Building a coop can be fun using scrap materials, brainstorming ways to be creative, and saving money. But all too often where you scrimped ends up costing you more later. One decision you might make, for example, is to choose chicken wire for your flock’s enclosure. It’s cheap and easy to handle, but in the long run, you’ll find it wasn’t worth saving those pennies.
First of all, chicken wire is NOT predator-proof. Countless animals can chew right through the stuff. Secondly, if you’re penny-wise, you certainly aren’t going to fancy wasting expensive chicken feed.
Wild birds are the biggest culprit in feed waste. One little sparrow might not eat much, but that tiny sparrow will soon bring hundreds of friends who will devour 3 pounds or more in just one afternoon. These little guys can fit through the holes in chicken wire, not only costing you money, but they’ll poop everywhere. I think we can both agree, we don’t need any more cleaning added to the chore list.
I’ve said this before, but it’s just plain smarter to build everything right the first time. Use hardware cloth on chicken coops, and enclosures. It’s stronger, and an extra perk is its tidy appearance. The ends can be finished nicely, it doesn’t bend making your coop look like a train wreck as time goes by.
You’ll find hardware cloth at Home Depot or similar building supply stores. Check your local feed stores too, sometimes they’ll sell by the foot so you don’t have to buy more than you need.
TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources 