Are you thinking of building a chicken pen? You probably already know that you need chicken fencing, but what building materials should you use?
We are going to cover the top materials for building chicken fencing, including:
- Wood and welded wire mesh
- Wood
- Chicken wire
- Electrical netting
- Chain link
Recognizing the different benefits these materials offer will help you work out what to use.
We’ll look at the pros and cons of these materials to ensure you can build a great fenced enclosure for your birds.
1. Wood and Welded Wire Mesh
This is one of the most common types of fencing you will see for chicken pens. It has a few major advantages:
- Reasonably inexpensive
- Easy to construct
- Sturdy
- Allows you to see into the pen
- Lets plenty of light in
- You can build an overhead structure to protect the chickens from birds of prey
2. Wood
You can just build a full wooden fence around your chickens. This will offer more windproofing and it’s hard for predators to force their way through, but it isn’t perfect.
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The advantages include:
- Good weatherproofing
- It’s reasonably easy to build
- It’s sturdy
- It looks attractive
3. Chicken Wire
Chicken wire is a popular material and again has a few pros and cons. Despite the name, it is probably not your best option for fencing in your chickens, so don’t choose it without doing some careful research first.
The advantages:
- It’s cheap and can be pegged down using thin wooden or metal stakes
- It’s reasonably easy to move
- It lets you see into the pen
- It lets plenty of light in
The disadvantages:
- It will rust and lose its durability quickly
- You cannot build an overhead cover easily
- If you don’t dig it into the ground, predators will go under it
- Rats can bite through it
4. Electrical Netting
A more expensive option, this is usually viable if you have big flocks of chickens to protect. It can be preferable to constantly replacing fencing or losing your flock to predators.
Its advantages include:
- Superb predator deterrent
- You can see into the pen
- It lets lots of light in
- It’s robust
- It’s reasonably easy to build
