I have decided that building a coop would not be ok for me. I am on the other hand thinking of a run with a covered run. It will be on a public allotment being 9ft by 15 ft. Can this be made? I have done some diy but would like to know is it feasable to build or do I pay £700 for a brought one.
If you can sink posts into the ground, it is easy to build a run. Although putting a roof on it requires a bit more engineering (thus more expense) and is likely to be treated as a structure or shed type thing so you'd want to make sure whether that was ok to do. Alternatively instead of putting a solid roof on the run you could just put a small portable enclosed coop in there. If you are forbidden to sink posts into the ground, it can still be done, either by using a storeboughten dog kennel (you know, the preframed chainlink panels that bolt together at their corners) or making your own panels with wood frames and wire attached on them. Same deal with the roof issue. If there are foxes or loose dogs about, you may ought to think about adding a several foot wide apron of stout wire mesh on the ground just outside the run fence to discourage predators digging in. Good luck, have fun, Pat
I put down heavy duty landscaping material with hardware mesh on top of that in a ~3ft circumference around our coop and run. Than I put 12 inch pavers on top of that and the coop and run wood sits on top of all of that. I have put a few inches of gravel over all the exposed mesh. My coop weighs a ton. Our run heavy, made of wood and hardware mesh. It's screwed into the coop. I don't think anything is getting in there. Did you mean you're not going to have a coop at all, just part of the run covered? You want to have an area that is at least covered on three sides. If predators come up to the run, the chickens need a protected corner to go to, otherwise they'll freak out and get grabbed through the wire (unless you're using hardware mesh).
