Hi Gregg. I think a really determined predator could chew/rip thru the traditional hexagonal chicken wire. I don't know whether you have racoons, coyotes, or even a big determined oppossum in your parts, but these are the ones I have in mind that are capable of tearing holes. I would recommend hardware cloth instead. It's also available galvinized and consists essentially of horizontal and vertical welded wires that create one-square centimeter openings. It's a lot tougher than chicken wire, and predators aren't able to get their teeth/snouts into the small openings to start a hole. Hardware cloth is available in the same section of the big box stores as chicken wire and comes in rolls that are 36" by 25'. You can get larger/wider rolls via mail order or at a fencing supply. Widths of hardware roll can be pieced together neatly with hog rings and hog ring pliers (you can get these at online poultry supply places or at a fencing supply).

Your stone walls sound great and should prevent predators from burrowing under. You can supplement your security in this aspect by laying a 12-18 inch width of chicken wire flat on the ground around the outside perimeter of the wall and covering with sand, dirt or gravel. When predators that try to burrow at the wall's edge encounter the wire, they aren't smart enough to back up and dig further out.

As for the cover, I like netting. It's lighter and less likely to break or be damaged from leaves, snowfall, falling limbs, etc. You can put a couple of tall poles in the center of your run and drape the netting over it and attach to the perimeter of the fencing with hog rings. Excellent, strong and virtually unbreakable poultry run top netting is available online. Toprite is the brand I used.

I'm attaching a photo of a run I built earlier this year over a weekend. It's fairly rudimentary but very very secure with the incorporation of the things I described above. I think it looks like a chook circus tent ;-).

Mark

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:45872}}

It's true that chicken wire alone is too easily torn by certain intruders. What I did as an alternative to hardware cloth is this: I put 48" field fencing around the bottom half of the chicken yard and then covered it with 72" high (36 & 36) chicken wire. Field fencing has smaller openings near the bottom that get progressively larger toward the top. I figured there are no preditors in my area tall enough to attempt a breach above 4 feet. It's worked fine for a couple years now. I also put chicken wire over part of the top. Even with all that, it's a good idea to close the coop up tight when the chickens are all roosting for the night.

Our runs are made of chain link dog kennel pannels, covered on the inside with chicken wire. We have never had a predator loss.

Good luck with sticking with five hens. It's a sickness that creeps up on you and then your own family will make fun of you, you'll have lawn chairs out by the hen house just to sit and watch them cause they are so darn cute. I started with one rooster, one hen, and one chick. Total head count is now at 27 and holding because we are out of room!

To answer the question. We used 4x4 treated post, 6 foot chicken wire, dug a trench about 10 inches deep to keep anything from digging in and then another round of chicken wire that is 3 foot. We have metal "thingies" that connect where we overlapped the chicken wire - that kind of will mess up the look, but didn't want to stoop over in the run. It will be nice to have grass for them to scratch in. Our pen is without a single blade, but they free range each day. We still need to cover to the top with chicken wire, therefore I lock my flock up every night in the hen house to keep them safe. Enjoy, JR

Please don't use chicken wire, it's a massacre waiting to happen, usually at night with tragic results that you will kick yourself for for a long time. :(

We use 1/4 welded wire hardware cloth. It's very strong, and the openings are tiny enough to keep predators and vermin OUT, and baby chicks IN. You'll also want to bury the wire 6-8 inches below ground and bend the bottom of the buried wire outwards so predators cannot dig under the wire and tunnel in. Predators are very determined and they have all night to try and get a chicken dinner.

The grass in the run is great, chickens need the green matter. It's tough getting it to grow because they are constantly scratching in it and eating it, though. We are currently expanding our run ourselves.

Welcome to chickens, be warned--they are addictive and you will soon discover that it is just as easy to keep 6 as it is to keep five (that little banty hen was soooo cute)...and the hens are healthy enough, but they seem so lonely and unfulfilled...and then you'll see that beautiful, friendly roo at the feed store that was just BEGGING you to take him home...he completes the flock so nicely and really is sweet to the girls...some have gone broody though, and it is just SO cruel to keep taking their eggs away while they sob and cry out at you not to...

Besides, hatching out your own chicks would be a VERY cool and educational thing for the kids to see, who else gets to experience that these days? And your favorite hens' genes could be continued!

That's how 5 becomes 46. Or in my case, I started with 3. Accept this now, it happens to all of us and resistance is futile.

Here's a link to my chicken info page, ya might find some stuff there you can use. :)

http://home.earthlink.net/~velvetsparrow/VSChick.htm

Velvet ~:>