Chicken wire on top of run?

[Neddie]

Cydee66, that is a great idea. I think we need to do that. The coop is on the east side of a 12x16 potting shed so it is in the shade from early afternoon on. The extra light will be good.

4 the birds, we have taken into account the donkeys. They love to rub on everything. Our backyard is enclosed in 4 ft. chain link and our donkeys are miniture. They will lean/rub and walk the length of the of the 40 ft fence to scratch. The run is 6 ft tall. We put 48" hardware cloth from the roofline down, then 36" hardware cloth from there to the ground and a foot buried. The 2x4 used horizontally to join the two different lengths of hardware cloth is the perfect height for "donkey scratching". It protects the wire. Love our feathered girls and our furry girls.

Thank-you for all the advice. I really appreciate being able to tap into the wealth of knowledge on this site.

 

[Neddie]

4 the birds - it took me 2 years to talk my husband into the donkeys, 2 years to talk him into chickens. I figure 2 more years and I can get goats! Got my fingers crossed.

 

[4 the Birds]

Neddie... Our chickens are a no-brainer since they pay their way. We easily get a dozen or so eggs every day and my wife has plenty of friends that love to buy fresh eggs from free ranging birds! The goats are easy to keep and also serve a purpose since keeping livestock ensures that we keep our Ag zoning (we also cut the fields for hay). Goats are smart! They can undo a carabeener clasp and open latches on the chicken run doors. I put double latches on all doors. They also deter hawks and flying predators. The chickens love to hang out around the goats.