Hey guys, I was wondering about building a 16x16 chicken run with 4x4 pressure treated posts every 8 feet for support. Instead of digging the posts, I was wondering if I'd be able to put the 4x4s on pier foundation blocks and still have it structurally sound?
I would run hardware cloth on the bottom and into the ground to prevent predators from digging into the run. Any advice would help. Thank you!
I built my 14'x22' run without sinking a single post. It gets very wet here and any wood in the ground, even treated, rots pretty quickly. The ground is also very rocky which makes digging holes a royal pain. Note: We do not get hard freezes. Other than all the rain, our winters are fairly mild.
Instead, I built sturdy corner planters with treated wood and cedar fencing, then used cinder blocks and concrete bricks to support the wall studs off the ground. The planters, filled with gravel and dirt, add a lot of structural stability. Everything sits on compacted gravel, none of directly contacts the ground. I also had sloped land to deal with and using gravel helped me level it out.
I went with supports every 4 feet, not 8. I also added supports in the center, because I wanted to cover the run, too. (We have a LOT of birds of prey around here, daily.) I tested a similar design for my garden and it has held up very well for several years. I skipped the center posts and cover for the garden though, as birds weren't an issue there, only deer.
My run is extremely sturdy. It does not budge at all. It isn't quite finished yet, I'm still working on some trim to further secure the edges of the hardware cloth, but I'm totally comfortable having the chooks run around in there as is.
