Chicken Wire - Galvanized

What Is Galvanized Chicken Wire and What Problem Does It Solve?

Galvanized chicken wire is a permanent-use netting with a hexagonal mesh made from zinc-coated steel wire, sold in 25 metre rolls. The real problem with poultry netting is not breakage but corrosion: in animal housing, where damp, ammonia from manure and rain all come together, uncoated wire perforates along the bottom within a season or two. The galvanized range is built for exactly that point, with the zinc layer on the wire surface drawing the corrosion onto itself and protecting the steel underneath.

That is why the product is chosen for jobs that stay outdoors and are not going to be taken down for years: permanent hen and turkey runs, duck and goose pens, rural garden boundaries, protective cages for fruit trees, apiary enclosures, and aviaries for game birds and pigeons. The same product is also used behind render, as roof bird proofing and to close off ventilation openings in warehouses.

How Much Difference Does the Zinc Coating Make?

Zinc is a more active metal than steel; where the surface is scratched or slightly damaged, the surrounding zinc sacrifices itself first and protects the exposed steel. In practice this means that while rust on uncoated wire starts at a point and spreads quickly, the same damage on galvanized wire stays contained for a long time. The life of the coating is directly tied to the environment. In a well-ventilated coop kept dry underfoot, galvanizing works for many years; in housing where the bedding stays wet and manure builds up at the base of the netting, the same wire tires far sooner.

So take the conditions into account when you buy galvanized chicken wire. For an area that is permanently wet, heavy with manure vapour or exposed to sea air, stepping up to the plastic coated range is the better move; on dry, well-ventilated installations galvanizing gives you more protection than you need.

Where Are the 100 cm and 150 cm Widths Used?

The product comes in two widths: 100 cm x 25 m and 150 cm x 25 m. The 100 cm width suits internal partition walls, hatching and chick sections, the side faces of cages, roofing strips and low bed enclosures. The narrow width is an advantage on roofing work, because the netting sags less and tying between strips is easier.

The 150 cm width is for outdoor runs, goose and turkey pens, rural land under pressure from predators, and applications where the bottom edge will be buried. If you are planning a buried section, do the arithmetic up front: bury 30 cm and a 150 cm roll leaves 120 cm of effective height. Since a hen can gain height with a short flap of its wings, letting the effective height drop below 1 metre defeats the object of the enclosure.

Technical Specifications

How Many Rolls Do You Need? A Worked Example

The formula does not change: number of rolls = (total run length − gate openings + waste allowance) / 25. The result is always rounded up, because rolls are not sold in part lengths. Around five per cent of the run is added as a waste allowance; this covers the overlaps at joints, the turns at corners and the losses at cuts.

Example: measuring around the edges of an irregularly shaped garden gives a total run of 62 metres. There are two gate openings, one of 1 metre and one of 3 metres. The net run is 62 − 4 = 58 metres. With the waste allowance, 58 x 1.05 = 60.9 metres. Since 60.9 / 25 = 2.44, you order 3 rolls. If the 6 x 4 metre run in the same garden is also to be roofed over, the roof area is 24 m²; with 150 cm wide netting, 24 / 1.5 = 16 metres is enough, so it comes out of what is left in hand. On the roof, overlap the strips by at least 10 cm before tying them.

Installation and Tensioning: the Details That Extend the Life of the Line

Galvanized chicken wire lasts considerably longer when it is tensioned properly, because sagging netting concentrates the animals' weight at a single point and opens up there. Set the posts at 2 - 2.5 metre centres, and brace the corner, gate and end posts. Using steel tube post for a rigid, true framework gives a longer-lived line than timber stakes and one that is easier to tension.

• Run three rows of tension wire at top, middle and bottom level; the hexagonal mesh hangs from these wires and does not sag under its own weight.
• Start the roll at a corner post, unroll it along the line and tension it with two people as you tie; one-person tensioning almost always produces a wavy line.
• Make the ties at 25-30 cm intervals and fold the cut ends inwards before tying them off.
• Bury the bottom edge 25-30 cm, or turn it outwards in an L shape and cover it with soil.
• For gate frames and fixed panels, use a rigid mesh rather than hexagonal netting; a welded mesh panel stays flat and will not distort in a gate leaf.

Galvanized, Economy or PVC Coated Chicken Wire?

All three products are made in the same sizes and on the same hexagonal mesh principle; the difference is in service life and resistance to the environment. Economy chicken wire has the lowest initial cost and avoids over-specifying on seasonal bed protection, temporary divisions and indoor use. Used on a permanent outdoor line, however, it brings replacement and labour costs every few years.

The galvanized range is the standard for dry, well-ventilated permanent installations; thanks to the protection of the coating it lowers the total cost of ownership. PVC coated chicken wire adds a plastic layer over the zinc and gives the longest life in permanently wet areas, in housing heavy with manure vapour and in humid climates. Where animal pressure is high and the netting is leaned on, you need to move to a load-bearing mesh such as galvanized chain link fence; chicken wire is a light enclosure product, not a load-bearing fence.

Service Life, Maintenance and What Choosing Wrong Costs

The maintenance list is short but it makes a difference. Once a year, check the tension wires and tighten any that have slackened. Clear away manure and wet bedding that builds up at the base of the netting; ammonia combined with damp is the fastest consumer of zinc there is. Look over cut ends and scratched areas, and close any opened cells with tying wire of the same type. Gates and access points wear the most, so add extra ties there. A single inspection round before winter prevents most of the damage that otherwise shows up in spring.

Choosing wrong usually shows up in one of two ways. The first is using a light grade on a permanent outdoor line: holes open along the bottom in the second year, the birds get out, the whole run has to come down to replace it and the labour exceeds the cost of the wire. The second is running chicken wire on a fence under real animal pressure: because hexagonal mesh does not resist leaning, the weave stretches, the cells open and the line is permanently deformed.

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

With galvanized chicken wire the main price drivers are roll width, wire diameter, zinc 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 comes down. 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 come to site, measure the run and confirm the number of rolls required in writing. Installation is not a standard service; our teams work on site only on projects with a run of approximately 1000 metres and above. On smaller jobs the product is delivered and the installation can be carried out using the steps above.