Roof with avery netting or deer fencing for garden tilling chickens

[SisterFlash]

Ok I am building my coop design with run covered with roofing and using HW cloth. THis is where they would live most of the time. Incoportated into my plan is acccess to my garden during the off garden season late sept through april here. So for 7 months they could have a lot more space and be put up in the coop every night.

My garden is fenced with chicken wire...and goes 2 ft under ground. 6 ft high and a good fence posts with a wood bracing at the top and normal wood posts. My garden is 60 x 40 ft. The gate is also good and fully lined with chicken wire...to keep bunnies, racoons, bob cats, deer, etc out. I have not figured out how to keep the gophers out yet

The only issue is the roofing. I would like to put some netting up so my future chickens will be protected from hawks, eagles, leaping and climbing predators duing the day. So that being said what would work?

I do have some posts I can put up to help support the spaning of netting (oblisks and wood caging that is 7ft tall). I would like to be able to remove the netting during the gardening season. I do really want the chickens out there working their little tillers off during the fall and winter.

Plus this is a lot of space that I thougth would be fun for the chickens to rumage around in and fertilize

So would netting work as a protective roll on roll off roof? I also want something easy to roll up and store and then deploy again in the fall. I know I want everything.

If so I noticed their are different size holes and weights (light and heavy weight) of avery netting. Knited and knotted. There is also deer fencing which would be cheaper. Would light weight 1 inch hole knited avery netting be good enough? How long does this product last?

Would deer fencing or other light weight plastic type fencing work?

If you use that poultry electric netting...what do you put on as a roof to protect the chickens from sky attacks?

Has anyone done this and do you have any suggestions?

thanks so much for your experince

Barb

 

[arlee453]

If you can deer netting in wider rolls, it might work OK for you since they would be put up in their more secure run at night.

The deer netting I can get readily here is only 7 foot wide, so you'd have a lot of work to either weave it together or cable tie it together.

Also, if you plan on taking it off and on, then it also is very fine netting and would be a pain to try to fold or roll up so it didn't tangle.

You might be better off springing for the more expensive poultry netting...

 

[seagullplayer]

“Has anyone done this and do you have any suggestions? “

I have had luck keeping most flying varmints away using wire or heavy fishing line strung every couple of feet with a few pie pans hanging every so often. But it has never been that great of a span, I would say 20 ft is the farthest I have gone?

Six foot fence is tall enough to keep about anything out around here, except raccoons and possums; you can’t keep them out with fence...

A string of barb wire around the top of the fence will help with jumping dogs. And a string of barb wire around the base will help with digging dogs.

We don’t have gophers around here.

 

[SisterFlash]

Thanks so much for your experiences. Great ideas and glad to know I am on the right though process here.

Anyone else tried this?

Barb

PS: no gophers .... how did you get so lucky? The little ground beavers are such a pain...cute but they are a real problem here.

 

[horsewishr]

somebody here (I think) had a beautiful covered run. They used some type of PVC (the gray stuff, I think) to make arches over the run. Then hung net from that. I lost my link, and I'd really like to find it again. I have a similar garden and would-be chicken run.

 

[arlee453]

I have a PVC and deer netting cover over my chicken area. If you click on my blog link in the signature there are pics on there.

 

[horsewishr]

Yes, Arlee, it was you!!!!!

Do you mind if I ask how much all that PVC cost? My garden is about 20 x 25, I think. I'd love to make a similar run over it.

Here's my set-up. If I fence the garden, the chickens will have 2 runs to chose from!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2985

 

[arlee453]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20020

That is the link to the thread that shows how I made my run. My run is over 80 feet long by about 20-25 ft wide (it varies a bit)

The cost was less than $100.

If you take a peek at my ChickNCam during the day, you can see how it looks from the inside...

 

[ZuniBee]

This is the netting I use on all my runs. Never had a problem with anything getting in. My coop doors are open 24/7 so the birds never have to wait on me to get up and let them out.

Bird Barrier Netting
Product Number: C18684N
Price: $46.70

I use zip ties to "sew" them together. You have to get the heavy duty ones.....I get them at Lowes. Just zip tie them to the top of your fencing all the way around and zip tie the nets together to make bigger nets. Once you zip tie it just snip the tail off the zip tie and you hardly notice they are there.

I don't have pictures yet but hope to take some this weekend. Looks like the weather is going to cooperate!

 

[SisterFlash]

Great info zuni Bee, thanks horsewishr for the tip.

thanks so much arleen for the info. I love the idea of pvc like a hoop house and then the neating. Fantasic. Here is what I found on your blog http://eggcitement.blogspot.com/2007/10/lots-of-changes-to-report-in-our.html
some close up pictures would be really cool.

You guys are the best you understood I wanted it cheap, lasting, rollup, and mostly to keep the future girls safe.

I do have a small hoop house in my garden so I do not know why I did not think of pvc for the roof bracing.

Now I can make my 40x60' garden chicken expanions run during the non garden season. I was mostly worred about hawks and eagels getting in...we have both the bald and golden here along with the black hawk and redtailed plus others.

Suni Bee love the zip tie for knitting together the lengths. fantasic.

I was also thinking if I got poultry fencing to put them on my grass field later during the day this type of cover might work to keep out the airborne predators.

thanks all. More ideas are always welcome.

Barb