A smallholder in the Cotswolds built one good fence around four acres. Two meters of woven wire, strainers every three meters, a gate wide enough for a trailer. It held the fallow deer in for eleven weeks. Then a fox went under the bottom wire and killed nine hens in a single night, and the deer walked through the gap where the poultry net had been patched in.
The fence was not badly built. It was asked to do two jobs that pull in opposite directions. Deer need height and a visible line they will not run at. Poultry need a small aperture, a buried edge and a lid. Deer and poultry fencing only works when the two requirements sit in separate lines, not in one compromise panel.
This guide covers where the lines differ, how to run both without buying twice, and the details that decide whether either one holds.
Executive Summary
A deer barrier and a poultry barrier share a property but not a specification. Deer fencing is a height and sight problem: the animal has to see the line and decide not to jump. Poultry fencing is an aperture and digging problem: the predator arrives at ground level and works from below.
Trying to merge them produces a fence that is too tall for a chicken run, too open for a fox, and too expensive to repair in sections. The practical answer is two fence lines on a smallholding, each sized to its animal, joined at a shared gate.
This article sets out both specifications, the junction detail where they meet, the material that suits a wet climate, and the inspection routine that catches a failure before a predator does.
Send the Layout, Get Both Fence Lines Specified
Tell us the deer species, the flock size and the boundary shape. We return height, aperture, wire diameter, skirt depth and panel sizes for both lines, with a cut-to-size quote and a lead time.
Request a Two-Line SpecQuick Answer
Deer and poultry fencing works as two lines, not one. The deer line runs 1.8 m to 2.4 m high with a visible mesh the animal will not charge, while the poultry line runs at 1.2 m to 1.8 m with a 25 mm aperture, a buried or apron skirt and overhead cover against raptors.
Key Takeaways
- Height stops deer; aperture and a ground skirt stop foxes.
- A single compromise fence fails at both ends of the specification.
- Chickens walk under electric tape, so shock alone will not hold a flock.
- The junction gate is the weakest point on any mixed property.
- A deer fence that stops a dog usually stops a deer too.
- Repair cost drops when each line uses its own panel size.
Why One Fence Cannot Serve Both Animals
The two animals attack a fence in different places. A deer tests the top and the sight line. A fox tests the bottom edge and any gap wider than its skull.
That difference sets every other number. Height, aperture, ground detail and material all follow from where the pressure arrives. One panel cannot answer both.
Fence Height for Deer Versus Poultry
Fence height for deer versus poultry is the first number that splits. Fallow and red deer clear 1.8 m from a standing start and more with a run-up, so the deer line usually runs 2.4 m. Roe deer need less, and 1.8 m holds them on most boundaries.
Poultry do not need height at all. A 1.2 m fence holds a heavy breed that has been clipped, and 1.8 m holds most flocks that still fly. Above that, you are paying for wind load and posts, not containment.
Where the Deer Line Actually Fails
Deer rarely jump a fence they can see and do not like. They walk the boundary looking for a dip, a corner they can cut, or a gate with a gap under it. Standard deer fence height requirements cover the jump, but the failure usually starts at the ground line.
A deer fence that also stops a dog comes down to the same detail. Both animals push at the bottom, so a line tensioned to the ground and fixed at every post resists both. The animal enclosure mesh range lists the wire diameters that hold that tension without sagging between posts.
The Poultry Line: Aperture, Skirt and Lid
A poultry run is a box, not a fence. It needs four closed faces, and the one people forget is the floor.
Mesh Aperture for Ducks and Geese
Mesh aperture for ducks and geese runs wider than for chickens, because the bird is larger and the predator set is different. A 25 mm aperture suits hens and stops a fox from pushing its head through. Ducks and geese can take 50 mm without risk of a bird trapping its head.
Wire diameter matters more than people expect on the lower third. A light gauge deforms when a dog leans on it, and a deformed mesh panel leaves a gap at the base. Where the flock also needs a lid, poultry biosecurity netting closes the top and the side with one continuous panel.
Buried Skirt Depth for a Fox
Buried skirt depth for a fox is the number most often guessed. A fox digs fast in soft ground, and a 150 mm lip does not stop it. Run the skirt 300 mm to 450 mm down, or lay a 600 mm apron flat on the surface and pin it.
A ground skirt costs less than a buried one and works as well on stony ground where digging is impossible. Either way, the skirt has to connect to the panel rather than sit beside it, because predator exclusion fails at the joint. A deer fence with a poultry apron can share the same strainers along a boundary, as long as the apron turns outward and pins down on the poultry side.
Overhead Netting for a Chicken Run
Overhead netting for a chicken run closes the top against raptors and stops a flighty breed from clearing the side. A 50 mm mesh at 2.4 m height is enough, and it costs far less than raising the perimeter to the same height.
Tension the roof panel to a perimeter cable rather than to the posts. A slack roof collects water, sags, and then tears at the fixing.
