Question about galvanized hardware cloth

[Cayuga]

Hi all,

1. I am new to this forum. I am not a chicken owner, but I am hoping you all will still be willing to advise me. I belong to a community garden and we are faced with replacing our chicken wire fence. It worked well for 9 years in deterring the critters (rabbits, groundhogs, deer, etc) but has rusted out, particularly the section that touched the ground.

My question is about galvanized hardware cloth. Specifically I see there are different gauges, different sizes, etc. Is there a difference in quality? Are some brands better than others? I understand that 'galvanized' means it is dipped in zinc to protect it from rusting. Does it?

Can it be folded into a 90 degree angle? We want to lay about a foot & a half on the ground to deter the diggers & have the rest stand up (with help of posts) to prevent the rest of the critters.

Also, I just saw that there is galvanized chicken wire. Has anyone had experience with that?

Thank you for any assistance you can give me!

 

[tripletfeb]

Hi! All great questions. The higher the gauge number, the stronger the wire. 14 gauge is stronger than 22 gauge. But the stronger the wire is, the harder it will be to bend into that 90° you want. I would recommend a higher gauge if you have not had problems with anything chewing through the chicken wire. Hardware cloth is stronger than chicken wire, no matter the gauge. And in my experience, galvanized has not rusted. I have used my left over cloth on my garden this year and it works great keeping critters out! And the different sizes you see could be the hole size. We use half inch by half inch on our chicken coops, but that might be too tight for a garden. You could probably go with 1 inch by 1 inch and be safe. Good luck, hope this helps!

 

[tripletfeb]

Hi! All great questions. The higher the gauge number, the stronger the wire. 14 gauge is stronger than 22 gauge. But the stronger the wire is, the harder it will be to bend into that 90° you want. I would recommend a higher gauge if you have not had problems with anything chewing through the chicken wire. Hardware cloth is stronger than chicken wire, no matter the gauge. And in my experience, galvanized has not rusted. I have used my left over cloth on my garden this year and it works great keeping critters out! And the different sizes you see could be the hole size. We use half inch by half inch on our chicken coops, but that might be too tight for a garden. You could probably go with 1 inch by 1 inch and be safe. Good luck, hope this helps!

Sorry about my first sentence! I meant, the LOWER the gauge number, the stronger the wire!

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

Galvanized mesh (hardware cloth) works well as long as the coating doesn't get damaged. The whole purpose of the galvanizing is to stop rust where the zinc is scratched or otherwise damaged, this limits the rust to that area only. The thicker wire is stronger and the smaller the number the thicker the wire, most find that 16 gauge is plenty strong for all but bears. Chicken wire is no good for protection from any predator, 1/2 inch will prevent snakes from entry and everything else too. 1" will not give much protection from snakes nor will it prevent a coon or opossum from reaching through the wire. The best method for bending any hardware cloth is to use 2 - 2x4s for a makeshift brake so you can get a nice straight 90 degree bend. Usually a 45 degree bend works fine, that way you get below the ground protection from diggers, some like to just lay it out on the surface but you will need to have enough laid out that way to make the predator actually have to dig a tunnel (they hate to do that).

 

[ellenscoop]

Yes, there is an infographic PoultryDVM did on everything you want to know about the different hardware cloths - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

 

[aart]

Yes, there is an infographic PoultryDVM did on everything you want to know about the different hardware cloths - http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators

This says HC is hard to bend......it's not really if you do it properly like this:

The best method for bending any hardware cloth is to use 2 - 2x4s for a makeshift brake so you can get a nice straight 90 degree bend.

It worked well for 9 years in deterring the critters (rabbits, groundhogs, deer, etc) but has rusted out, particularly the section that touched the ground.

9 years is a pretty good run.
I would suggest using 14 ga 2x4 welded wire for fence and anti-dig apron....should keep rabbits out too, or add a 2' high smaller mesh against rabbits.

Have had this around my yards for 20 years and it's still intact even where the grass has grown up around it at the bottom, and for 5 years on my chicken run walls, roof, apron-one continuous length.

How high is your fence to keep deer out?
What kind of posts are you using?

 

[Cayuga]

You all are very helpful!! I am presenting your comments to our committee. We are appreciative.

@aart we are using metal fence posts. They are still intact & can be re-used. We have them spaced about 6 feet apart. We originally used a roll of chicken wire 4 feet tall: one foot went flat along the ground & was covered with wood chips, two feet went vertically in the air, one foot hung outwards loosely to deter climbing critters.

None of this would foil the deer, so for them we used a 2 fence system. Deer have poor depth perception and don't want to be trapped between fences. The second fence was electrified: just two wires strung at 2 feet and 4 feet high. In spring we bait it with peanut butter so the deer will investigate and get zapped. It has worked very well. We live in an area with tremendous deer pressure & have never had deer in the community garden. If we didn't do a 2 fence system, we would have needed a fence at least 6 feet tall....very expensive.

Thank you all again for your help!

 

[aart]

@aart we are using metal fence posts.

Solid forged Tposts, or something lighter?
Are they in good shape?

 

[Cayuga]

Solid forged Tposts, or something lighter?
Are they in good shape?

Hi @aart

I don't know what solid forged Tposts are. We are unsupported community garden...we have to pay for whatever we need. Our fence posts are the metal kind typically used for snow fence. The are a variety...contributed by members, scarfed off of Criaig's list, etc. They have lasted surprisingly well the past 8 years. I have another 13 newish ones, another member can contribute another 6 or so. Does this answer your question?

 

[jvls1942]

I wouldn't bother bending the HC. just lay it flat and wire it to the bottom of the fence wire every 3 feet or so.. galvanized chicken wire works well for this.
Or use 2 ft wide chicken wire and bend it up about 10 inches against the fence wire.
the diggers are not smart enough to back up the few inches it takes to tunnel under. they try digging against the obstacle (fence) that stops them. they won't figure out that they have to start their tunnel farther from the fence.
cotton tail rabbits will not climb or jump over a fence. one year I surrounded my garden with straw bales. the rabbits didn't climb over them
galvanized chicken wire is plenty to keep critters out of the garden..
if you make a 4 ft high fence, then string your electric wire above that about a foot or so higher. hang strips of aluminum foil from it every few feet.
that should deter the deer.

........jiminwisc......