Do I need a top on my chicken run?

[ashley12]

I am putting a run on the side of my coop made of dog kennel panels. It will be 10' x 20' x 6' tall. Will chickens fly out if their wings aren't clipped? Or will hawks pick my chickens off? Any suggestions?

 

[Bantam Bodon]

Thats pretty high for most chickens to get out of, but something like a hawk or an owl might be able to get down in. For safety's sake its a good idea to add a top.

 

[Henrietta23]

We just put a cover over ours because of a hawk. And I do have chickens that can fly over a 6 foot fence. Both of my EEs can as well as a mutt hen I have.

 

[chickachickadoo]

There are hawks here and we have been told that, no matter how big we might think our chickens may get, we need to have a covered pen if we don't want them to be a hawk's meal. We will be taking that advice.

 

[kell]

Please put a top on. Many predators come on from the air.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I would put a top on it. My parents didn't and their chickens were flying up into some nearby trees and laying eggs. No joke! Plus something started getting in with them at night and killing them a couple at a time.

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

Top it off if you can. You will never regret making things too safe.

 

[EweSheep]

I agree with the others not only predators from the sky but it will keep your birds inside when they NEED to be!

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I just moved my dog kennel over to the coop last weekend and then covered it with the plastic garden netting that I zip tied to the top of the kennel.

My kennel is 12' wide, so I bought the 25' rolls and cut them in half.

It was a little saggy, so I had some pipe laying around that was 10' wide so I inserted that in the corners of the run to hold up the netting.

I also had one 12' x 6' panel left over, so I put that on top then added a tarp for shade (South facing) and help keep that end dry where I put their log roost.

They LOVE the roost and I would recommend that if you can find some.

 

[USMCSGT]

I just got done putting a top on mine. I used the netting from around a trampoline. it worked great, and didn't cost me anything. Good luck!