid of me. Ewwww..and like I’m sooo scary too.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

I wish I had the money and the smarts to do an electric fence. I would feel that my birds are better protected.

 

[SimplyForties]

Hardware cloth is like insurance. If you don't need it, you're sorry you spent the money on it; if you do need it, you'll be glad you have it!

I started with chicken wire and then I came out one morning to find my favorite chick dead with one leg ripped off. I felt very guilty for having economized and immediately recovered the whole thing with hardware cloth.

 

[patandchickens]

The thing about having a chickenwire run and not having lost any chickens yet is that last word there -- "yet". Sometimes you will go a week before a dog or raccoon or etc gets in; sometimes a month; sometimes a year; sometimes five years; sometimes ten; whatever. There is a large element of luck.

So, if you talk to a lot of people, or alternatively browse the "Predators and Pests" section of BYC, you will see that a lot of people who are smug and confident on Monday about having kept chickens in a chickenwire enclosure for umpty years and nothing has ever happened... are eating their words and cleaning up feathers on Tuesday.

Many peoples' number hasn't come up yet; but you just don't know what your luck will be like.

And losses due to animals ripping through chickenwire are TOTALLY preventable and, not to put too fine a point on it, when it happens you will only have yourself to blame. Some people are fine with that, and that's fair enough... but, know what you're getting into with this "yet" business, when looking at others' setups and deciding hwo to build your own.

Just sayin',

Pat

 

[Msbear]

Very good point.

I just wanted to say that I alternate free ranging my birds every day. Each flock gets out 3 times or more a week and stay out all day til night fall. I guess the chicken wire IS just meant to keep them in and not to attack the other roo that is out. Im hoping that nothing happens to them during the day while they are out but, in my case, they are fairly safe out there and I as well as they enjoy their outings enough that we risk it.

I guess in my situation, it kind of doesn't make sense to build the runs like Fort Knox if they're just going to be running around most of the time anyway.

Majority of the time, the predator would have to come onto my front porch to get them because that's where they usually hang

Im not saying that can't happen either ...