...just BUYING a chicken run?

[springvalley123]

FYI, the one that was linked to earlier (/https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...erjam&utm_medium=affiliate&clickId=2735497527)
This is what my TSC store used to set up their spring chicks, you may not need to do much, other than a possible apron and some way of closing off the gap between panels if raccoons might be reaching into the run. I started with the cheap DIY kennel run, that you have to run the mesh yourself (not the one that comes in pre assembled panels). You'll need to put up some smaller mesh anyway, whether hardware cloth with an apron or dug under, or something like chicken wire, if you don't have real predators. For the "some type of top" I used 1 inch chicken wire, because I don't have big raccoons, plus some critter fence, which is harder to chew through, but you may need the hardware cloth to be safe where you are. I'd overlap it a bit. One final option, with T-posts,is to sleeve them with chain link fence posts of the appropriate size, you can get these much cheaper on craigslist, along with the fittings including nuts, bolts, eye loops, T-clamps, etc. I did that at my previous place and it looked quite good, and was sturdy.

 

[sharondoright]

There are great ideas on BYC for building DIY customs coops and runs... but has anyone had good luck with just purchasing a large predator-resistant chicken run? Like something that basically snaps together? ...I am not particularly handy. I have been surprised how difficult it seems to find an easy-to-assemble kit, even if I am willing to spend like $1000! LOL. The enclosed walk-in omlet runs seem like the best bet at first glance, but I am still not overly impressed. Help!

Husband is very handy, and helped me with my original coop, and with my expanded dream coop. HOWEVER... we bought a 10x15x6 dog run from Petco / Petsmart for around $225 - still took 2 of us to get it put together, but was NOT difficult. I zip-tied hardware cloth to the bottom to prevent the chickens from "sticking their necks out" after dog grabbed one such neck and pulled chicken out of coop, decapitating it in process. Dog was so proud of her "gift". We got a marine grade HUGE netting from walmart.com for under $40 to put over the whole thing, and that keeps chickens from flying over the fence. From there, you could look at your needs based on weather, etc. to provide shade, shelter, and roost. We also built a PVC / chicken wire pen for the chickens that we haven't really made use of. But PVC is super easy to cut and connect, and fairly durable.

 

[Aunt Angus]

But the Rugged Ranch one is only 4' high

I must've linked to the wrong one, then. Mine is a walk-in pen.

And I would have built mine, seriously. But my hubby insisted I buy and chose the Rugged Ranch one. He NEVER cares about my projects, so I agreed because it'll never happen again! Lol!

And that's why I first wanted the dog run. It was cheaper. But what hubby wants, hubby gets...

ETA the explanation about my other half.

 

[KBrammell]

Husband is very handy, and helped me with my original coop, and with my expanded dream coop. HOWEVER... we bought a 10x15x6 dog run from Petco / Petsmart for around $225 - still took 2 of us to get it put together, but was NOT difficult. I zip-tied hardware cloth to the bottom to prevent the chickens from "sticking their necks out" after dog grabbed one such neck and pulled chicken out of coop, decapitating it in process. Dog was so proud of her "gift". We got a marine grade HUGE netting from walmart.com for under $40 to put over the whole thing, and that keeps chickens from flying over the fence. From there, you could look at your needs based on weather, etc. to provide shade, shelter, and roost. We also built a PVC / chicken wire pen for the chickens that we haven't really made use of. But PVC is super easy to cut and connect, and fairly durable.

Oh my...the dog gift made me shudder

 

[path.otto]

I loved the Omlet coops until I realized I probably would not like them in the winter. We purchased and rehabbed a coop from a friend and connected it to our Omlet run. I do really like the run!

Here is a photo of the setup. Not sure where this link will take you, so my coop and run are shown on page 13, post #125.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-homemade-coops.1286780/page-13#post-20856980

 

[KBrammell]

I loved the Omlet coops until I realized I probably would not like them in the winter. We purchased and rehabbed a coop from a friend and connected it to our Omlet run. I do really like the run!

Here is a photo of the setup. Not sure where this link will take you, so my coop and run are shown on page 13, post #125.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-homemade-coops.1286780/page-13#post-20856980

I love the set up, it looks great! Maybe the Omlet run will work for us... we don’t really get winter here in CA; just rain. A tarp would solve that. Thanks

 

[path.otto]

#KBrammell, thanks! One thing I noticed about the tarp shown in the photo is that it really trapped heat even though it is silver on the one side. This year I switched to a 90% shade cloth (same size) and I like it much better. It does allow rain through, but it also allows breezes through. Now if it would just quit raining here so I can get a better idea of how it actually works for shade on sunny days!

 

[RedDol]

We bought 10 chain link panels 6x6. One had a gate in the panel. They are easy to put together. We made a 12x6x6 rectangle cube so the bottom and the top were also chain link. Almost predator proof. We bought it used ornypu can get them new.

 

[msiler]

What I have is a simple enclosure that on it's own is not predator proof. We had a bear come along two years ago and prove that to us. The simple solution? Electric fence! We put up tee posts along the outside of the enclosure and strung two strands of wire along it. One was about 6 inches above the ground (skunk, raccoon, cat level) and the other is maybe 2 1/2 feet above the ground. It used to be a pain to have to open up both strands and the gate to get into the coop, but I have gotten used to it and we have had NO attacks ever since!!

 

[KBrammell]

#KBrammell, thanks! One thing I noticed about the tarp shown in the photo is that it really trapped heat even though it is silver on the one side. This year I switched to a 90% shade cloth (same size) and I like it much better. It does allow rain through, but it also allows breezes through. Now if it would just quit raining here so I can get a better idea of how it actually works for shade on sunny days!

Oh, good to know...if you remember, where did you get your shade cloth?