Patti--? about raised beds

[AbbeyLehman]

As I build my raised beds for next year and while thinking about housing chickens and/or rabbits on them, I was wondering--Do I need to use a smaller hardware cloth on them or can I get away with using chicken wire? I noticed that the opening on standard chicken wire are large than I anticipated, and I don't want something small but deadly to squeeze through. Should I go ahead and pay the extra for the hardware cloth or will the chicken wire work? And for the beds that already have chicken wire under them, if that isn't enough, can I just use a second layer offset from the first? I'm trying to be budget-conscious without short-changing the process. I don't have access to enough scrap wood anymore (my source--my dad--moved to AZ--hard dare he?! LOL) so I'm needing to purchase most of my supplies.

Thank you dear!!!

[AbbeyLehman]

Now that Patti is home :)

[gardengirl72]

Totally fine on the bottom of a raised bed. Make sure it is secure though. Rodents can be very persistant. A good cat usually handles that though.

I use chicken wire with no problem. On my chicken tractors I put the wire on the inside, but Froggi made a tractor with the wire on the outside. There is a picture of it here:

http://www.urbansustainableliving.com/blog_alternative_energy_latv_gas_saving_tips_blog. html

Check Craigslist or Freecycle for scraps to get it going for less.