Free run or build a run - HELP

[KatieS]

Hi,

Total chicken noob here!
We just got a few chickens - 4 Golden Sex Links, 1 Barred Rock, and 1 Polish. Hubby and I are building the free purina mills coop for them, but I am wondering if we should even bother with a run or let them free range the back yard.
I have a garden that I would have to keep them out of - suggestions welcome - and the back fence is rod iron that backs up to an irrigation canal, so we'd have to put up something there as well.
Here are some pictures of our yard, I just figured it would be cheaper to free range them than to build a run.
It's a rental and the landlord has ok'd the chickens so if I do free range them will they ruin the grass? How do I keep them from jumping the fence? Hubby says even if we do clip their wings they can get over it? Any advice is welcome.



The Garden ^^^

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I free-range my chickens in my yard. Thankfully my landlady knew the grass was on its way out last year, because this year there is NOTHING left of it! When I had 4 pullets in my garden, they didn't do much damage, though I let them out perhaps 5 hours a day. Now I have 20 in my back yard, and the only way to have any greenery is to fence it away from them. If you don't want to totally lose your lawn, then I'd build them a run and only let them out a few hours a day, spraying the lawn down when they're done.

Regarding the fence: mine don't get out, but they have a 6-foot fence. I keep any "stairsteps" away from the fence... stuff they can use to vault over it. But they can get over 4-foot fences if their wings aren't clipped.

 

[cafarmgirl]

With that much yard and the height of your fencing they probably aren't going to be much interested in flying out. Some chicken wire attached to your existing garden fence will keep them out of that. You can use the same on the iron fence.

As far as the grass, with 6 chickens it won't be all gone but there will be bare spots and they will dig some holes. They are also going to be on your patio and leaving their poop there too. That kinda gets old after a while, been there, done that! If you build them a run that will solve all those problems but the run itself will be completely bare in no time! It is nice to have a run for a safe place to keep them should the need arise and then you could always let them out x number of hours a day.