Hello All Chicken Lovers-
So here's the deal- Right now, my chickens have a little coop in the corner of the yard. We have a pretty big back yard surrounded by a six foot privacy fence and the chickens have been allowed to free range every day. We recently fenced off our patio (about 20x20) for the dogs so that they could all be out- without incident- at the same time. We are still having problems however- one of the chickens recently jumped the patio fence and was caught with the dogs- no damage done besides a few feathers lost, but I am also thinking about putting in a garden in the spring and don't want my chickens destroying that.
So.... I am wanting to build a run. I am thinking that it will be about 8 or 10 x 20ish. I know that sounds really big and far exceeds my flock size of 5. But I also want them to be comfy as I don't think they will get to free range any more. I am more wondering about construction. I have some uneven ground to deal with- a hilly back yard.
One side can be the privacy fence, but not sure how to do the rest. I know there are several other posts about runs- but almost all of them are on nice flat land. Any ideas?
Here is the coop as it is. This winter I wrapped the bottom in plastic on the north and east sides (the fence is to the west). Was thinking the run could go along the fence to the west or be actually put behind the fence - we own more land on the other side- and that could be accessed thru a little door thru the fence to the other side. That would have to be covered some tho to keep out snow. We get alot here!
So here's the deal- Right now, my chickens have a little coop in the corner of the yard. We have a pretty big back yard surrounded by a six foot privacy fence and the chickens have been allowed to free range every day. We recently fenced off our patio (about 20x20) for the dogs so that they could all be out- without incident- at the same time. We are still having problems however- one of the chickens recently jumped the patio fence and was caught with the dogs- no damage done besides a few feathers lost, but I am also thinking about putting in a garden in the spring and don't want my chickens destroying that.
So.... I am wanting to build a run. I am thinking that it will be about 8 or 10 x 20ish. I know that sounds really big and far exceeds my flock size of 5. But I also want them to be comfy as I don't think they will get to free range any more. I am more wondering about construction. I have some uneven ground to deal with- a hilly back yard.
One side can be the privacy fence, but not sure how to do the rest. I know there are several other posts about runs- but almost all of them are on nice flat land. Any ideas?
Here is the coop as it is. This winter I wrapped the bottom in plastic on the north and east sides (the fence is to the west). Was thinking the run could go along the fence to the west or be actually put behind the fence - we own more land on the other side- and that could be accessed thru a little door thru the fence to the other side. That would have to be covered some tho to keep out snow. We get alot here!
