Building our first chicken tunnel/chunnel/chicken run......

[EdmondNative]

This year we decided to start a raised bed garden on our lot and have soon realized we needed to construct a fence to protect it from rabbits, deer, and our few free range hens.

After getting much of the fence up we decided to relocate one of our coops to the new fence and then construct a chicken tunnel connected to it and outlining the garden.

We are building the tunnel on the inside of the fence because the tunnel itself is only made of chicken wire and the fence will give some added protection.

Its still a work in progress and we are simply learning as we go.

Any ideas or suggestions at this point?


Above is the garden with the perimeter fence and chicken coop relocated. The tunnel had not been started yet.


Above is from inside the garden and shows the tunnel work in progress.

Hoping to get it all done this Labor Day weekend.

Thanks for any input.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Cool idea. So, the chickens will be able to roam the perimeter of the garden but not actually get into plants?

 

[EdmondNative]

Cool idea. So, the chickens will be able to roam the perimeter of the garden but not actually get into plants?

Exactly. The hens will stop invasive grasses/weeds and also eat bugs that would otherwise infest the garden.

As winter approaches I will construct a tunnel to the raised beds so they can work the soil in preparation for next year's planting!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Very nice. It is a take-off on the chicken moat. You build a run around the outside of the garden and the chickens intercept bugs. How well they will stop invasive weeds and grasses will depend on your climate, kinds of weeds and grasses, and chicken density. There are certain weeds they won’t eat and unless there are enough chickens they won’t keep all the green stuff cleaned up. It’s still worth a shot. I like it!

I like the way you are doing the tunnel, very economical and simple. A raccoon and maybe other critters can climb that fence and tear into the chicken wire but if you lock them in the coop at night you should do pretty well in that regard. They are better protected in there than your free ranging chickens.

 

[allpeepedout]

Beautiful!

Based upon the behavior of some of my chickens, who sometimes are confused about how to get back to the coop and will run back and forth along a wire fence, I'd be sure to have multiple water stations and some shaded spots.

 

[aart]

Very cool!
You can let them roam the whole garden for clean up after everything's harvested in the fall.
Good points about shade and water.

How many chickens do you have, that coop is pretty small for rough winters.

 

[EastmanEggs]

First, excellent Craftsmanship! The fencing, coop, and garden looks fantastic!

Second, I like the moat spinoff. Keep in mind that chickens will make an area bare in no time! By he size of your coop shown, I guess you dont keep too many birds- but dont underestimate how much they will tear out of the ground, also chicken poo is "hot" and burns grasses.

Expect a muddy/dirt trough all around your fence, which can lead to water problems aganst your fenceposts, may cause heaving in extreme cases.

 

[EdmondNative]

Cool idea. So, the chickens will be able to roam the perimeter of the garden but not actually get into plants?

I ended up putting two coops in the garden. Each coop has a run/tunnel that covers 1/2 of the perimeter of the garden.

 

[EdmondNative]

Very nice. It is a take-off on the chicken moat. You build a run around the outside of the garden and the chickens intercept bugs. How well they will stop invasive weeds and grasses will depend on your climate, kinds of weeds and grasses, and chicken density. There are certain weeds they won’t eat and unless there are enough chickens they won’t keep all the green stuff cleaned up. It’s still worth a shot. I like it!

I like the way you are doing the tunnel, very economical and simple. A raccoon and maybe other critters can climb that fence and tear into the chicken wire but if you lock them in the coop at night you should do pretty well in that regard. They are better protected in there than your free ranging chickens.

If you look closely where the tunnel connect to the coop I build a spot for a door to slide in an secure the coop from the tunnel at night to protect against determined predators. I also lined the perimeter of the coop itself with buried flagstone to keep predators from digging under the coop.

 

[EdmondNative]

Beautiful!

Based upon the behavior of some of my chickens, who sometimes are confused about how to get back to the coop and will run back and forth along a wire fence, I'd be sure to have multiple water stations and some shaded spots.

Fortunately my birds caught on quickly and even run to the coop when the sprinklers in the garden come on - so they definitely know where its at. I have a waterer in the tunnel and a bucket nipple waterer hanging in the coop. Luckily there is always some shade in the tunnel and the coop itself is always shaded.