Does my run *need* to be a walk-in?

[RADK]

Hi all! New to chickens and starting to plan my permanent run for my 12 BSL pullets.

My run will be long and skinny : 21’x5’ and built along the outer wall of our barn (the coop is a room inside the barn).

My question is… does it really need to tall enough for me to walk in it? I know it would probably be more convenient, but I also don’t want to dish up the extra costs. If I can keep it short it will be 4’ tall. Would make sections of the roof removable so that I could enter once in a blue moon.

Any opinions on this? I really don’t know how often I would have to enter the run for cleaning etc…. They would have access to a bigger fenced yard in the summer (when I am home to keep an eye on them). All opinions are welcome!

 

[DobieLover]

Every single year one of my birds sooner or later lays an egg out in the run or under this huge shrub that they hide under. I can't get the eggs that are under the shrub.

You may also have a bird become injured or die in the run and you're going to need to get her out.

Having more height in the run gives them more distance to fly up on things. It's just ever so much more convenient to have a walk-in run. But do you NEED one... No.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Does it "need" to be walk in height - no. Is it much more convenient? Yes. Chickens will use vertical space if you take advantage of it, but also just for regular maintenance, being able to simply walk in and out is a game changer.

My run happens to have 2 different fence heights, 4' and 6'. When we ended up having to cover it against aerial predators, it was obviously far easier working on the 6' side of things because the fence height was already there. Ended up having to do a lot of extra things to artificially extend the 4' side in order to cover it, so the bit of savings from making a shorter fence ended up being negated in the end.

 

[Sally PB]

I know it would probably be more convenient

Think of your back, hunched over as you walk the length of the coop. Think of the top of your head, when you stand up a little too tall and scrape it.

 

[Chicken Heel]

My 62 year old back and neck tells me most every morning that I have spent far too much time over the years crawling and stooping down in short chicken runs. So my answer for you would be a definite yes.

 

[mowin]

I'm in the tall enough to stand camp also. The extra cost is well worth it.

 

[Shadrach]

My preference is for small secure easy to clean coops and large secure runs. Unless one keeps chickens in extreme climate conditions they shouldn't need to be in the coop for more than sleeping and laying eggs.
I've read with incredulity people spending thousands on large fancy coops only to lash up a few twigs supporting a bit of chicken wire for the run. An exaggeration I'll grant you but I hope it makes my point.

In my view a run of 21 feet by 5 feet isn't fit for 1 chicken never mind 12. At 105 square feet your run doesn't even meet the minimum recommended here on BYC which is a measely space for a bird that when let range will happily traverse an acre or more of land.

Regarding run fence height. Eight foot height is what I would be looking at. There are many reasons for this but being able to work in the run is important. While one can find lots of posts about cleaning coops, runs, which is where the chickens will be spending most of their active day need cleaning and maintainenance too; difficult to do if one is bent over double.

 

[RADK]

My preference is for small secure easy to clean coops and large secure runs. Unless one keeps chickens in extreme climate conditions they shouldn't need to be in the coop for more than sleeping and laying eggs.
I've read with incredulity people spending thousands on large fancy coops only to lash up a few twigs supporting a bit of chicken wire for the run. An exaggeration I'll grant you but I hope it makes my point.

In my view a run of 21 feet by 5 feet isn't fit for 1 chicken never mind 12. At 105 square feet your run doesn't even meet the minimum recommended here on BYC which is a measely space for a bird that when let range will happily traverse an acre or more of land.

Regarding run fence height. Eight foot height is what I would be looking at. There are many reasons for this but being able to work in the run is important. While one can find lots of posts about cleaning coops, runs, which is where the chickens will be spending most of their active day need cleaning and maintainenance too; difficult to do if one is bent over double.

Thanks for the input. They will additionally have access to a large yard in summer, but as I live in Manitoba (snow and extreme cold) this run will only be exclusively used in spring and fall, where there is still too much snow in the yard but it is mild enough for them to come and go out of the barn.

 

[RADK]

Think of your back, hunched over as you walk the length of the coop. Think of the top of your head, when you stand up a little too tall and scrape it.

Noted, thanks. Although I should add that my coop is a lovely 9 feet tall, but I hear what you are saying about the run!

 

[Ridgerunner]

does it really need to tall enough for me to walk in it?

As far as the chickens are concerned, no. They can manage in a 2' high run and often do in chicken tractors and such though I agree giving them enough vertical room so they can fly can be helpful if they need to get away from each other.

This is purely about you and your comfort and convenience. I envision the barn stall you are probably using as a coop to be a decent size so that run area may not be that critical. Chickens don't think of space as coop space and run space, they just think of it as space available when they need it.

I don't know how often you are going to be in there. One maintenance item is poop management. The less space they have the more often you have to manage the poop. If that run stays very dry you may not need to do much in there, but each run is different. Instead of thinking about how you would retrieve a dead chicken or an egg laid in there once in a blue moon, think how you might be spreading bedding or shoveling it out of a 4' high run. I personally would not be bending over to do that, I'm too old and stiff to even contemplate that. I'd be on my knees for 21 feet.