How to Attach Chicken Wire To Wood Fence: Keep Chickens Safe

It’s a sunny day, clear sky, fresh air. Suddenly you noticed your chickens clucking far out from the coop. This might be a sign of a potential predator attack, a farmer’s worst nightmare.

Predators such as Wolves, Coyotes, Red foxes, and other small predators such as Possums, Skunks, Raccoons, and even Fisher Cats might make a farmer’s life a living nightmare. Creating a wooden fence with chicken wire might be the best solution for the problem.

Chicken wire, also known as poultry netting, can be beneficial for a range of purposes, from chicken coops to using it as a metal lath to hold cement or plaster.

But when it comes to attaching chicken wire, a question pops in mind first, “how to attach chicken wire to a wood fence?” Here is a complete guide on how to attach chicken wire to wood fence. Follow this guide and make your very own DIY fence.

Things Required To Attach Chicken Wire To Wood Fence:

Estimated Cost

Chicken wire fences require roughly $2 to $4 per linear foot to install. The total cost of the chicken wire fence will depend on the amount of wire needed to cover the fence. You may need additional charges for other materials to build the fence.

Time Needed

The amount of time required to attach a chicken wire to a wood fence depends on the size of the area and the skill of the person attaching the wire. The larger the area, the more time it needs to complete.

Tools: 

• Wire cutters
• Pliers
• Staple gun
• Shovel (optional)
• Work gloves
• Other optional safety equipment

Materials: 

• Chicken wire
• Heavy-duty staples
• Baling wire (optional)

How To Attach Chicken Wire to Wood Fence – 4 Easy Steps

To attach chicken wire to a wood fence, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on hiring an expert.

It’s not rocket science. Trust me; you can do it all by yourself. Follow these simple steps and start attaching chicken wire to your wood fence.

Material Selection:

First, measure the height of your wooden fence. Make sure you select the chicken wire matching the height of your wood fence.

If the chicken wire is taller than the wood fence, it will look inappropriate. So, you might need to trim the wire to the right height with a wire cutter.

Also, before you start, don’t forget to measure the length too. The amount of chicken wire required for attaching to a wood fence depends on the length of the fence.

When you are purchasing the wire, check how much wire a roll contains and calculate the amount of wire you need for covering the fence, compare both and buy the exact amount. This will save you some money.

Safety at Work:

Our material selection is complete. Now, we need to make some security checks before we start attaching it to a wooden fence.

First, put on your work gloves. The ends of the wires are very sharp and thin, so you may get injured. Unroll some wire and fold at least 3 inches of wire over.

This will make the ending surface smooth and ensure no wires are hanging out. You may also bend or twist individual wires for additional safety.

Starting:

Ok, our prerequisites are complete. Now, we can start attaching wires to the wooden fence. When you are attaching chicken wire to a wooden fence, you should begin with a fence post.

The corner post is recommended for starting. You may stretch the wire all the way down to the ground so that it prevents creatures from burrowing underneath your fence.

For fencing, cut 6 to 8 inches wire pieces from the spool. Now, attach the end of your chicken fence to the wood fence with the 6 to 8 inches wire pieces. If you run out, cut them again in the same manner.

Now, wrap them around the wooden fence post through drilled holes and the netting of the chicken fence.

Twist the ends of the wires at a minimum number of six times to make sure it is perfectly tight around the chicken mesh fencing. After that, bend in the ends of the wire to avoid catching on to clothing.

Stapling:

The easiest way to attach your chicken wires to the wooden fence is with a heavy-duty staple gun. If you don’t have a staple gun with you, you can use a hammer to staple them in place.

But using the staple gun will make the job way easier and quicker. Heavy-duty staples can withstand harsh weather and keep the wire taut and level for a long time.

Now, put on your heavy gloves to protect your hands from sharp wires. Then hold the wire steady and apply the first staples to the post of the wooden fence.

Unroll a few feet of wire and staple it to the fence rails. Make sure you are pulling it taut. Keep stapling while making roughly a 24 inches gap between staples. 

Always make sure all of your staples are perfectly embedded in the wood. If any of the staples are not firmly embedded, they are most likely to work their way out over time. So, apply another staple if you find any staple that is not embedded firmly.

Continue Working:

Unroll more chicken fences to work on other uncovered areas. Move to the next part of the fence.

Just past the next fence post, you will find holes in the center point of the chicken mesh fencing, slide your fingers on the holes and pull it firmly to ideally stretch the fencing across the open areas.

Now, attach a chicken wire to the fence post with the help of your wire pieces or staples. By moving your hands down to the edge of it, you have to pull it away from the center and away from the previous fence post to stretch the wire again.

Now, you can attach the section of this chicken wire to the post of your fence. Keep stretching the net of the chicken wire and attaching it to the frame.

If you require more rolls of the chicken wire to cover the wood fence, try overlapping the old roll and new roll by about 8 inches.

Staple down the old roll all the way to the end of it and place the new roll. Repeat the techniques, start applying staples on the new roll.

Always keep an eye on maintaining the proper tautness and height and making sure all staples are embedded firmly. Continue this process until you cover the complete fence with chicken wire netting.

Cut the remaining chicken wire to your desired length with an additional 3 or 4 inches. Bend over the rough ends of the chicken netting and fold it to achieve smooth edges. Complete your project by attaching it to the frame.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Do you put concrete inside the vinyl fence post?

Answer: No, you do not. It is always recommended to use something that will absorb water (i.e., sand or soil) when filling holes. The vinyl fence post is sold without concrete inside the post.

Question: How much does chicken wire fencing cost?

Answer: Chicken wire fencing cost about $150 for 450 feet. This includes everything that is needed to get the job done. You usually need about 3 rolls of this type of fence to cover an average size lot.

Question: How tall should a chicken fence be?

Answer: To keep chickens, the fence should be roughly 6 feet or 1.8 meters high. The exact height is recommended for maintaining bantams inside the yard.

Question: How do you unroll chicken wire?

Answer: Unroll it upside down if you want most of the curl out. Put something heavy on the end of the wire that bites into the ground. Put weights on it wherever it curls back up. This will make it easy for you to roll out the rest of the fence.

Question: How can you flatten chicken wire?

Answer: You can flatten chicken wire by rolling it up in the opposite direction. Then unroll it again. This will make the chicken wire flat. Then put some heavy objects on to keep it flatten.

Question: What is the best tool to cut the chicken wire?

Answer: You can cut chicken wire with wire cutters or pliers, but the best suggestion would be tin snips. Tin snips are cheap, easy to use, and great for cutting wire mesh. They are even capable of cutting delicate curves.

Question: Can rats chew through chicken wire?

Answer: Yes, rats can chew through chicken wire. They are known to do this using their sharp teeth.

You should paint the bottom half of your chicken wire fencing with some kind of slippery substance (like bitumen). This will stop the rats from getting a grip on your fencing.

The Bottom Line

Chicken wires are one of the common materials that are very easy to use. Its wide range of applications made it more popular nowadays. Attaching to a wood fence provides not only security but also a good look.

However, applying this wire to protect domestic animals from large or small predators might not be enough. Always ask the experts before using chicken wires for domestic animal protection.

We hope you found this guide on how to attach chicken wire to wood fence helpful. Go through the article once more if you have any confusion still.