Do Chickens Really Need a Run?

[feathermania]

We built a run/coop for our hens. There are hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, neighborhood dogs that run wild, wild kitty cats, cougars, etc. that wander through our property. We do not have a lot of trees or bushes for them to hide in/under from predators. When the hens are free ranging, we are also out there so we can keep an eye on them. The run/coop is pretty much predator proof so when we go out of town for a few days, the hens will be safe.

 

[Chullicken]

Do you really need a run, no. Should you if you have a concern for them, yes. Chickens need boredom killers, like anything thing we keep really and a run provides that to some aspect. Mine are pets to me, not some breeding project so they can look like a giant basketball with feathers so they get a run and anything else I can supply. 50 something years ago nobody did it, does it mean it was the best way? Hell no. Its called progress. I've seen though plenty of indoor setups but the area was large and the birds seemed healthy and content. Though these folks spent considerable effort in maintaining that.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If they have enough room, enough ventilation, and enrichment (things to climb, novel foods, things to scratch in and peck), they should be fine. Access to sunlight is probably best, a few big windows or such. I don't see any reason you couldn't keep chickens in what amounted to a giant coop.
I'm not sure any animal has an instinctive drive to be outside. I don't have enough information to know, but I don't see why that would exist.

 

[RollTideChicken]

I have runs for both of my coops and all I can add is this: During the day not one single bird stays in the coop.

 

[paintedChix]

I don’t have a “coop and run”.
View attachment 1633765

AH, but LOOK!!! You brought the "outdoors" - "IN"....

 

[Fishkeeper]

Yeah, see? Something like that. It's the space, the enrichment, and the proper lighting that they need, not some idea of the "wilderness".
Most coops are small, a bit dimly lit, and have little to no enrichment inside- perfectly fine considering that they're only meant as a place to sleep, but it's not surprising that the chickens don't stay in there much.

 

[paintedChix]

Hmmm... I've never truly had a fully enclosed & protected predator proof run. Seems different predators have had the abilities, at different times of the year, to penetrate those defenses. Geez - even the electrified poultry netting (strong enough to drop me to me knees, gasping in pain, but can't remember the exact outputs - sold with the different set ups from Premier 1) don't stop hunting dogs that are used to wearing electric fencing collars. I haven't really decided how I will be doing the grazing paddocks next year through our pony pastures and our large front and back yards... Have already purchased supplies to do smaller pasture tractors that will hold 25 chicks to about 2-3 months of age and then fewer than that as they get older (5x8 sizing - about 3' tall?). That appears to be size I can easily and quickly maneuver about by myself.

This year, I got a bit complacent. The birds had been combined out of their movable grazing pens (which protected them from March thru September) and into small, more structurally sound pens through the two hurricanes. Then they got bored - so I let them start free ranging as I was building new pens & coops... a few months later and still working on them - I came home to lots of missing birds and a large group of dead ones all scattered in between the coop/pens, the back and front yards of our house. Our dogs were all going absolutely "crazy" (2 pitXs, a mini aussie and a 30# mix of ???) - but were all still enclosed in their own backyard area in their chain link panel fencing (the next day they all dug out under their own fencing, but left the handful of birds still free ranging alone - as I've noticed they've done in the past).

So currently all of our birds are confined to different 4x8', 8x8' pen/coops and a truck topper coop with 16x16' run (it is one of the ones I was repairing and re-roofing - it doesn't contain the birds - the CLBs and the RBs were quite adept at getting up and over the 8' fence themselves). Two of the 8x8 coop/pens have 10 & 9 birds in them - the rest have half that number. At the moment, the one with the 9 - 55 Flowery Hens in it all seem to be happy and content. In fact, when a couple of the girls followed our granddaughters out the door last weekend they appeared to be majorly stressed when they couldn't get back into their pen and my VERY flighty birds allowed me to walk up to them, pick them up and return them to their spot (WOW, that was new!). The other pen, with a mix of 8 pullets and two roos seems to have 2 CLB (Jill Rees show line - 1 generation removed from imported stock) that are ALWAYS unhappy and wanting to go out when I appear at the door of their pen. I was hoping to have more 8x8 pen/coops done so I could split these birds up - but bad weather and the stomach flu virus combined with lots of additional hours at work the past 4 months has meant not getting them completed. Working on that and permanent as well as movable paddocks for them to all be out in that are protected from marauding dogs, the single coyote we've seen and hawks. It's a big work in progress, LOL.

The "coop/pens" i'm referring to are CP hooped types with tarp roofs. Starting to experiment with other materials for roofs. The paddocks (runs?) are 4-8' tall and some will have netting over them to keep birds in and wild birds out and others won't. May still have various movable, temporary pens - don't know (not set up at the moment at all).

The granddaughters and I are regularly getting the feed sacks and trashcans full of leaves and pine straw and weeds as well as prunings from the various shrubs around the house and shredded junk mail. The birds all delight in those and they quickly spread them about, lay eggs in them now (most in their nest boxes but a few not) and dig for extra worms (I try to dig in some areas when we are gathering fresh leaves to bring the forest soil into their individual pens). The birds can stay dry in bad weather OR they can go to areas that aren't fully protected and can/do get wet. They do dig down into their own pens to dust bathe and I've got dust boxes in a couple now that work better...

