Most people recommend welded wire for the basic yard fencing. I had access to "chicken wire" looking stuff that was the same guage that the welded wire was, plus it is galvanized, then I put up a 3 wire electric fence outside the posts. I think the gauge was 17 but am not sure of this. It is a new setup so I cannot tell you it works, though I have had no losses (2 weeks or so) and the dogs sure yelped when they touched the electric.
Even with welded wire, if the holes are not small enough, you have to cover it about 1' to 2' up, plus more wire below ground, to stop diggers.
If you use inexpensive wire below ground, it will rust out in a few years. Preventatives against digging include concrete scraps, bricks, glass fragments, etc. One wildlife fellow here spoke of hardware cloth down 1' then bent out 1', below ground.
I really don't know the answer to your question or I would have been a lot more direct. You may have to go with a design based on waht is locally available.
I have a roll of cheap chicken wire, about $40 for 150', that I use to keep chickens out, only (as, out of the garden, or to fence off an area in their yard to grow cover crops.) It is obviously a lot lighter gauge that the (I think) 17 gauge galvanized stuff I used for their yard.
There is also the consideration that coons reach through fence, grab necks or whatever, and eat chickens piece by piece. Welded wire gets a lot more expensive if the holes are small, so many here buy larger holes, then cover the lower foot or so with another type wire to make the holes smaller.
If there is a universal best solution to this problem, I have not seen it. For one thing, there is so much variation is what your local farmers supply carries.
Hope this has been of some help, anyway.
