Roofing choices for covered run?

[Sally PB]

The polycarbonate panels on my run roof were designed for green houses, so made to withstand UV. After 2 summers, they have not become brittle at all. They were, however, expensive: $55 each, and I needed 8. Not a cheap roof.

We recently reclaimed some metal roofing from an old farmhouse. When the tarp on the other half of my run gives out, I'll be replacing it with some of those. The white underside of the metal will brighten that area, I hope. I use some white Christmas lights in there in the winter. Because of the low sun angle, it gets gloomy in there.

 

[BGMatt]

I would recommend just aviary netting, maybe some shade cloth if desired, unless you get a lot of rain, in which case just go for whichever solid roofing is more economical just to avoid it turning into mud, I had good results in the past with alternating panels of clear and solid color pvc panels. I do not think you will be successful with plants surviving in that small of a run with that many birds.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

FL gets lots of rain in this area, for those wondering. I get about 55" a year on average. The poster's area averages a bit over 60" a year.

 

[Tonyroo]

Metal roofing material radiates a lot of heat when out in the sun.

 

[BDutch]

@21hens-incharge , This is my run as described.
I let the chickens free range too if possible. Try to keep the soil in good condition and add compost and leaves in autumn. When it was very warm and dry I hosed the soil a few times. The second run behind the netting on the left has a bit more shade.

 

[Eggcentric NanaJ]

I am just getting ready to finish the run on my first coop. I will have about the same height on a 13' x 18' run (currently 14 chickens), & also have a lot of trees (maple & pine). I decided to use medium grey poly panels for the first two rows (width approx. 50") closest to the coop, so they have extra shade. This area has sand & brick 30" wide covering the soil. It is where the dust bath area, food & water will be. The rest of the roof will be covered with a blue tented clear poly panels.
The walls are 77" high. They will have hardware cloth covering that extends down to the ground and out 24" to 30". The outside ground area around the run is covered with a 36" plastic grid filled with three inches of 1/4" minus gravel. I am also thinking about using 24" silver metal panels over the hardware cloth at the bottom of the run walls.
Where I live in Oregon normally, we get a lot of Rain Fall thru Spring. I put in a French Drain in the lowest spot of the space to be proactive, it is under the sand & brick. I plan to have clips on the outside of the walls that I can hang a tarp on and remove easily for extra weather protection.
I can't let the ladies' free range because we have a nesting pair of young Bald Eagles behind our house. Hawks, Owls & Flacons are often seen here as well.

 

[Ragfrey]

We live in Florida and the grommets will not hold up to a strong storm so that probably wouldn't work for us. That is part of the reason we are replacing the tarps we currently have in place. I find that very unfortunate because the tarps are pretty cost effective. Standing by the chicken coop, we can count six hawk nests. We have a family of red shouldered hawks that use our woods as a breeding ground. I have also seen a peregrine falcon in our yard. And I'm pretty sure we've spotted eagles flying overhead as well. We also have lots of buzzards come fall. Of course they only eat carrion. We live in the woods so we also have coyotes, sometimes in broad daylight, possums, foxes, raccoons, feral, dogs and cats, and probably several other predators as well. Well. Our run has to be fort Knox just to protect the chickens.

I was going to say why not a tarp until I read this.

I have 1/4” all sides and roof and put an inexpensive 12mil Harbor Freight tarp on mine. This is my first year for this and am awaiting strong storm/hurricane winds to see if my setup can withstand it here in South Louisiana.

Not in this picture, but I did take strong string/rope over the tarp from side to side to physically hold the tarp down on the 1/4” hardware cloth. I did not have the roof tin at the time and was really in question on using tin at all for the run. I just kinda figured that if the hurricane winds were strong enough to take off the tied down tarp, then it would prob unend the tin roof also.


I do have tin on the coop roof with one polycarbonate skylight down the center. This works well and allows for some like in the coop. I did not find it to increase the temp in the coop but at the same time, I have a lot of ventilation in my coop. I felt if I had any issues with it, I could always cover or paint it.

 

[LouiseG]

We are in the process of building the run on our second coop. We are completely covering the run with 1/2 inch hardware mesh. On our first coop and run, we did the same thing - but then covered the entire run with metal and tarps.
We are going to remove the tarps and cover the new run either Corrugated metal, Clear Polycarbonate Roof Panel, or just leave the mesh uncovered. We are debating on what is best for us AND our flock. We are going to cover the area over the pop door with metal for shade (about 16 ft by 8ft). And they have a 16ft x 8ft in the other connected run of the same. The combined run footprint will be about 600 sq foot for 34 birds. What should we cover the rest with?

