Chicken Wire - Economy

What Is Economy Chicken Wire and Which Jobs Is It Right For?

Economy chicken wire is a lightweight enclosure netting with a hexagonal mesh, a galvanized coating and a 25 metre roll length. Its job is to keep poultry in and small wild animals out. Expecting impact resistance, theft protection or the performance of a security fence from it is a mistake; this is where the product's limits lie, and knowing that from the start prevents most buying errors.

The right applications are clear enough: hen and chick pens, covering rabbit and turkey runs, protecting vegetable beds and young trees, enclosing compost heaps, wrapping tree trunks, partitioning beehive areas and temporary garden divisions. Because hexagonal mesh is flexible, it works easily over uneven ground, around curves and on timber stakes; when it is cut the whole weave does not unravel, only the cut cell opens.

What Do Hexagonal Mesh and Galvanizing Actually Give You?

Hexagonal mesh is the six-sided cell formed by twisting two wires together at set intervals. That structure buys you two things: low material weight and a high ability to take shape. Unrolled, the netting follows the surface, needs no extra pieces at corners and can be bent by hand into a cage form. In return the weave is flexible; it will not stand up to cattle leaning on it, to a hard impact or to constant tension.

The galvanized coating is the layer of zinc over the steel wire, and it slows down rusting. In an enclosed, well-ventilated coop that protection works for many years. In the economy range the wire and the coating are kept lighter than in the standard galvanized range; the saving is in the initial outlay, and the price you pay for it is earlier wear in damp environments heavy with manure vapour. You are welcome to confirm the wire diameter and coating weight with us before ordering.

100 cm or 150 cm? Choosing the Height

The product comes in two widths: 100 cm x 25 m and 150 cm x 25 m. The choice depends on the species and on whether the netting will be buried. 100 cm is enough for internal coop divisions, chick rearing sections, covering rabbit hutches, low vegetable beds and compost enclosures. Where the netting is fixed to a base and the top is covered, nothing more is needed.

150 cm is chosen for outdoor runs, turkey and goose pens, rural gardens under pressure from foxes and dogs, and any application where the bottom edge will be buried. Bury 25-30 cm of the bottom edge and you are left with roughly 120 cm of effective height; try to do the same job with 100 cm and you end up with a 70 cm barrier, which a hen will clear with a flap of its wings.

Technical Specifications

How Many Rolls Do You Need? A Worked Example

The calculation has two steps. First find the perimeter: for a rectangular area, perimeter = 2 x (long side + short side). Then find the number of rolls: number of rolls = (perimeter − gate width + waste allowance) / 25, rounding the result up. Adding around five per cent of the total run as a waste allowance covers the overlaps at joints and the losses at corners.

Example: a run measuring 12 m x 8 m is to be enclosed. Perimeter = 2 x (12 + 8) = 40 m. A 1 m service gate will be left, leaving 39 m of netting. With a five per cent allowance, 39 x 1.05 = 40.95 m. Since 40.95 / 25 = 1.64, you buy 2 rolls and are left with about 9 m in hand. If the same area is to be roofed as well as walled, the roof area has to be calculated separately: 12 x 8 = 96 m², which needs 96 m of 100 cm wide netting, or 4 rolls.

Installation: Post Spacing, Tension Wires and Tying

Economy chicken wire will not stand up on its own; it needs a supporting framework. Set the posts at 2 - 2.5 m centres and brace the corner and gate posts. If you are building a steel framework, steel tube post gives you a straight, long-lived line; if timber stakes are used, the section in contact with the soil must be treated.

1. Set out the line with a string, dig the post holes and concrete the posts in plumb.
2. Run three rows of galvanized wire at top, middle and bottom level; the hexagonal mesh hangs from these tension wires and stays free of sag.
3. Fix the roll to a post at one end, unroll it along the line and pull it straight by hand.
4. Tie the netting to the tension wires and posts with annealed wire at 25-30 cm intervals.
5. Bury the bottom edge 25-30 cm, or turn it outwards 20 cm in an L shape and cover it with soil; foxes and dogs dig to get in, and if this detail is skipped the enclosure does not work.
6. Overlap roll joints by at least 10 cm and tie the overlap at three points.

Economy, Galvanized and PVC Coated Chicken Wire Compared

All three products have hexagonal mesh and come in the same sizes; where they part company is material life and resistance to the environment. The economy range comes with the lowest initial cost and is the sensible choice for seasonal bed protection, temporary divisions and use inside an enclosed coop. On a permanent line that stays outdoors, it turns into a replacement cost every few years.

Galvanized chicken wire does the same job with a higher level of protection and, on permanent outdoor coops, gives a lower total cost than the economy range. PVC coated chicken wire adds a green plastic layer on top of the zinc; it gives the longest life where damp, manure vapour and irrigation water are constant, and it also disappears visually in a garden. The decision is simple: ask how many years the netting has to stay there. One season means economy, many years means galvanized, and a permanently wet or highly visible area means PVC coated.

Service Life, Maintenance and What Choosing Wrong Costs

Maintenance accounts for half the service life. Cut ends are the points where the zinc protection stops; that is where rust starts first, and folding and tying the cut ends back reduces both injuries and the spread of corrosion. When the tension wires slacken the netting sags, a sagging line concentrates the animals' weight at one point and the weave opens up; check the tension once a year. Clean the lower zone in contact with manure each season, because ammonia combined with damp consumes zinc quickly.

The bill for choosing wrong usually looks like this: economy netting is used on a permanent coop, holes appear along the bottom by the end of the second year, the coop has to be emptied to replace the netting, and the labour costs more than the wire itself. The mistake with height is even more common; 100 cm is bought without allowing for the buried section, the line ends up too short, and the whole run has to be redone.

What Sets the Price, and How Do Delivery and Site Surveys Work?

With economy chicken wire the price is driven by roll width, wire diameter and coating weight, order quantity and the current cost of steel raw material. A 150 cm roll contains more material over the same length, so it costs more than the 100 cm roll; on bulk orders the unit cost falls. All the amounts shown in the price table on this page include VAT.

Our company is based in Ostim, Ankara; we sell the product and ship throughout Türkiye. Delivery is always charged; the freight cost is added to the order separately, including on deliveries within Ankara. On projects within Ankara the site survey is free; we measure up, set out the line and confirm the number of rolls to you in writing. Installation is not a standard service; our teams attend site only on projects with a run of approximately 1000 metres and above. On smaller jobs the product is delivered and the installation is straightforward using the steps above.