Chicken Run

[Coverts chickens]

I just built a 12 X 26 chicken coop I will send pictures when I finish tomorrow. But this is my first time and I don't know nothing about how a chicken run should be could someone help me? How big should it be right now they run loose on 10 acres and come home every night (Lucky so far)

 

[bargain]

How many chickens do you have?

That will help folks give you suggestoins on the run!

Thanks and have a blessed day

 

[loralei]

Welcome to BYC! I posted on this very topic this morning. You may find some of the information in that thread helpful. I certainly did!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=264205

The following is from Raising Chickens 101:

Chicken Care After First 60 Days, General Chicken Care:

Chicken Coops - Once feathered out you'll want to move your chickens into a chicken coop! Rule of thumb is about 2-3 square feet per chicken inside the henhouse and 4-5 sq/ft per chicken in an outside run. Keep local predators in mind and make a safe home for your flock!

Please keep in mind the square footages are minimums. The run we are currently constructing is approximately 560 sq. ft. and I will eventually have about 40 chickens in there which gives them each about 14 sq. ft.

Godspeed,
Laura

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
So, they're going to continue to free range, are they, and the run is just for occasional 'lockdown' security? If that's the case, just build it whatever size you feel like

, preferably in the 6-10 sq ft per chicken sort of realm, and they will be FINE.

If OTOH you will be confining them to the run most of the time and seldom if ever letting them free range anymore, I'd strongly suggest building it as big as you possibly can, at *least* 10 sq ft per chicken but ideally a lot more.

Some of it depends too on whether you envision putting a 'top' on this run (and if so, whether for just hawkproofing or whether you want to try to keep all predators out), since cost and engineering start to be issues in putting tops on very large run.s

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[gsim]

Rule of thumb is 4 sq ft per bird inside. I have abt 6 sq ft/bird in mine, and no fighting. For outside, I did 80 sq ft/bird. I have abt 2000 sq ft for 24 hens. If I had it to do again, I would have built mine bigger than that. Much easier that way to keep live greens aplenty in the pen.

I used 6 ft welded wire 2x4 fencing set in cement at bottom for entire perimeter. I used 6" creosote poles for corner posts, set in cement. I put 6 ft steel T posts every 10 ft between corner poles, at 5 ft ht. I added 24" tall chicken wire around interior of pen to keep chooks from sticking their heads thru to prevent a coon from decapitating them. I installed a 5-mile fence charger 4KV. I put up 4 courses of hot wire (beginning at 8" ending at 42") and used a large stretch spring in each course midway to tension them and prevent them from becoming saggy. I ran the hot wire across the gate too using the same galv 14 ga wire wrapping it around a dowel about 4 times to form a coil to make a hinge/flex point for each of the hot wires to move freely when gate operated so wires will not fatigue and break. Be sure to bond fence to ground side of charger unit as well as to a 6 ft copper ground rod. Then be sure to bond gate fencing if any, to fence using the same wire coiled to form a coil hinge type thing, like the gate wires. It willl move too when gate operates. I ran power 20 amp line and 3/4" water line to hydrant near coop too. I did no aerial protection yet. Lots of resident crows here and good luck so far. Deer netting is good and aviary netting too. Latter comes in 24 ft width and is common to protect corn and strawberries. You can also try stretching poly twine criss-cross over run to discourage hawks from snatch and grab operation. Hang shiny stuff from it like CD discs, pie tins, etc.

