Fencing wire and birds

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by TheMadHedger, Dec 4, 2019.

  1. TheMadHedger

    TheMadHedger Gardener

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    I'm currently in the process of raising the height of an existing wire fence - it was about four and a half feet high with a wooden post about every six feet and using 'stock wire' to prevent large animals getting through (this wire has holes large enough for a cat to get through). I'm doing this because one of my dogs has recently started to try and jump the fence.

    I've now added about a foot and a half to the height by adding some mood to the posts and then using some green chicken wire along the length (the chicken wire has holes about half an inch across - it's about one and a half feet high).

    I've just had a thought though - birds! As in, will birds not see it and fly into it? It's green, the grass on either side is green and the stretch of fencing is about 50 feet long. Even I can't see it until I'm about 15 feet away.

    Naturally I don't want birds to fly into it and be injured, so if there is a chance of that what should I do to make it more visible? Or are their eyes particularly good at seeing such wire? I don't though hear of any incidents with people who keep chickens and have issues with wild birds accidentally flying into the wire.
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      Personally I think birds will see it, they mostly have better eyesight than us.
       
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      • ARMANDII

        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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        On a scale of 1 to 10 we humans have eyesight at around 3 and a bird around 9. I have had 6' x 4' slack chicken wire frames attached to the top of my 7' or 8' fence all around the garden for over a decade now.........and never had one bird casualty even though I have plenty of birds in the garden. Birds can fly into a dense Shrub and flit through it without harm, while humans have a tendency to bump into doors!:wallbanging::heehee::cat-kittyandsmiley::coffee:
         
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        • TheMadHedger

          TheMadHedger Gardener

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          Thanks for the replies, that's very reassuring. :)
           
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