Close up of chicken wire used in a chicken coop. Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence poultry livestock, such as chickens, in a run or coop.It is made of thin, flexible galvanized steel wire, with hexagonal gaps.n construction, chicken wire or hardware cloth is used as a metal lath to hold cement or plaster, in a process known as stuccoing. Concrete reinforced with chicken wire or hardware cloth yields ferrocement, a versatile construction material.