Power is in coop (8X16 for 24 hens) and two outlets for whatever plus two outlets at gate for charger and whatever. I hung 2 shop lights, 48" fluorescent twins. Linoleum over 3/4" osb flooors over 2x6 floor hoists on 6 creosote legs in cement . I ran linoleum up walls 16" between each stud and caulked it along top and sides where it is stapled. It slopes outward so that it covers the wall base plate 2x4. Will be for prevention of poop/bacteria build up on wall base plate, and also for easy hosing out when changing litter out twice a year. I put two guillotine type drop-down pop doors in my coop. They are 1/2" osb and are down all night every night. They op via small steel cable/wore rope and pulley systems with leads dropping down thru tiny holes in soffit beside center main entrance door. Loop in end of each goes around a roofing nail set in door casing on each side to secure the pop doors up/open all day. Simply unhook and let both drop down at night. Two lengths of plastic pvc guttering for feed and water troughs set on shelves to be removable and 8" at top from floor. Works great and no spillage of feed or water, ever. Water outside too, but no feed ever. (will attract crows, squirrels, blackbirds)Only daily garden waste/table scrap veggie/fruit treats.

 

[gsim]

Rule of thumb is 4 sq ft per bird inside. I have abt 6 sq ft/bird in mine, and no fighting. For outside, I did 80 sq ft/bird. I have abt 2000 sq ft for 24 hens. If I had it to do again, I would have built mine bigger than that. Much easier that way to keep live greens aplenty in the pen. As is, I expect to have to cross-fence and keep a place where new fresh grass is growing to keep them in grass year-round if possible. I really hate the idea of free range due to predators. Odds will catch up to you eventually if you do free-range enough. So if possible to build run big enough to replicate free-range somewhat, then that is safest. I never have fed mine store-bought feed only. They have had live greens and veggies and fruits from day one.

I used 6 ft welded wire 2x4 fencing set in cement at bottom for entire perimeter. I used 6" creosote poles for corner posts, set in cement. I put 6 ft steel T posts every 10 ft between corner poles, at 5 ft ht. I added 24" tall chicken wire around interior of pen to keep chooks from sticking their heads thru to prevent a coon from decapitating them. I installed a 5-mile fence charger 4KV. I put up 4 courses of hot wire (beginning at 8" ending at 42") and used a large stretch spring in each course midway to tension them and prevent them from becoming saggy. I ran the hot wire across the gate too using the same galv 14 ga wire wrapping it around a dowel about 4 times to form a coil to make a hinge/flex point for each of the hot wires to move freely when gate operated so wires will not fatigue and break. Be sure to bond fence to ground side of charger unit as well as to a 6 ft copper ground rod. Then be sure to bond gate fencing if any, to fence using the same wire coiled to form a coil hinge type thing, like the gate wires. It will move too when gate operates. I ran power 20 amp line and 3/4" water line to hydrant near coop too. I did no aerial protection yet. Lots of resident crows here and good luck so far. Deer netting is good and aviary netting too. Latter comes in 24 ft width and is common to protect corn and strawberries. You can also try stretching poly twine criss-cross over run to discourage hawks from snatch and grab operation. Hang shiny stuff from it like CD discs, pie tins, etc.

Power is in coop (8X16 for 24 hens) and two outlets for whatever plus two outlets at gate for charger and whatever. I hung 2 shop lights, 48" fluorescent twins. Linoleum over 3/4" osb flooors over 2x6 floor hoists on 6 creosote legs in cement . I ran linoleum up walls 16" between each stud and caulked it along top and sides where it is stapled. It slopes outward so that it covers the wall base plate 2x4. Will be for prevention of poop/bacteria build up on wall base plate, and also for easy hosing out when changing litter out twice a year. I put two guillotine type drop-down pop doors in my coop. They are 1/2" osb and are down all night every night. They op via small steel cable/wore rope and pulley systems with leads dropping down thru tiny holes in soffit beside center main entrance door. Loop in end of each goes around a roofing nail set in door casing on each side to secure the pop doors up/open all day. Simply unhook and let both drop down at night. Two lengths of plastic pvc guttering for feed and water troughs set on shelves to be removable and 8" at top from floor. Works great and no spillage of feed or water, ever. Water outside too, but no feed ever. (will attract crows, squirrels, blackbirds)Only daily garden waste/table scrap veggie/fruit treats.

 

[gsim]

Oh, I almost forgot. If you do a large pen/run, do have several places for them to run under if hawks owls attack.