cheap fencing ?

I have my run covered with a roof; the sides are enclosed with hardware cloth that is screwed into the wood. My 50' roll of 36" wide hardware cloth cost $40 from my local agriculture supply store. If you are looking for inexpensive materials, check your local Craigslist for chain link dog runs, chicken wire or hardware cloth. Subscribe to Freecycle and you can post what you are looking for - maybe someone has a stash they want to get rid of. Do you have Habitat for Humanity? They have resale stores where salvaged building materials are sold inexpensively. I'm all about getting a deal - cheap is good but free is better!
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Chicken wire is cheapest, but not safe at all against predators. I went with 2x4 welded wire for the bulk, and hardware cloth only along the bottom 24 inches (to keep predators from reaching in at bird level). The welded wire was much cheaper than hardware cloth. As mentioned already, looking on craigs list for used dog run panels, rolls of chain link, etc. is a good way to save money. I have yet to try one of the Habitat For Humanity stores, but finally found one nearby that I'm going to investigate.
 
Do you have a scrap metal recycling place nearby? The one near me puts aside items/stuff that are still good and you buy them by the pound. I just stop by and tell the guys what I am looking for and they usually go away for a few minutes and appear shortly with said item.

The going rate here is 30 cents/pound. I got enough 1/4" and 1/2" hardware cloth to predator proof my entire coop and make 2 "screen" doors for summertime for around $7. My run is chain link fence so I didn't need any for that...

Construction sites sometimes have wire laying around. I just pull up and ask if they have anything they are going to throw away.
 
Craigslist for typical chain link yard fence. By using cheap / used chain link for 80% of the run then you can spend the money on hardware cloth for the bottom 18" ground up. The hardware cloth is a necessity to keep your birds heads inside and predators hands out. If you want to avoid the cost of hardware cloth then you could run everything with chainlink and for the 18" at ground level you could use cheaper furring strips made of whitepine, or dismantled wood pallets.
 
I got most of my fencing from the scrap/recycle yard as well. He saves good stuff, and since he only pays $4/100lbs you can get fence for pretty darn cheap!! I got several sheets of tin for free
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I went with welded wire 2x4" holes for security, and used tin sideways at the bottom (instead of hardware cloth) for reach-through protection.
 
Pefferlawchicken, go to farm auctions (look in the paper or on auction websites for schedules, we're just starting to get into that season). Or you could try the 'farm implements and tools' auction at Vanhaven Arena in Uxbridge next month, although I would warn you you'll probably be bidding against me for wire fencing unless i know who you are in the crowd LOL. Obviously it is hard to be certain what a given auction will have -- although the auction bills and online listings usually mention if they have a lOT of fencing, there are often unmentioned scraps, but sometimes not -- but I have gotten most of my fencing that way for WAAAAY less than retail.

If you pass a farm or junk-filled property having a garage sale they are also worth stopping at.

Also, try kijiji.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat
 
what great ideas!! Even if you have money for new its just fun to reuse something. When people get wind of what you have made and ask for the price they are sure to want to jump]on board.
Now for my own question. Would you all call the recycler first or just stop in??
 

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