Building a chicken run....any tips for us?

[susnrob]

Hello,

We are getting ready to build a chicken run. We have 9 chicks who are 4 weeks old now. We have a 7'x7.5' lifetime shed that will be in the corner of the run. I am thinking the run will be 13'x17.5'. They will have more than enough room inside the shed and in the run. In the future we will likely get a few more chickens. The run will probably be a 2x4 structure covered in wire cloth or chicken wire (sides and top). Any tips or tricks to building this type of run? Should we bury the chicken wire a foot or so in the ground to deter any other animals from getting into the run? We have several acres of woods at the back of our yard so I want to keep the chickens safe.

Thanks

 

[onionheadtg2014]

I would definitely burry some wire.... That is one of the regrets I have from mine is that I didn't burry the wire.... Now I have gaps that I have to keep tacking up and fixing, its a pain....Make sure that your structure is supported well also and keep in mind that you will always want to make changes so be sure to leave wiggle room for add ons etc...... Hope I could help..... Be sure to get ur chicks roosting when young or else its gonna be a pain when they grow older.....

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If you wish to employ a "no dig skirt" I would suggest using something more substantial than poultry netting - the nature of poultry netting/chicken wire is that it would do nothing to stop a digging predator. Those who do use a skirt typically use hardware cloth, etc which is stronger than poultry netting and will actually stop/deter the digging predator.
Those who use the hardware cloth for the skirting also generally also use it for the enclosure for the same reasons - poultry netting can keep poultry in but not much out. If expense is a concern, many use the cloth for the skirting and then the first 3 or so feet of the "walls" of the run with poultry netting above that and over the top - though some use cloth on the entire structure.
All that said - my current run is a "hoop coop" style run with cattle panes covered in poultry netting and without a no-dig skirt. My previous run (years ago) was a wood frame with poultry netting and no skirt. You'll see a full range of opinions on what the "right" way to construct a run is.
It's all about calculating the risks, knowing what your primary predatory threats are and deciding how much risk you are wiling to take -- then factoring that into what you can afford to spend.

 

[Hen-rietta]

I have often wondered about burying one or two cinder blocks and building the coop at ground level on top of them. Maybe even using a paving stone to cover the top. That would stop any burrowing, right? Or would you just chance the whole thing sliding on you?