The Poultry Keeper

Mananzwa · Joined: 30 Jul 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Norfolk

I was looking at the dimensions of the poultry net I use and I just think it is over-kill. The bottom wires are only 5cm (2") x 7.5cm (3") apart and are so small even a chick won't get thru. All well an good but I don't let birds out until much larger so I think the manufacturers are over engineering so costing us more for the nets. I think 3 x 3 is fine so 2 wires would be removed and would cut the cost by 10%.

Do any others have thoughts for or against? Lets hear them & maybe get a manufacturer to make a larger dimension net cheaper. Very Happy

nigel · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:36 am Post subject:

you can get nets of differing dimensions

See here for example

are any of these more like what you're looking for

Mananzwa · Joined: 30 Jul 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Norfolk

All companies offer a range for different animals but the basic size of the poultry net is still the same.

Electric Netting Dimensions

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1452 Location: Leicestershire

I think you will find that birds feathers are quite good insulation against electric shocks, so the small dimensions are an added extra to help keep them in. I have seen birds tangled in sheep netting, they get part-way through the square and then maybe a wing goes the wrong way, the result is a bird with an outstretched wing with bare flesh touching the wires and getting shocked and unable to escape. I wouldn't want to do that to my birds for the sake of a few extra pounds, if they were stuck like that for long they would soon die.

Itsybitsy

chook-in-eire · Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 88

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

I hate to say this but if push comes to shove, even a small hybrid will force it's way through normal poultry fence. I've watched mine do it when I've forgotten to switch it on. I have 4 adult bantam Langshans who ignore the current at all times and spend the day ranging around the garden, eat with the guinea fowl and then pop through again to go to bed.

chook-in-eire · Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 88

True, Henwife, I always have the odd culprit like that too. Especially young birds who want to get away from the big guys, until they are so big they no longer fit through. The only advantage is that I can feed such young ones separately ... I keep tellin' them: "You are NOT safe out here" but they don't want to know. Laughing

Touch wood, so far I haven't lost any that way and at least at night I know they are safe behind a couple thousand volts.

snoop · Joined: 17 Nov 2008 Posts: 4 Location: cork

I don't think it is about keeping the birds in as keeping everything else out. I let my birds out at 6 weeeks in the summer & it contained them ( they are still really small at 6 weeks)but more important nothing else got into them . As fully grown birds they will clear it if they want to , but they never wander far from the rest & spend most of the day outside the netting trying to get back in( for some reason they never seem to think about flying back in over it