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Chicken wire vs aviary wire

Updated: October 2026

You are about to buy a roll because the title says chicken, and the photograph could be a soft hex net or a stiff welded grid. Chicken wire vs aviary wire is that construction choice. Hexagonal netting is twisted. Aviary mesh, as UK shops use the name, is welded into squares. A fox can break the hex. A light weld is still not the heavy panel those shops specify for a fox. The welded rolls on our [Aviary wire](/hub/fencing-and-wire/aviary-wire) comparison were noted on 19 October 2026 by Peter F. This page does not review a chicken-wire ASIN. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to buy a roll because the title says chicken, and the photograph could be a soft hex net or a stiff welded grid. Chicken wire vs aviary wire is that construction choice. Hexagonal netting is twisted.

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
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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
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Twisted hex or a welded square
  2. 2.What UK pages say a fox can break
  3. 3.Welded is not automatically the heavy sheet

Twisted hex or a welded square

Chicken wire is a net of hexagons. Each joint is a twist, so the sheet pulls out of shape when something leans on it. Hook a finger in a hex and tug. The opening becomes a slot. Welded aviary mesh is fixed at each junction, so the square stays a square unless the weld was poor. The rolls here are that stiff kind, from about 6 mm to about 13 mm. EzKamfort reviews describe joints that open when the mesh is bent. Reject that coil. Do not go back to twisted netting because one brand’s welds failed. How the squares are stapled is on how to fit aviary wire.

What UK pages say a fox can break

Mesh Direct does not sell hexagonal chicken wire as fox mesh. The fox sheet it names is about 50 mm at 14 gauge, near 2 mm. Wire Fence says hex will not do the job, and its fox mesh starts at 2.0 mm. The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust tells rabbit and guinea-pig keepers to use weld mesh, not chicken wire, and not to leave the animal out at night. A 0.6 mm weld can still be peeled at a staple. Keeping hens in is a different test from keeping a fox out. Weld mesh removes the twist. It does not add the 2 mm, and it does not replace locking the animal in after dark.
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

Welded is not automatically the heavy sheet

Most stated wires here are 0.6–0.9 mm. Muzhira and EzKamfort print 0.6 mm. YouMoro prints 0.85–0.9 mm. C&Xanadu prints 0.9 mm and calls it 19 gauge, while merchant tables put 19 gauge near 1 mm. QWORK, YALYAYA, and Roshield do not state a diameter. IME says 5 mm wire and also claims stainless and hot-dip, on a 1.63 kg roll, so that figure is not a fox gauge you can trust. A 13 mm square keeps a budgie in better than hex. A 6 mm square closes a mouse gap that stretchy hex does not. Muzhira at about £18.99, Roshield at about £39.99, and QWORK at about £50.45 are all welds, and none is near 2 mm.

Common questions

What is physically different about the two meshes?
Chicken wire is hexagonal netting with twisted joints, so the hole can pull open. Aviary wire in UK shop language is welded square mesh, so the opening stays put unless the weld fails. EzKamfort reviews show joints that arrive loose or open when you bend the sheet. A failed weld is a fault in a coil, not a reason to prefer hex.
Will chicken wire keep hens in?
Often, if the only job is containment and the birds are not forcing the net. UK poultry pages treat hex as a light run. It sags, and the twists move. It is a poor choice once something outside is trying to get in. Shutting hens in at night still matters when the day run is welded mesh.
Will chicken wire keep a fox out?
Do not plan on it. Mesh Direct, Wire Fence, and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust say a fox can break hex. The Trust’s example is a rabbit or guinea-pig hutch with chicken wire on the front. Welded mesh is what they tell you to use instead. That warning is about the twist, not a promise that every weld is thick enough.
Does any welded roll here count as fox mesh?
No. Those fox pages name about 1.6–2 mm, 14 gauge on Mesh Direct’s table and 2.0 mm at the start of Wire Fence’s fox mesh. Stated wires here are 0.6–0.9 mm, or missing. IME’s 5 mm wire line conflicts with a 1.63 kg listing. Welded is necessary on those pages. It is not sufficient at this thickness.
When is hex still a fair buy?
When you are keeping poultry in, shaping net around a curve, and a fox is not the animal you are stopping. Hex drapes and rolls up. It is a bad buy for a budgie flight, because the hole is not a stable half inch, and a bad buy for a rabbit front a fox can reach. If the title says chicken and the photo is hex, you have not bought aviary mesh.
What gauge do UK fox pages name?
About 14 gauge, near 2 mm on Mesh Direct’s seller table, and 2.0 mm on Wire Fence’s fox mesh. A 19-gauge label, about 1 mm, is light bird mesh. C&Xanadu’s 0.9 mm line is in that lighter band. A 0.6 mm wire is lighter again. Once the joint is settled, the hole is a separate choice from the twist.

Related pages

What size aviary mesh

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)