Building a chicken run. Need advice!

[huckleberryfarm]

Hey, all! We have our two coops and finally have chickens! Now we need a run. I'm tired of chasing silkies all over the farm trying to get them back in the coop. My husband and I are having different opinions about what a run needs to be. I'd like it to be covered, he doesn't. I'd like it to be tall enough we can walk around it, he doesn't. Blah blah blah.

What do you think are necessities of a chicken run? We plan to have this be a permanent run. We do get a lot of wind since we have over 100 acres of cleared pastures with very few trees to block it. We spent a lot of money on our coops and I would like a nice run.

We'd both appreciate any thoughts & advice! Thanks!

 

[ebear82]

We used a chain link dog run for our chicken run. I don't know what the length and width are...maybe 10 feet by 5 feet?...but it is taller than I am (I think it's 6 feet) and has a walk through door. We cut a hole in the other end that attaches to the chicken door of the coop. We covered it with deer netting to keep hawks out and it was cheap and easy to do. I also put some dead branches that I found up for perches (I just stuck them through some of the chain-link holes and zip tied them to keep them in place). It works pretty well for us! Then if I want to let them roam around the yard, I just open the people-sized door and out they go! Good luck!

 

[happyhensny]

We also use chain link dog runs. On one of our coops (4 x 8) we have a 6 x 12 run attached. Works great, keeps out big predators. Got it on CL for about $100. Very easy to put together.

 

[Baymen Moe]

Make it as preditor proof as possible. Cover it with something to at least keep the hawks out and yes you won't regret being able to walk upright in your run.

 

[darkmatter]

You can see my BYC page for pics of my Run. I built it last year (greatly enlarged anyway) after getting tired of predation. I made the tall posts by welding rebar to T-posts, used ten foot corner posts of hedge (Osage Orange wood) and strung # 9 galvanized wire from corner post to corner post through loops on the top of the T-posts. Then hung the chicken wire with rings from the #9 wire to it. I fasten the chicken wire together with J-clips like the rabbit cages are made with. (bags of clips and the special pliers can be had at most feed stores) I buried plastic coated fencing in a 6 inch trench extending 12 inches above ground to be clipped to the chicken wire-----its hard to see the bottom fencing in my pics cause the plastic coating is green and blends with the grass in the photo. I had planted Illinois everybearing mulberry trees in the original run and added apple trees and persimmons in the enlarged run to free feed the chickens. I also plant tomatoes in cages in the run to have them grow up and over the cage dropping tomatoes to the chickens----I usually have plenty of volunteer tomatoes to transplant. The idea was to have a long lasting fence that is easy to repair, replace, and or tighten. The plastic coated buried fencing is for rust resistance and dig under resistance. My first run was fasten firmly to the posts and top wire which made it hard to tighten when it sagged and hard to replace sections when it rusted or torn----I do learn from my mistakes!

 

[CoopDelisle]

We absolutely love our run. Thinking about adding another section along the back side as we are thinking about trying to focus on a couple of different breeds and need some separation. If you look on our BYC page, you will see
how we built our run. I don't feel too bad when we cannot let our chickens free range due to weather or something, as they at least have plenty of room in the run to walk about and dust bathe. We just try to have some greens or a pile of leaves to peck and scratch.

Coop

 

[huckleberryfarm]

Thanks everyone! Coop Delisle, love your whole setup. That's a beautiful coop! Kind of has the look of ours.

Sending hubby lots of pics! Thanks again!

 

[Jimmiaandboys]

Quote:
What a beautiful coop right down to the landscaping! Inspirational!

 

[CoopDelisle]

Thanks guys! We are heading into spring here and plan on freshening things up...hopefully we can post some new pics soon. Have fun!

Coop