I MISS the free ranging birds. So does my husband - who actually ASKED the other day about just allowing the extra roosters (several purebred Ameraucana, CLB, RB and a whole group of bantam barnyard Xs of ?? crossed with Ameraucana & EE) out to free range. BUT those are all meant to go to freezer camp and actually at least 5 will be going into FC tonight and tomorrow morning... I don't want to lose those birds at all. The ones that we'd already lost were parts of various breeding groups that would have provided future layers for our families (2 daughters married & we have 5 grand children; the 3rd engaged. None are currently in a position to have chickens, so they get eggs and processed birds from us - they are pressed into "service" whenever they all stop by in one capacity or anther in exchange for their birds/eggs). The last 2 bantam barnyard mix hens are now gone were gotten in that December day raid...

My pasture layers are now all gone as well. They were gotten during the day, while I was at work, while free ranging in the pony pastures inside a 7 acre pasture fenced in goat/sheep field fence and hot wire - top and bottom.. 20 birds total (18 laying hens - hatchery stock & 2 roos). The ONLY birds left in my pasture are the ones who'd been locked into the 1 - 8x8 coop w/o being allowed to free range. SO, they've now been split into smaller groups into the extra 2, now empty coop/pens... They will not be allowed out now until I have pens/runs done for them as well. It makes me sad. The whole point was to have these birds free ranging, but obviously that isn't going to be - at least not during the months of December - March, which appears to be when I have hungry, marauding "domestic" dogs and coyote able to cruise through our pastures (and even up right next to our house). The pony stallion that I had that would have protected his mares by killing such dogs has been deceased since 2012 and we dearly MISS him as well. The others we've had just aren't the same as he was. They stand and watch the coyote and they will run from dogs - - again.

So - I say it totally depends on a person's situation. Since we've been on this property - I would have to say all birds need to be contained and protected from both Ariel and canine type ground predators . As to coop vs run - I've always used open coop/runs - since discovering the CP hooped coops - will never have a completely closed coop with a floor again. Our daughter plans to return to my parents' property in MT, near the Canadian border. We've been discussing coop options and honestly, they will probably go with a pole barn style shed open to the ground and CP hooped run that may or may not be covered with plastic &/or tarp(s). Yes, I do know of the snow and wind loads as well as the expected predators - having lived on that property myself for several years when our 3 daughters were toddlers to elementary school ages when Larry was overseas.

 

[Frostette]

With all the interest in city chickens these days, I'm seeing lots of TINY coops being sold, usually with tiny"runs" under and/or next to them. Since city ordinances here in Wichita, KS allow for only 3 hens, I suppose this would be okay. But I still don't agree with it, unless the hens are allowed to run around the yard for awhile everyday. Chickens are curious fun birds and watching them explore the yard when finally let out is proof enough it's not fair to keep them locked up all the time. I have a fenced acre but still have lots of neighborhood cats making the rounds so my solution has been to keep them locked up in their coop/pen (both were 10x10 each, so plenty of room) all day and letting them out an hour before dusk and my husband and I would sit outside and 'babysit". Since they just had an hour, not enough time to get in too much trouble, and they would go in to their coop by themselves at dusk. IF we had to leave or let them out too early in the day and wanted to put them away.......OH MY, way too much trouble chasing them, hahaha.

 

[trudyg]

I have a chicken yard that's over 1/2 acre fenced in for the chickens, their 8 X 12 coop is inside this area. Trees, bushes, etc. I have learned that hawks will sit in the trees and then hop down onto the bird of their choice, eat the head and soft parts and leave the rest. So now I'm working up a plan for a more secure run. They may not get the whole big space except in the evenings when I'm home to supervise, but they need more space than I can keep totally secure at this point. I'm thinking come out from the wide side of the coop about 12 feet so the wired area would be 12 X 12 not counting the room under the coop, then have it all 1/2" wire even over the top. With a door for me to get in and out. I like the idea of deep litter and I can't do that in the coop with a wood floor. Now it's just coming up with a plan and doing it.

 

[Notaneggspurt]

I think a lot of the back and forth is caused by what most people consider a coop. Most will consider a coop as a place where chickens sleep, eat and lay eggs but not "live". I would consider a place you keep chickens 24/7 as a poultry house. For most of us this first brings to mind the industrial long houses where chickens are packed in with barely enough room to turn around. Cornell did and does a number of poultry studies and refer to their housing as a colony house. Some of their studies were conducted over a 3-5 year period using the same chickens. This leads me to believe a chicken can live its entire life in a colony house and still maintain a quality of life that allowed them to study specific production levels.

For a backyard flock a poultry house would ideally have the square footage comparable to a classic coop and run design. This is where the Woods design works so well because it can be scaled.

As non production level poultry keepers we tend to focus more on quality of life versus production quantities.

So to answer the OPs question in the thread title, no, they don't need a run. All they need are water, food and shelter. Those 3 things are only limited by what we're able to provide. The quality is 100% debatable.