Building the ideal chicken run

[Gypsi]

I'm figuring and thinking so I staged a revival. Still figuring and thinking. 7L farms has a great idea, but I need both coop and run to be movable. Maybe screw or u nail 2x4 wire to mount boards that attach to the coop, make coop heavy enough to be strong, light enough to be movable when needed? Run comes off the front, t posts that can migrate if necessary, and I'm thinking electrical fence around it? What height for the hot wire? mainly worried about coons. no dogs will be patrolling. Lot will have secure privacy fence before the coop goes up. Locked. Ladder (fence rails) on the inside. Won't stop a coon, but should slow down humans and dogs, my neighbors can see this lot better than I can, both are armed.

Gypsi

 

[potluck]

I'd like something I can move too, but I'm thinking maybe of a panelized system - something easy to take apart and move. Anybody ever done anything like that?

 

[Gypsi]

Dog kennel - what I have around my pond, would work. But I spent $600 the day I bought those kennel panels. I think it was only 75 for very heavy guage 2x4 fencing, and lighter to move, IF I have movable posts, and a movable coop itself, and a way to securely attach both ends of the 2x4 fencing to the coop that is also easy to undo those 2 or 3 times a year I need or want to move it.

Kinda shook up - my little truck and I were in a rather large (6 car) crash this morning courtesy of a renegade runaway semi-trailer. Something tells me I won't be building anything til I get wheels again. My truck was old and I do not carry full coverage.

 

[twgentry]

Where do you buy that netting?

 

[Gypsi]

It looked like chickenwire to me, which picture?

 

[triumphriders4]

Quote:
I am coming up with a system that will allow me to move my chickens around the yard. I live in the city (I have a fenced in back yard and dog that patrols) and I realize that this may not work for most of you because of predators. I am going to create a three sided grazing area aproximetly 10'x10' and 2-3' high that is framed with 2x2's and covered in hardware cloth. I will create a gate that is 2' wide. I will then construct a series of "connecting" frames that extend from the coop. These will be 2' wide by 4'. I am also going to construct 90 degree turn sections that will be 2 feet wide, each side of the 90 will be 2 feet long. Construction is scheduled to begin in the morning so I will update with pictures if I can figure out how. This is my first post and want to let everyone who has contributed to this forum know how inspiring all the designs are!!! Thanks for helping get the creative juices flowing!

 

[Gypsi]

Well, owing to having a $300 chicken coop and run in the back yard, a several hundred dollar green house with 2x2x7 half inch hardware cloth chick run, and $180 into the run on the lot, not counting a couple of hundred for the open air summer coop on it, I have discovered that chickens are expensive.

And of all of them, right now my birds are in the original coop and run in the backyard. Courtesy of night time temps not dropping below 80 and my NOT spending electric to a/c their coop, it is secure run, open coop. As it was in the beginning. (you can see this coop and run on my page.) Unfortunately there was a middle. I added heavy guage 2x4 cattle type fencing when I had to dog-sit for my daughter's gsd, and I dropped the 1 inch chicken wire into an apron to prevent digging this left a foot or so of fencing that was just the 2x4, which I had been patching at for a few months as the sparrows stealing chicken feed were a nuisance.

There is no nuisance quite like a weasel. A weasel is not strong enough to tear chicken wire or screening off, even if it is just lightly stapled. but it will fit through a hole the size of a golf ball and kill adult hens and chicks alike. The safest spot according to my birds was UP. Weasels don't climb as well as I would think apparently. I've gone from 5 adult hens and 14 pullets to 3 adult hens and 3 pullets in 2 weeks. The greenhouse had a safe chick coop, but due to temps I had windows open and little birds loose in it. I lost 8 pullets there.

The summer coop on the lot got filled with my 2 oldest hens (partly as weasel bait) and partly for a test. No roof. 20 ft of elm tree, and I don't clip my birds wings. The weasel only got one from there, I think Red went up.

But when it successfully got into the backyard coop after we thought all openings were closed, and got 3 pullets and a young laying hen, I'd had it. There isn't an opening a golf ball will go through anymore. No more sparrow problems. Even though 90% of the coverage is 1 inch chickenwire overlapped, wire tied and stapled over the 2x4 fencing.. And my dogs are not understanding WHY they are sleeping outdoors, but they are. With full access to all sides of the run. That's important. Backed up against a fence makes it not patrollable, so I have a 6 ft gap between run fence and privacy fence..

But digging is a non issue with just a chickenwire apron tacked into the ground and overgrown with grass. At least so far. and my youngest dog is a digger...if it would have gotten her a sparrow she'd have dug in. Weather doesn't always permit secure coop, so a really secure run is a very good idea. And mine is inside my privacy fenced yard.

Gypsi

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

I fenced in 2.5 acres for free ranging, but have to redo my "run" around the coop this fall. Haven't decided how I will do it just yet. My pasture is filled with quality forage, worked for 2 years getting it planted in 4 types of clover, chicory, alfalfa, birds foot trefoil as well as natural grasses. What the chickens don't eat the deer & goats do.

This fall will also see the fencing in of my main garden (125' x 200') that runs along side of the goat paddock, so that the birds can work for me in the fall & over the winter. Also will be adding another acre to the freerange pasture after I fence off all my berry bushes.

Will always keep an eye here for ideas!

 

[Baeutah]

My shed became the coop, it was the easiest way to acquire a coop. Now I don't know anything about fenses and gates for chickens except it has to be up really soon... They're growing so fast, my austrolorp, Alice & silkie,Sophie are pretty tight.. I will keep fishing for ideas here ...( PVC I recently learned has many uses"!! Lol
Thanks for your ideas and methods, "!

 

[Savy]

I just adopted 3 Brown Bovans. A friend found me a small coop (about 4ft x 3.5ft) for free on Craig's List. Now we just need to build a run. We have a chain-link fence and turkey wire. We were thinking of putting up a perimeter of at least 4ft high around the coop. Is it essential that we cover the run if we keep the chickens securely in the coop at night? We live in downtown Denver so our biggest concerns would be raccoons and foxes. Our neighbor has a dog which may deter them a bit.