Anyone ever put a GREEN ROOF on a chicken RUN????

[keeko]

So my chicken coop was made by a great coop maker locally, but I promised my husband he could have the task of building the chicken RUN. We're discussing ideas and designs, and we love to be eco-conscious and eco-friendly. I was wondering if anyone out there in the BYC community has ever put a GREEN ROOF on a chicken run??? By "green roof" I mean essentially a flower bed that acts as the roof of the run (it's covered in plants). It reduces water runoff, and it's eco-friendly by growing more plants!

Any ideas how this would work on a run? Would it be unstable on a tall run (6 feet tall)? Has anyone done this before???

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
I am curious why you would cover a run?

 

[patman75]

Not sure if this is exactly what you want, but check this out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=99638&p=1

 

[cottagegarden]

I would think the big obstacle would be the weight, but you could probably do it if you built a support structure and that had your wire run as part of that.
I wouldnt want to cover a run persee, but I guess it all depends on what you are picturing. Shade perhaps? Or additional secure coverage?
PennState has a great project going on with green roofs. http://horticulture.psu.edu/cms/greenroofcenter/news.html

 

[Texasboy4ever]

I use the plastic 1 inch squares on my runs for the tops, we have hawks and owls in the area. I have found that the chickens love the sun and they like to sun bath in the dirt. We have enough shade in the summer for them and they will chase the sun as it moves across

 

[Woods_Woman]

My run is covered, and I really like the fact that it is. I have a small run because I only keep 3 girls in there, but I dont have to worry about mud, or my girls getting rained on. I live in Oregon so we get loads of rain, I also noticed that when I moved my girls from a run that wasn't covered to run that was they were spending lots more time in the run instead of cooped up in the coop, in a covered run they still enjoy being out rather it's raining or not. Now I don't use a green roof, I've seen it used and seems like a good idea, hope someone has some answers for you.

 

[keeko]

Thanks for the info guys! The Penn Sate page looks interesting, can't wait to check that out!

I definitely want to cover part of the run because I'd like the chooks to be able to go out of the coop even if it's raining or snowing. We were going to cover it with plastic roofing, but thought a green roof could be fun...

 

[Tecalli]

Last spring I saw an article on "salad tables" and decided ot build one. I really liked it and will be building another one this spring. Rather than having them be stand-alone tables, you could use the same concept for the cover of the run. An advantage for a run cover is that the soil depth is only about 2" so weight would be less of an issue. Here's a link to salad tables and what they look like:
http://www.growit.umd.edu/Salad Tables and Salad Boxes/index.cfm

 

[MagsC]

Oh, I LIKE the idea of a green roof!!!! Keep those ideas coming!!! The salad tables look especially interesting.

 

[jettgirl24]

This one isn't on the run, but its on the coop and I'd imagine you could do somethign similar over the run, just without the solid sides.

http://www.digginfood.com/2009/03/backyard-chickens-101-cool-chicken-coops/

P.S. if you're into gardening this is a cute blog... My co-worker's wife writes it and she contributes to our local NPR station's gardening program each week. She's crazy knowledgable about organic gardening, heirloom veggies, and a whole host of gardening subjects