Numerous types of enclosures exist, some of which are elaborate and designed to enclose a yard and others that are simple and serve merely to cage animals. Chicken wire is among the most economical materials with which to build an enclosure. It is commonly used for two purposes: to keep in, or to keep out, small animals, such as chickens; hence the name "chicken wire." With the appropriate tools, it is relatively easy to build a pen with chicken wire.
Instructions
1. Determine how much chicken wire you need by marking the dimensions of your pen with stakes. Measure the distance between each stake, and add the measurements together to derive how much chicken wire you need, but do not forget to subtract the width of the gate from your measurement. Cut the appropriate amount of chicken wire with a pair of wire cutters.
2. Round your measurement up to the nearest multiple of five (if it isn't one already). Divide that number by five, to determine how many stakes you will need to support the chicken wire.
3. Run a piece of string, straight and tight, from stake to stake, about halfway up. This will serve as a guide for aligning the metal fence stakes
4. Drive the metal stakes into the ground with a sledgehammer, beginning at the corners of the enclosure and placing them five feet apart. Pound each stake until the metal flange at the bottom is driven completely underground.
5. Drive a wood stake into the ground at a distance from one corner, equal to the width of your gate.
6. Use a screwdriver to pry open the metal hooks on the fence stakes; hook the chicken wire onto the hooks. Make sure the bottom of the fencing is flush against the ground, to prevent the chickens from getting out of the pen.
7. Close the hooks by holding the sledgehammer behind the stake as a support and pounding the hooks shut with a hammer, which will secure the wire to the stakes.
8. Anchor the chicken wire to the ground by hooking tent stakes around the bottom edge of the fence and pounding them firmly into the ground.
9. Screw the hinges into the wood stake that you set for the gate, and attach the gate to the hinges.
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