Run Design Advice?

[RWBurrows]

My husband and I are new chicken owners, we've had our girls for about 2 months and got them at about 1 week old.

They've been in their coop for the past 2 weeks, but we have yet to construct a run for them. Currently, we just let them free range in the back yard when we're home and leave them in the coop when we're not. Not the best scenario, but we're undecided on the best design for the run.

We converted a playhouse into their coop, which is set in our side yard between one side of our house and the cinderblock wall separating us from our neighbor's property (pic below).



We have a few ideas, but I figured I'd put it out to the experts to see if anyone has any thoughts to toss at it. A few points to consider:

- Chickens don't need access to the top of the coop, that's for storage only. They currently go in and out the big door on the bottom.

- We live in Southern California in an city setting. Inclement weather is not a factor. The chickens will be locked in the coop at night, so the only predators we are really concerned about are hawks. Rarely see them in our neighborhood, but they do come around.

- Ideally, the run would be tall enough to allow us access to walk in, open the coop door each morning, collect eggs and close it at night.

- I'd prefer if the top of the run were deer netting or something similar. Assuming it's a tall run, we have to look out our family room window at it, so the less obtrusive the better.


Thanks all for any advice you can offer!

 

[missalis]

Hi! Congrats on being a new chicken owner. I'm fairly new at it myself, I started with 4 hens about 2 years ago that I raised from chicks, and just recently got 3 more. I can tell you a little bit about our coop/run setup and if it gives you some ideas, great. We have a 12x8 outdoor run that is fully enclosed by hardware cloth (it's a lot stronger than chicken wire and we live in an area where predators are a concern). 4x4 posts are the upright framework, with 2x4's for the sides/roof support. A good rule of thumb is to provide at least 10 square feet of run space per bird. For ours, we made it half covered with corrugated plastic for rain/snow protection and shade, and the rest is just regular wire fencing across the top so they still get sunlight. We are in NJ so rain and snow is always a consideration.
For some reason it's only allowing me to upload one pic on this post, but here it is:

You can see the coop is located outside the run area, and they have a simple perch that they love to sit on and preen together. Just basic cinder blocks and a 2x4! We designed it so that the coop directly adjoins the garden for easy composting. I like to let them free-range while I'm outside to supervise.

They have a tarp over the part of the run without a solid roof for the winter for extra cover in case of harsh weather, but it comes down in the spring. It's also located next to a tree for shade and wind protection.

I know you said you're not concerned about predators, but it's probably better to err on the side of caution. Even in a city setting you can get critters (opossums/cats/raccoons) that will try anything to get into the run. We have hardware cloth around all sides and buried underneath our run because we live in a pretty rural setting. You shouldn't have to go that far, but I'd consider at least burying whatever fencing you put up about 1 foot in case of any digging critters that might get into your yard. Once one of those things knows there are chickens and eggs in that coop, they will keep coming back and tell all their friends.

Love the playhouse idea! We recently got a used wooden playhouse that we will be converting into a coop for a little upgrade. The existing is just something we made with plywood.

Be sure to post pics when you are done! Hope some of this was helpful. I can try to post more pics on a follow up.

 

[bzombie]

Ok i am from ohio so keep in mind i have the cold months... We are in the middle of turning our broken side of the playset into a coop... u can see the hole in the floor. infront of that i am going to put 2 doors across from eachother with a screen door so i can get in and clean and have the screen doors so i can leave those open during the day and closed at night. A run will be underneath it.... Im trying to figure out if thats enough ventalation for them or what? Please Help!

 

[missalis]

That looks like a really cool coop project. I assume the hole in the floor will have a ramp going down to the run below? Will your screen doors have a solid door that closes over top of them as well? That's important to protect them against wind and drafts in cold weather. A good way to provide ventilation without creating draft is to provide a 2" gap between the roof and the walls, with a slight overhang to keep rain out. For further security you can put chicken wire or hardware cloth on the inside of the gap to keep snakes and other predators out. If the hole in the floor is going to be open all them time, just make sure your run is secure from predators as well.

 

[bzombie]

That looks like a really cool coop project. I assume the hole in the floor will have a ramp going down to the run below? Will your screen doors have a solid door that closes over top of them as well? That's important to protect them against wind and drafts in cold weather. A good way to provide ventilation without creating draft is to provide a 2" gap between the roof and the walls, with a slight overhang to keep rain out. For further security you can put chicken wire or hardware cloth on the inside of the gap to keep snakes and other predators out. If the hole in the floor is going to be open all them time, just make sure your run is secure from predators as well.

yes i will have a board from the hole to the run that will be underneath. and the 2 doors on each side will have a main door and screen door, both to where i can lock... I guess the easiest way to explain on eachside is going to look like a house door and storm door. i will def tell my husband about the gap under the roof as well...and thats good to have for winter?

 

[bzombie]

would i have enough room for that you think?

 

[missalis]

I think that should work fine. My coop has a gap under the roof and the hens have been perfectly fine during the winter. We're in NJ so we do get a good amount of snow and cold. Also make sure the ramp board underneath has some kind of 'rungs' or traction of some sort, otherwise the birds will slip trying to walk up it if that makes sense. Other than that seems like it should work fine.

 

[bzombie]

I think that should work fine. My coop has a gap under the roof and the hens have been perfectly fine during the winter. We're in NJ so we do get a good amount of snow and cold. Also make sure the ramp board underneath has some kind of 'rungs' or traction of some sort, otherwise the birds will slip trying to walk up it if that makes sense. Other than that seems like it should work fine.

well i told my husband but he seems to be in one of his moods trying to build this thing lol... guess i will wait and see how it turns out.

 

[missalis]

@bzombie good luck with it!