Building a coop - need run ideas

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Hi! I am a new chicken mom, just adopted two Barred Rocks and we are getting four more chicks next weekend. We are in the middle of building our coop and can't decide the height for the chicken run.. My boyfriend and I are both 6 ft tall, so ideally, we were thinking to make it 6 ft high.. Problem is, I am having a hard time finding hardware cloth in that height. Do you think it would be okay to make the run 4 or 5 feet high? Or do you guys think that will make it really hard to clean? I am open to suggestions :) Attached is the pic of our progress so far.. obviously we still need to add siding, trim, doors, etc.. The run is going to go in an L shape off the back of the house.. Thanks!
 
you'll grow to hate a run 4 or 5 feet tall. having to bend over to work it will take it's toll on you.

As for not finding hardware cloth tall enough, build your run framed in sections, then stack them.

Or study 'cattle panel' hoop style runs. I'm in process of building a new coop and run, and my run will be cattle panels, stood on end and secured, bend them over and secure the other end, then wrap in hardware cloth. There are plenty of threads on here about cattle panel runs, the most recent with great pics is by Blooie, do a search, you might just like what you see!.

oh, and cattle panels are cheaper than framing it with lumber
 
I agree that a four or five foot high run will cause an aching back!

Have you considered using a dog run for your run? We use those for all of ours. They come in six foot heights and aren't difficult to put together.

Our local Lowes carries one that can be made into either a 10 x 10 run or a 5 x 15; we've used them both ways...

Gail
 
My run is about eight feet high, the length of wood fence posts or treated lumber. You will HATE a run lower than seven feet, because it's miserable to work in it. Frame it in, and attach hardware cloth in strips to the framing. You will need horizontal framing also, for sturdiness, and maybe corner bracing. Plan on some type of cover or roofing too. I've also got concrete footings from an old building, which is wonderful. Dig- proof has to be planned for in some way. Mary
 
Here is a pic of my coop and run. One roll of hardware cloth on the lower half and another on the upper squeezed in between 2x4's....

 
Here's mine - cheap and cheerful, tall enough to work in, and easy to expand.







It's simply steel fenceposts pounded into the ground with 3 cattle panels arched over and wired to them. We added the lattice just because it's pretty and since we live in town and our setup is visible from the street we didn't want it to be an eyesore. We covered the panels with chicken wire to deter overhead predators, then ran hardware cloth 2 feet up the sides, folded it outward at the bottom into an apron about two feet out, and "sewed" the hardware cloth to the skeleton of the cattle panels. Spent far less time and money building the run than the coop! We're expanding it by one cattle panel this summer - all we have to do is take off the end fencing that closes the run, add two more fence posts and one more panel, then re-attach the end, which is just welded wire fencing. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Edited to add: Just in case the usual question comes up about its stability in wind and weather.....we often see winds in excess of 40 mph with gusts as high as 60. This is our coop and run this winter.

 
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What we recently did with our last run (built it over a former raised bed rose garden). This one out of PVC pipe. Did use 36" hardware cloth but ran two rows (cable tied together) so the end product is six feet tall....
Mention this because it's a way of working hardware cloth into the size you want. In the picture you can see the two rows of hardware cloth held together with cable ties. Right now this is our grow out pen.

Gail
 
Blooie said:
Here's mine - cheap and cheerful, tall enough to work in, and easy to expand.







It's simply steel fenceposts pounded into the ground with 3 cattle panels arched over and wired to them. We added the lattice just because it's pretty and since we live in town and our setup is visible from the street we didn't want it to be an eyesore. We covered the panels with chicken wire to deter overhead predators, then ran hardware cloth 2 feet up the sides, folded it outward at the bottom into an apron about two feet out, and "sewed" the hardware cloth to the skeleton of the cattle panels. Spent far less time and money building the run than the coop! We're expanding it by one cattle panel this summer - all we have to do is take off the end fencing that closes the run, add two more fence posts and one more panel, then re-attach the end, which is just welded wire fencing. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Edited to add: Just in case the usual question comes up about its stability in wind and weather.....we often see winds in excess of 40 mph with gusts as high as 60. This is our coop and run this winter.

Click to expand...

I was bragging on yours, LOL
 
PapaChaz said:
I was bragging on yours, LOL
Click to expand...
Why, thank you, my friend!
big_smile.png
 
Oh wow, thank you all so much for everyone's suggestions! I definitely have a lot of options to think about. My main concern is obviously predators. I have two large dogs that we are slowing socializing with the chicks but I am still wanting the coop to be 100% secure so the dogs and other wildlife can't get in. I appreciate the pictures!! It helps a lot ! :)
 

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