Guy building me a chicken run-questions

[Seaecho]

Looks good! And I do have two 4x2 bird cages that have the welded wire. The should be enough to cover most, if not all, of the run. Two foot up, and two on the ground as the skirt! Got it! I see you laid bricks and wood over it to keep it flat.

 

[Latestarter]

You don't "need" to lay bricks or boards down. I just had all these stacks of used pavers, so used them. The boards were left over from another building project and laid down on the pavers to keep them off the ground. You don't need to "bury" the ground skirt... If you lay it down right, the grass will grow right up through it and you should be able to mow right over the top of it. You can ensure that's the case by burying it. I was lazy... My coops were 18" off the ground and I did bury hardware cloth straight down 2' around the coops to keep diggers out from underneath (rats/mice/snakes/etc).

 

[jthornton]

To add on to the above replies- no, the chickens may not stick their heads out of the horse fencing, but raccoons will stick their hands IN and kill your chickens. Not to mention weasels and snakes, possums....you get the idea!

My chickens weed eat the outside of the chain link fence as far as they can.

JT

 

[jthornton]

He will be using horse fence, and when I asked for hardwood cloth along the bottom, he acted as if no one had ever asked for this before. (he does construction for a living, and has done countless chicken runs).

Ask for references of other chicken runs he has built.

Just because someone is a carpenter does not make them a chicken carpenter.

Get more than one estimate if your unable to build it yourself.

JT

 

[21hens-incharge]

It seems very pricey for just a run. Oh my.

Call around to fencing contractors. Really that is what a run is. Fencing for a specific need so include when you talk with them that you need a lid on the run and hardware cloth skirt etc.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I think you should find his previous clients and find out if they were satisfied with his work. As others have said look around for other people willing to do it.

 

[Mraya]

Also I would look for a local Handyman a person that does odd jobs

 

[lazy gardener]

Contact your local high school which has a tech ed program, or even your local Tech College, and ask for the names of some students who could build this project for you. You might even find a shop teacher who would take it on as a class project. This job is not outside the abilities of any one who can handle a power saw and a drill. This does not require a "professional" to safely and securely attach it to your run. IMO you are being taken advantage of financially if you accept this estimate.

 

[aart]

I would ask to see his other coops.
Can he email you pics?
Gonna be hard to assess tho, if you don't know what you want/need and can communicate it clearly.

Don't use chicken wire anywhere a pred might try to come in, even on top of run.

Covering the apron with pavers, or anything, can defeat the purpose. You want them to try to dig where wall meets ground, and hit the apron. If paver covers most of apron they may end up under apron.

 

[Seaecho]

Lots of great ideas! Never even thought of a fencing contractor. Figured the job would be too small, and they'd charge too much. The guy that came out is a handyman and does lots of other stuff besides chicken coops/runs. I will ask for his email addy so he can email me pics. Good idea! I won't put anything on top of the apron--makes sense. Never even dawned on me to call high schools or colleges either!

And yes, I did think about the chickens trying get a weed or something outside the run and sticking that head out (Oh, the horror of the thought of that!) So I'll do the wire two feet up, and then two feet for the skirt as recommended. Now I'll just wait for him to call back, and if the estimate is too high, I'll wait until after the holidays. Too much all at once!