top of chicken run

[triplejfarm]

ok need some help here, we have three runs off hte back of a barn... we bought the AKC dog kennels, square welded wire not chain link, they are 15 feet long and 5 foot wide, 6 foot tall... all three right beside each other, I put 48 inch tall 1/2 x 1/2 welded wire around the whole outside of all 3 kennels together, burried it about 4 inches but fanned it out to the side about 12 inches so its not "deep" but its wide... and goes up the side of the kennel 3 feet...

do I need to do the rest of the sides, the kennel squares are 2x3 and are pretty small...

also, do I need to do the top,..? the welded wire and dog kennels broke me... do you think I could do the regular chicken wire for the top...? I also plan to cover it with a tarp or something...

any ideas for a roof for 3 dog kennels side by side... so roughly a 16x16 area.... I was even thinking of some way of putting pannels on the top, just not sure how I would connect them to the top ....

I would like to make it secure enough that I didnt need to close a coop door each night IF possible.... LOL

also anyone have any plans for a interior sliding coop door, thats homemade ..??

 

[locke2121]

Several ways. If you don't need to go into the run, just string good chicken wire across and close it with zip ties. Or you could just buy a good tarp or two and use that...gives them some extra shade too!

If you do need to get in, consider building a light roof with PVC pipes...at least 1/2 inch. It isn't too expensive and with the right bends and angles and some glue and zip ties, you can build a light framework to attach some wire or tarp to it.

 

[triplejfarm]

hadnt thought of the PVC frame... and since its 6 foot tall, even a flat roof with wire will still allow good access in the run...

my bigest question is would predators climb the kennel and try to gain access in and over the top..?? or do most people not have issues with a kennel that tall..? I would LOVE to just do a tarp, but I am worried that wont be enough....

 

[chfite]

I don't have any plans for a sliding interior door. Take a look at some of the guillotine style doors offered on the web and cobble something together from what you see.

Mine are a small sheet of OSB 1/4 inch thick set into a track made from whatever I had lying around with a rope through a hole in the upper edge of the door. The rope runs through a pulley to raise and lower the door. The rope runs across the upper part of the coop the to outside, so that I can operate the door without entering the run.

The tracks are large enough for the door to operate loosely in them. The dimensions of the opening are roughly 12 x 14. Although the rooster has to duck, everyone can come and go with ease.

Here is a goofy video that shows the essence of a pop door.

Chris

 

[locke2121]

Predators will do anything and everything to get an easy meal! People will think they have the Fort Knox of coops...and a racoon or weasel will find the one overlooked hole. All you can do it tie the wire together as tight as you can and keep your fingers crossed lol.