And now...the run....

[TerryH]

Evening all. Thought I'd start a new thread for the run construction. The coop thread has gotten pretty big.

Here's that thread if anyone needs to catch up...


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1088771/cheryls-hen-house


Here's the rough plan for the run and the chicken yard.




The run will be 9' wide, 26' long. Front side is 8' tall, rear is 7' tall. Predator protection is layered. 4' of 1/2" hardware cloth on the lower portion and the remainder of the sides above the HC will be covered with regular poultry wire. 2x4 welded wire will then cover both the chicken wire and HC on the entire sides. Both the 36" front human door and the 48" rear human door will be double layered as well. 1/2" HC covered by 2x4 welded wire sandwiched between the 2- 3/4" treated wood door frames that comprise each door. We have some used 1x2 welded wire that I'll be using for a 24" apron all around the run. We're planning on using the deep litter method in the run. We'll begin that with several inches of ground trees from a local tree service. We'll see how that works out and adjust from there.


I decided that the fence was more than I cared to take on so I hired a fence guy for that. He did a great job! Here's the finished product.







Here's the 9' long fence that will become the west end of the run with angled gate back to the storage building for access.





I had the fence guys set the rest of the posts for the run while they were here.


We began today with beginning the framing on the front. 2x6's top and bottom with doubled 2x4 uprights in between the 4x4 posts set 2' deep in concrete.

Edit: The horizontal members are all attached to the 4x4's with pocket hole joinery. Those joints are further reinforced and supported with notched vertical 2x4's.





Here's the front structure done.





The rear mirrors the front except for the 48" door vs the 36" door in the front.




We had planned to leave 10' of the run un-roofed but I decided to go ahead and roof the entire thing. Yet another trip to the big box for more materials coming right up. The roof rafters are 10' treated 2x4's on 16" centers. Every other rafter is 2 - 2x4's sistered together. Here's where I stopped for the day.


Rear...





Front...








Usual Sunday things tomorrow but I'm very thankful for the Monday holiday!!! Hope to get it pretty much done then!!

 

[aart]

Question: We are new to the Pacific Northwest and I'm wondering about rainy climates - what do you suggest I do so that the smaller run near the coop will stay dry enough for the chickens to use it during the rainy days? Our coop has a small run that actually attaches to the house, but we have not built the large run (as our chicks are a week old). We do have designs for it.

I want to use construction/river sand at the bottom of the small coop run so that the it stays as dry as possible on rainy days and drains well. I am building the coop on higher ground in the yard, but it still rains here for short AND long periods of time. There will be a roof on the top covering all sections of the enclosure, is that along with the sand base enough?

Agrees with Terry's advice.....solid roof, large over hangs.
Also make sure any significant run off from roofs, hardscaping, surrounding area, etc is routed away from run area using swales, trenches, gutters, etc.

Forget the sand, was a big fad, some still swear by it...and it can work well in an arid climate
Yes, sandy soil drains well, but it's really not great for chicken bedding.
It will eventually become saturated with pulverized poop and stink to high heaven when damp.
Then what do you do with it?! I used it in chick brooder, mixed with PDZ(zeolite), yes it's easy to sift clean but eventually was untennable. I used to to fill holes in yard from an auto accident, would never want to deal with the large quantities used in a run or coop. Rant over. If you search here you will find as many stories damning sand as you will those lauding it. It's your choice, but I strongly advise against it

The key IMO is to provide a environment that will break down the poops, a varied mix if dry plant materials that will provide carbon 'absorb' the high nitrogen poop and provide shelter for a plethora of micro and macro organisms to create basically a cold compost situation. The birds will keep things stirred up and enjoy eating the large bugs that will reside there.

Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992

ETA: Welcome to BYC @memrymaker ! Search out your state chat thread here at BYC, can a a great resource for local references.

 

[User395221]

Also make sure any significant run off from roofs, hardscaping, surrounding area, etc is routed away from run area using swales, trenches, gutters, etc.

Also, make sure the drainage in the run itself is away from your house, as you said the run is attached. If you can use the rainwater for the birds, setting up a rainwater tank could also be an option for dealing with runoff in the area.

 

[TerryH]

very impressive... you do not do things half way, that's for sure.. but why not 1/2 HC all the way up instead of chicken wire? you must not have weasels/mink/ etc 

Thanks. Researching and over building is a disease.

Have neither mink nor weasels in my area as far as I can tell. The game and fish commission numbers show zero weasels harvested state wide and very few mink. Haven't heard of either here for many years. Neighbors have flocks that have free ranged for years and totally unprotected with no losses. Maybe they are just fortunate. My main daytime concerns here are stray dogs, possums and hawks. The chickens will be secured in the coop at night. I guess the bottom line is like most everyone else, I just picked a predator protection spot that I was happy with and ran with it.

 

[Kiki]

Awesome work...I love the raised garden beds. I think I need some!

 

[csaylorchickens]

Love this set up

 

[Gridguru]

Looks great (as expected)!

 

[Finnie]

Wow, Terry! It's just all coming together so nicely!!

 

[Kiki]

Thanks @aart!!

I forged ahead in the rain today. It was a muddy mess of leftovers from burying the posts and such but I was/am determined. Got the blocking and strapping done first thing and then continued in the pouring ran with the metal. Took a couple of breaks when it was just raining so hard I couldn't stand it and headed into the shop to work on the man doors. Got those finished as well.

Pics from today...

Blocking and strapping done.



Roof done. It looks huge.



Few general shots.











I was also determined not to quit until there was at least one piece of wire up so I stretched the first piece of HC and put a few screws and washers in it. I made a fence stretcher so I could get it tight. Not the easiest material I've ever worked with.

Here are the double layered 1/2" HC and 2x4 WW doors. The frames are made the same way as the coop door. Pocket screw construction. 3/4" pressure treated material. The wire is sandwiched between 2 frames to make a 1 1/2" door with the wire in the middle.







I am totally beat. What a thrash this weekend was. I so hoped to be done with it but I guess there's always next weekend.

everything looks awesome....even that cute ladder!!!

 

[TerryH]

The mulch buffer against the run will soak it up so run won't flood?

The majority of the run off goes to the north and out into the yard. The trench that the railroad ties are in next to the run will also double as a drain. The ground is sloping slightly away from the run east to west away from the coop and then to the south out of the run. I'm confident that the run will be fine.