Chicken Coop Plans ? Using Chicken Wire

The least talked about aspect of chicken coop plans is chicken wire. I most chicken coop plans you will see directions to put up chicken wire, tie it off, bury it, cut, it, etc. but nobody talks about what it is or how to really use it, For some reason, authors of chicken coop plans assume you know everything there is to know about the stuff and how to properly use it. I don’t know about you, but when I first started building coop I couldn’t tell the different between chicken wire and barbed wire (that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point). So here, I’m going to give you a few pointers about using chicken wire.

There is nothing overly special about chicken wire; all it is is just pliable metal twist together. It is made of galvanized wire, usually tin or aluminum. It is very flexible and can form to whatever shape you are building. But be careful because as you work with heavier gauge wire it will be more difficult to cut and work with. The reason so many chicken coop plans call for using chicken wire, it that it holds up well to the elements, dirt, and time. Also, it is very easy to work with. In fact, you could put up a fence in a few hours.

But chicken wire is not just used for holding in chickens, anymore. For instance, chicken wire can be used as makeshift rebar for concrete. This is especially useful when building chicken coops. For the average builder, concrete does not even come up in the discussion for a coop. However, when you are looking to build a permanent coop and foresee no reason why you would move the coop, then pouring a concrete foundation is a nice touch for your coop. When your concrete is poured, and before it dry, that’s when you can add you chicken wire as part of the foundation and build it up into the fence.

The hexagonal gaps in chicken wire will stay grounded in the concrete and no matter if predators dig and the base or try to tear the wire out, it will stay secured in the concrete, keeping your chickens safe.

The last part of this article is about how to attach the chicken wire. There are two scenarios that come up: when you are attaching it to a stake and when you are attaching it to another piece of wire. When tying it to a stake, wrap the it around the stake once then, using a staple gun, connect the it at the top, middle, and bottom of the stake to secure it. When attaching it to another piece of wire, cut a piece of the wire and overlap it with the piece you wan to connect it to. Next take a piece of bailing wire and tie the two pieces together at the top,  middle, and bottom to secure them. Like I mentioned before, most chicken coop plans will not tell you how to work with chicken wire, but with these tips you are good to go.