1. Clear Poly
   1. Pros of covering with clear poly:
      • Let sun in, but block UV
      • keep rain out so no puddles (lower coccidiosis chances)
      • leaves won't gather, but will blow off.
      • Can put plants in the run
   2. Cons of covering in clear poly:
      • will have to manually water any plants
      • will have to clean anything that rain cannot clean
      • If the leaves don't blow off, they will be visible through and look unsightly - and harder to blow off if you cannot walk on the poly.
2. Corrugated metal:
   1. Pros
      • Completely shade the run to keep it cooler
      • keep rain out so no puddles (lower coccidiosis chances)
      • leaves won't gather, but will blow off into the woods
      • Fallen leaves are not visible on roof
   2. Cons:
      • cannot plant most plants inside the run (not enough light)
      • will have to clean anything that rain cannot clean
3. Leave the mesh uncovered
   1. Pros
      • Lets sunlight in
      • can plant inside the run
      • lets rain in to clean and water plants
   2. Cons
      • Unshaded parts with no UV protection
      • Leaves may gather on the mesh and need to be blown off
      • increased coccidiosis risk from puddles

I have attached a couple of photos of what we have so far on the new run. We are in the middle of the woods and have lots of leaves, especially in the fall. We are in Florida, so it gets quite hot in the summers, as well. Shade is necessary, but how much? Chickens also need sun, right? Are we over-worried about coccidiosis on this?

I have clear poly on parts of my run, and metal on other parts, just so I can have a place to block light and rain, and a place to just block rain. I also have an uncovered section, which is where my chickens' garden is, so there is both rain and light. So I would go with multiple cover types.

 

[TN Chick Mom]

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We added an 8'x12" covered run and used clear poly for a section and smoke grey for the rest. We had to have 8" panels for each side so it wasn't the cheapest and we don't have the cap on it. We had some very hot days for TN and it was not an "oven" under the clear. It does get some build up from bugs, leaves, etc. But it's not a huge deal. It's held up in some very brutal storms.

 

[Red Star 2019]

We are in the process of building the run on our second coop. We are completely covering the run with 1/2 inch hardware mesh. On our first coop and run, we did the same thing - but then covered the entire run with metal and tarps.
We are going to remove the tarps and cover the new run either Corrugated metal, Clear Polycarbonate Roof Panel, or just leave the mesh uncovered. We are debating on what is best for us AND our flock. We are going to cover the area over the pop door with metal for shade (about 16 ft by 8ft). And they have a 16ft x 8ft in the other connected run of the same. The combined run footprint will be about 600 sq foot for 34 birds. What should we cover the rest with?

1. Clear Poly
   1. Pros of covering with clear poly:
      • Let sun in, but block UV
      • keep rain out so no puddles (lower coccidiosis chances)
      • leaves won't gather, but will blow off.
      • Can put plants in the run
   2. Cons of covering in clear poly:
      • will have to manually water any plants
      • will have to clean anything that rain cannot clean
      • If the leaves don't blow off, they will be visible through and look unsightly - and harder to blow off if you cannot walk on the poly.
2. Corrugated metal:
   1. Pros
      • Completely shade the run to keep it cooler
      • keep rain out so no puddles (lower coccidiosis chances)
      • leaves won't gather, but will blow off into the woods
      • Fallen leaves are not visible on roof
   2. Cons:
      • cannot plant most plants inside the run (not enough light)
      • will have to clean anything that rain cannot clean
3. Leave the mesh uncovered
   1. Pros
      • Lets sunlight in
      • can plant inside the run
      • lets rain in to clean and water plants
   2. Cons
      • Unshaded parts with no UV protection
      • Leaves may gather on the mesh and need to be blown off
      • increased coccidiosis risk from puddles

I have attached a couple of photos of what we have so far on the new run. We are in the middle of the woods and have lots of leaves, especially in the fall. We are in Florida, so it gets quite hot in the summers, as well. Shade is necessary, but how much? Chickens also need sun, right? Are we over-worried about coccidiosis on this?

If you already have the mesh up, lay snow fence across the top and it will give shade. If it rains, you can till the ground up when it puddles and work the ground up so it will drain in ground.