Covered means your chickens have a cool area in the summer sun, as well as a protected spot other than their coop when it rains or snows. The main disadvantage is cleaning, as the rain will not be able to wash the poop away. Meaning that job is up to you.
Uncovered is more or less self cleaning, gives the chickens a place to soak up the sun which is nice on colder winter days. Main disadvantages are the same as the advantages of covered. I will assume that whichever route you take you will cover the run with something to keep predators out, like 2x4 welded wire.
My run is 400 ft2. One 10' x 10' corner I've "roofed" in galvanized corrugated steel. This area is where I keep their feed trough, their grit and oyster bins. It stays mostly dry in all but a heavy downpour and gives them a dry area where they can enjoy their meals and have an outdoor area during bad weather. The rest of the run is covered in only wire and is open to whatever daylight filters through the oak trees. This is the area where they actually spend most of their day (when the weather is fair). The covered area also collects rainwater that I channel into storage bins as I do not have running water near their pen.
Uncovered is more or less self cleaning, gives the chickens a place to soak up the sun which is nice on colder winter days. Main disadvantages are the same as the advantages of covered. I will assume that whichever route you take you will cover the run with something to keep predators out, like 2x4 welded wire.
My run is 400 ft2. One 10' x 10' corner I've "roofed" in galvanized corrugated steel. This area is where I keep their feed trough, their grit and oyster bins. It stays mostly dry in all but a heavy downpour and gives them a dry area where they can enjoy their meals and have an outdoor area during bad weather. The rest of the run is covered in only wire and is open to whatever daylight filters through the oak trees. This is the area where they actually spend most of their day (when the weather is fair). The covered area also collects rainwater that I channel into storage bins as I do not have running water near their pen.
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