Predator pressure on a mixed property rarely follows a single pattern, and the management advice changes with the species involved. Defenders of Wildlife coexistence guidance sets out non-lethal approaches that work alongside a physical barrier rather than replacing it.
Two Specifications, Side by Side
The numbers below are the ones that differ. Everything else, from post spacing to gate width, follows local ground conditions. Panel choice on the poultry side follows the wire types used for a backyard flock, which differ from a deer panel in more than gauge.
| Requirement | Deer line | Poultry line |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.8 m for roe, 2.4 m for fallow and red | 1.2 m to 1.8 m, plus a roof panel |
| Aperture size | 50 mm to 100 mm, visible at a distance | 25 mm for hens, up to 50 mm for ducks |
| Ground detail | Tensioned to the ground, no gap under the wire | 300 mm to 450 mm buried skirt or 600 mm apron |
| Top detail | Smooth top wire or angled outrigger | Roof panel on a perimeter cable |
| Pressure point | Sight line and jump approach | Base edge and digging |
Where the Two Lines Meet
Keeping poultry in a deer paddock sounds efficient and usually ends badly. Deer move at speed when startled, and a hen house inside the paddock becomes an obstacle in their path. Run the poultry line outside the deer line, sharing a boundary but not an enclosure.
- Set the deer line first, on the property boundary.
- Set the poultry line inside it, with a 3 m to 4 m gap between the two.
- Join them at a single gate rather than at a corner post.
- Keep the gap clear of stored feed and standing water.
- Run the poultry apron across the gap so nothing digs in from the side.
Gate detail where deer and poultry meet decides whether the junction holds. One gate, one frame, and a mesh return on both sides that closes the gap between the two lines.
Netting a deer fence to keep chickens in is the shortcut that fails. The deer panel is too open at the base, and the netting you add carries no ground skirt.
Materials That Survive Both Duties
Wet ground and livestock traffic destroy cheap mesh faster than any animal does.
- Galvanized welded wire. Cheap and rigid. It rusts at every weld once the coating breaks, and the base is the first place to go.
- Plastic poultry net. Fine for a season. It goes brittle in UV, and a fox opens it without effort.
- 316 stainless steel wire rope mesh. Holds tension for decades, keeps its shape against a leaning animal, and does not shed coating into the run.
A deer netting material comparison usually lands on the same conclusion: the material cost is real, and the replacement cost is worse. The same wire serves both lines, which is why one supplier for both panels saves a second delivery.
Electric Fence and Poultry Incompatibility
Electric fence and poultry incompatibility is a detail that costs people a flock. A hen’s feathers insulate it, and a bird that walks under the bottom wire never touches anything.
Electric tape works on the deer line because deer have a wet nose and approach at height. It does not work as the primary poultry barrier. Use it as a second line inside a physical fence if you want the extra deterrent.
Inspection Routine for a Mixed Property
Fence inspection after a storm on a smallholding should take twenty minutes and follow the same order every time.
- Walk the outside of the deer line and look for a dip in the ground line.
- Check the poultry apron for lifted pins and exposed edges.
- Test the roof panel tension by hand at the midpoint.
- Look at the gate return on both sides of the junction.
- Clear vegetation along the base, because growth hides a gap.
Protecting fruit trees from deer and chickens needs the same logic. A tree guard stops browsing above and scratching below, and it has to reach the ground. Keep the aperture and wire diameter for each line in the shed log, because the zoo and wildlife enclosure mesh grades are easier to match from a record than from a sample taken off a weathered panel.
Cost Split Between the Two Lines
The cost split between deer fence and poultry run is where a mixed property saves money. Height is the expensive part of a deer fence, and aperture is the expensive part of a poultry fence. Paying for both on every meter wastes one of them.
Two lines let each meter carry only what it needs. The deer perimeter buys height and strainers. The poultry run buys fine mesh, a skirt and a roof. Shared strainers at the junction cut the total again, and a single order for both panel sizes usually beats two separate deliveries.
FAQ
Only if you add a separate poultry line inside it. A deer panel is too open at the base and carries no ground skirt, so a fox works under it in one night.
1.8 m for roe deer and 2.4 m for fallow or red deer, measured from ground level on the outside. A slope shortens the effective height, so measure at the low side.
It helps as a second line and fails as the only one. Foxes dig, and a wire at 150 mm above ground leaves a gap they use before they ever touch it.
25 mm aperture for hens, with a wire diameter heavy enough that a dog cannot deform the lower panel. Ducks and geese can take 50 mm.
They can share a property, and they should not share an enclosure. Deer move fast when startled, and poultry feed attracts rats and predators into the same space.
300 mm to 450 mm buried, or a 600 mm apron pinned flat. Soft sandy ground needs the deeper figure.
Specify Both Lines Before You Buy Steel
Send the boundary drawing, the deer species and the flock size. We will return height, aperture, wire diameter, skirt depth and panel sizes for each line, then quote cut-to-size panels with a lead time.
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