PSA: neighbor's dog got into my run last week and now I know why hardware cloth matters

I had a scare last Tuesday when I came home from work and found one of my Rhode Island Reds huddled in a corner with her feathers all puffed up. Turned out the neighbor's lab had squeezed under a gap in my fence and tried to get into my chicken run. My run is made from 2x4 welded wire and I always thought it was fine. But the dog actually managed to push the wire in a bit and one of my hens got her head stuck trying to get away. I got her out with no injuries luckily but it made me switch to 1/2 inch hardware cloth on the bottom three feet of the run that same weekend. That stuff is way stiffer and the dog can't push through it at all. Cost me about 60 bucks for the roll at Tractor Supply but worth every penny for peace of mind. Has anyone else had a close call with predators getting through welded wire?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesleypatel13d ago

Wait, you really had a dog push through 2x4 welded wire? I always figured that stuff was tough enough for pretty much anything, but hearing it happen to someone else is making me rethink my whole setup on my run lol. Definitely gonna grab some hardware cloth for the bottom few feet this weekend before I end up learning the hard way too.

eric_murphy3612d ago

Yeah man, I thought the same thing. I was looking at that mesh like "ain't nothing getting through THIS." Then I came home one day and the dog was just standing outside the run looking at me like "what's the big deal?" @wesleypatel I felt like a total idiot, like I built a fortress and the prisoner just walked out the back door. Hardware cloth is way more solid, I went with 1/2 inch and it's been rock solid ever since. You're making a smart call doing the bottom few feet, better to learn from my mistake than your own. How big is your run setup anyway?