Will 2"x4" welded wire mesh keep skunks n racoons out of my coop area?

[pawsplus]

Chicken wire is one kind of woven wire, but it's not the only kind. All fencing meant to keep large animals in or out is woven wire. See the links Bear Foot Farm posted.

Farm fencing is useless for chickens (holes too big) but horse fencing (either diamond or rectangular) is super strong and works great, with the addition of hardware cloth for reach through areas.

I myself use chainlink kennels w/ hardware cloth wired on strategically. If you use VERY heavy gauge hardware cloth you can use it for the primary fencing material, but even so I would be careful. I have a 25 pound dog who DECIMATED very large gauge welded wire 2x4 fencing when it was used as a digging apron (inside the dogs' yard as loves to dig and sometimes digs around the edges). I'm talking TORE IT UP! He can't do that w/ the woven wire w/ which I replaced it.

 

[Alethea]

The fence will keep skunks and raccoons out, but raccoons can reach in and grab the chickens through the fence. You might consider adding a skirt out of chicken wire or hardware cloth. We attached the chicken wire to the inside of the fence, about two or three feet up from the ground. Then we threaded it under the fence and outward another foot and a half or so. We staked it down and covered it with gravel.

 

[SallyF]

I second Alethea's response. We have a 10x10 foot chain link dog kennel. Had a raccoon attack and kill three chickens through that, so we wrapped the base of the kennel with chicken wire. All was well, until something decided it could dig underneath that. So we put a second layer of chicken wire around the base, with a 12 inch skirt extending outward, and covered that with mulch and stones. The predators still try to dig, but give up before they get into the coop. So far, anyway.

 

[daver]

Two weeks ago I watched a possum go through our chain link run, he didn't even slow down. When I got there, he went out the same way. I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it myself.

Dave

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Pretty much everything you said is incorrect

http://www.kencove.com/fence/Woven+Wire_products.php

http://www.google.com/webhp?complet....,cf.osb&fp=eaa01c5641b8aa67&biw=1016&bih=522

That horse fence is woven, sure, but it's also 12.5 gauge wire. If you compare it to a 12.5 gauge welded fence, that's going to be a pretty stout fence, too.

 

[OldGuy43]

A simple solution for attaching fencing to the ground. Tent stakes! Easy to install, inexpensive and they work great. As for attaching fencing to a concrete slab; while I've never done it a simple solution would be treated 2x4's bolted to the slab. You could either staple the fencing to the wood or sandwich it between the board and the concrete.

 

[pawsplus]

Quote:
Yes, but it is not difficult for large animals (even my 25 pound dog) to break the welds. That is my point. Trust me--I have seen the difference b/t welded (heavy gauge) and woven wire in the digging barriers in my dogs' yard!

 

[ChickenLady9]

Those black snakes will not harm your chickens, they only eat chicken eggs. They are called Indigo Snakes and are very beneficial to the environment. They also will kill and eat rattlesnakes, etc.