Why hardware cloth? What's the benefit?

[gale65]

Quote:
I have 3 dog kennel chain link runs. The tops are covered with wire/chain link and the bottoms are surrounded by hardware cloth. I really beefed them up a lot when I set them. I was pretty sad and sickened to find a beheaded, gutted chicken inside the run the other day, with feathers all around the outside. Apparently, we finally have a raccoon out here in the sticks, after 7 years of no raccoons. And it attacked during the day.

They really need major reinforcement to truly keep predators out. I have faced dogs, foxes, fisher cats (minks) and opossums, and now raccons. Biggest shock was seeing how well a fox can climb and wiggle in!

That was after you beefed it up with the hardware cloth? If not, how did the raccoon reach through the hardware cloth?

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
I have 3 dog kennel chain link runs. The tops are covered with wire/chain link and the bottoms are surrounded by hardware cloth. I really beefed them up a lot when I set them. I was pretty sad and sickened to find a beheaded, gutted chicken inside the run the other day, with feathers all around the outside. Apparently, we finally have a raccoon out here in the sticks, after 7 years of no raccoons. And it attacked during the day.

They really need major reinforcement to truly keep predators out. I have faced dogs, foxes, fisher cats (minks) and opossums, and now raccons. Biggest shock was seeing how well a fox can climb and wiggle in!

That was after you beefed it up with the hardware cloth? If not, how did the raccoon reach through the hardware cloth?

Right by the door edge, it bends back a bit with usage. I didn't keep pushing it back in place like I should have done, daily. Normally, I put a brick at that gap to shove it all back in place. I got in a hurry and didn't.

I say daytime attack, or at least not at night, because they would normally be roosting out of reach at night. 20 years of raising chickens, and I really have a lot to learn.

 

[gritsar]

Anything that a two year old child could figure out, including simple locks, a raccoon can too. Crafty little creatures. Hardware cloth is an important investment in your chickens safety.

 

[Patricia Jane]

Hardware cloth is the way to go. It may be expensive for the initial purchase but it is stronger and does not rust like chicken wire does. Chicken wire is very flimsy and starts to rust fast. You have a big investment and is worth protecting.

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

I use it as with others and the main reason is for it's strength. It is really hard to beat unless you use welded wire, they sell 1/2X1 in my area, but it is more expensive.

Either hardware cloth or welded wire is really inexpensive when it comes to protecting your flock from Mr. Raccoon or Mr. Opossum. When it comes to getting to your birds....the raccoon being "smart" is not the word for it, and the possum is not far behind on the "smarts" scale.


Best of Luck

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
I totally agree.

I have every opening that is larger than 1/2" covered tightly with hardware cloth--attached by screws with washers every 6." I can sleep much better knowing they have a Forte Knox coop. As for locks--I use spring loaded hooks--it takes me a time or two to open them sometimes myself!

 

[Ole rooster]

One of the things I think we're most guilty of is finding a problem with our kennels and coops, then trying to band aid the fix. We always end up paying the price. But the hens pay the larger price. I they don't lose their life an the spot, they lose a body part and we have to put them down. That's not fun, even when the intent is to eat the bird. The one thing I try hard to do is when I see a problem, fix it correctly and it's final. Band aid it and things get worse.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Hardware cloth is an investment IF you want the protection. My chickens lived 15 years, first with a wire fence from a pheasant farm (about like chicken wire, but a different shape) & then for 4 years with a 4 ft. plastic garden fence. I had no losses until year 15, when a fox went under the fence at dawn and nabbed a chicken. The only reason it happen was because I left them open in the summer and they were out way early. This was acceptable to me 18 years, one loss. I try to protect my chickens, but I am not fanatical. What you want is up to you. My coop has been secure for 18 years, tomorrow a weasel or something might find it's way in, who knows. You have to balance what you do to protect your flock.

 

[catsew]

Sorry to jump in, but are you talking hardware cloth on the coop or on the run part?
We protected the coop with hardware cloth, but the run is just going to have to try to be ok with wire fencing. We don't really have any racoons around our house, although it sounds like we might after we get the chickens. We have some traps now, so hopefully it will go ok.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

Our run is actually under construction now. The upper portion is going to be welded wire mesh but the entire bottom, up to 42" (I think) is going to be hardware cloth with a skirt. Though we've never had a single predator in our backyard it's only a matter of time before they find you. In fact, just last night our neighbors spotted coyotes in the wash behind our house. When I visited the coffee shop the owner was telling me how she just lost her rooster and a few chickens from raccoons. She had kept chickens for YEARS without an attack and now she's had one. Guess what she's headed out to buy.... hardware cloth!