chicken run roof

[clive]

Him I have just started keeping chickens. I have two lomand and a black Sussex. I have a large'ish' run and wondered if I could put a felt roof on or would it have to be a clear plastic . Just wondering about the amount of direct sun. Ant ideas welcome, thank you

 

[AppalachianLawn]

clive, the roof over the run can be any material - its main purpose is to keep rain out of the run which prevents the run from getting muddy. You should have a shaded are for the chickens to get out of the sun - not sure of your setup but my chickens have plenty of room under the coop for shade therefore my run is for sun....you'll have to post pics when you complete - good luck

 

[clive]

Hi. The chickens do have about 4ft of shaded run under the coup and the main run is five and a half feet long and three and half feet wide and about three feet high. It has a couple of logs to climb on. And a hanging CD for pecking at. Its in the brightest end of the garden but that also means the place where it gets the most wet. The coup has two nest boxes and I also wondered if I could have four chickens as they will be let out in the garden for a few hours a day. Thanks for any advice.

 

[AppalachianLawn]

The hanging CD is funny, I remember back in the 90's when all the "cool kids" hung CD's from the rear view mirror

From your dimensions, I cannot see any reason you could not have four birds especially if you are letting them out to free range a few hours/day. I can't remember off top of my head, but I think it is 1 sq yd/bird for the run size....Plenty of posts if you do a search here on BYC - Sounds like you have a pretty nice set-up! Oh, one more reason for the roof on the run is to keep hawks etc from nabbing chicks out of the run when you have your back turned.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Clive, and

! Great to you have with us!

 

[clive]

Hi.thanks for the info. You guys are very helpful.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

For standard fowl you want 4 square feet of floor space in the coop and 10 square feet of run per bird.

 

[clive]

Hi to all . Thanks for welcome. Im looking forward to chatting with you guys around the well being of my chucks. I would like to ask if I need any internal medication for them. Im using diatamatrous earth in their coup and best boxes and on them.will it be Ok to put in their water or do I need something else.

 

[drumstick diva]

I know a lot of people use DE and swear by it but, just as many others feel it does nothing for the bird or surroundings. If they need to be wormed or rid of lice or mites, I believe it would be best to use a commercial product for that purpose.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!!

Glad to have you aboard!!