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What size aviary mesh

Updated: October 2026

You have chosen welded mesh, and the listings now talk about 6 mm, 13 mm, and 25 mm as if they were one decision. What size aviary mesh means matching the hole to the smallest animal that must not pass, and naming the source when two UK shops disagree. The rolls that state a hole are on our [Aviary wire](/hub/fencing-and-wire/aviary-wire) comparison, noted on 19 October 2026 by Peter F. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. This set stocks about 6 mm and about 12–13 mm. It does not stock a 25 mm roll.

You have chosen welded mesh, and the listings now talk about 6 mm, 13 mm, and 25 mm as if they were one decision.

Our top picks

C&Xanadu C&Xanad 900 mm × 10 m 12 mm aviary mesh

Best overall

C&Xanadu C&Xanad 900 mm × 10 m 12 mm aviary mesh
6.8/10about £49.90
View offer
Muzhira Muzhira 6 m × 300 mm 6.35 mm mesh

Best value

Muzhira Muzhira 6 m × 300 mm 6.35 mm mesh
7.8/10about £18.99
View offer
Roshield Roshield 900 mm × 6 m 6 mm rodent mesh

Rank 3

Roshield Roshield 900 mm × 6 m 6 mm rodent mesh
8.1/10about £39.99
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On this page
  1. 1.6 mm when the pest is a mouse
  2. 2.13 mm for small birds and the rat step-down
  3. 3.25 mm means different things

6 mm when the pest is a mouse

Mesh Direct puts 6 mm with mice. A YouMoro reviewer said 13 mm holes were too large for house mice. Roshield is 6 mm by 6 mm, 900 mm by 6 m, about £39.99. One review reports gaps wide enough for a mouse, so hold the sheet to the light. Muzhira is a 6 m by 300 mm strip of 6.35 mm mesh at about £18.99. That width is a skirt, not a flight wall. EzKamfort is 6.3 mm at about £36.99, with welds that open. An open weld is no longer a 6 mm hole. IME does not state an aperture. Diameter and coating are on the aviary wire mesh buying guide.

13 mm for small birds and the rat step-down

The National Council for Aviculture names welded mesh at half an inch for budgies. Half an inch is 12.7 mm. Mesh Direct uses 13 mm for budgies, finches, and canaries. QWORK, YALYAYA, YouMoro, and C&Xanadu are the rolls on that number. They are not a mouse hole. The Chicken House Company says rats pass 25 mm and treats 13 mm as the tighter mesh when rats are the problem. Mesh Direct still sends mice to 6 mm. Heavy enough is not the 0.6–0.9 mm printed here. Measure C&Xanadu before you cut timber, because older reviews describe a narrower roll than the 900 mm listing. Provet treats galvanised mesh as a zinc source if birds mouth it.
C&Xanadu C&Xanad 900 mm × 10 m 12 mm aviary mesh

Testsieger

C&Xanadu C&Xanad 900 mm × 10 m 12 mm aviary mesh
6.8/10about £49.90
View offer

25 mm means different things

The Chicken House Company treats 25 mm as a start against a fox’s reach and calls 50 mm too open. Mesh Direct lists both 25 mm and 50 mm as fox options, at a heavy gauge. What they share is wire much thicker than 0.9 mm. As a parrot hole, Mesh Direct puts large parrots on 25 mm stainless at about 3 mm wire. Nothing here is that panel. GOV.UK says that if you net a range in bird-flu measures, the mesh should be no larger than 25 mm, and you still house the flock. This comparison has no 25 mm ASIN.

Common questions

What hole for a budgie, finch, or canary?
About half an inch, 12.7 mm, in welded mesh. That is the National Council for Aviculture figure, including a 1 inch by half inch rectangle. Mesh Direct uses 13 mm for budgies, finches, and canaries. In this set that is QWORK, YALYAYA, YouMoro, and C&Xanadu. Fix it inside the frame. It is not a mouse hole.
Will 13 mm stop a house mouse?
Do not count on it. Mesh Direct sends mice to 6 mm. A YouMoro reviewer said 13 mm was too large for house mice. Use a stated 6 mm sheet such as Roshield, or Muzhira’s 6.35 mm strip, when the pest is a mouse. A 13 mm flight can still wear a 6 mm skin at the gaps.
What do sellers say about rats?
The Chicken House Company says rats pass 25 mm and treats 13 mm as the step down. Mesh Direct says 13 mm can keep rats if the wire is heavy enough, and keeps 6 mm for mice. That phrase is not a rating of these 0.6–0.9 mm coils. QWORK, with no printed diameter, is not a specified rat barrier.
Why do two UK shops give different fox holes?
They are seller menus, not one standard. The Chicken House Company starts at 25 mm and calls 50 mm too open. Mesh Direct lists both 25 mm and 50 mm, at a gauge around 2 mm. The shared point is the thick wire. This set has neither that wire nor a 25 mm roll.
What does the 25 mm GOV.UK figure govern?
It is the maximum if you net a range during bird-flu measures. The same page tells you to house the birds. A 6 mm or 13 mm roll is inside that maximum. The housing order still stands. The figure is not a budgie size, a mouse size, or the fox specification those sellers argue over.
Is there a 25 mm roll in this comparison?
No. The kept listings are about 6 mm or about 12–13 mm. IME does not state a hole, and one review says 6 mm, not 25 mm. A large-parrot stainless panel and a heavy fox weld sit outside this set. A second, finer skin is bird mesh inside and rodent mesh outside, which Mesh Direct suggests so the birds do not chew the outer wires.

Related pages

Chicken wire vs aviary wire

Aviary wire

Best aviary mesh for a flight, a gap, or a longer run

Aviary wire mesh buying guide: hole, gauge and width

How to fit aviary wire on a timber frame this weekend

Sources

Public UK sources and amazon.co.uk listing lines; retrieved 19 October 2026.

  1. Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK, Bird flu: housing your birds safely (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. British Waterfowl Association, Fencing (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Mesh Direct, Aviary mesh (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Mesh Direct, Chicken wire netting (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. The Chicken House Company, Aviary wire mesh guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. National Council for Aviculture, Fact sheet 3 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Provet, Zinc in birds (retrieved 19 October 2026)