Help me design a secure run!

[teresacakes]

Hey BYC,

I'm building my first coup and run, and my 6 chicks will be here in a few months. I have a very limited budget, but a lot of resources and questions. I plan on building my coop with a wooden shipping crate and modeling my run and design based on geek2nurses coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/geek2nurses-diy-coop-run





I plan on making my run out of a fully enclosed rectangle of cattle panels. I also plan on making a autofeeder and waterer out of chicken nipples and old 5 gallon buckets.

Here are my questions:
1) Will I need to reinforce the cattle panels with chicken wire to keep predators out?
2) Can I leave the coop door open if the run is completely secure?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[BooksAreNerdy]

Rats, raccoons, snakes, small dogs, etc will all be able to get trough or over the cattle panels. Chickens might get through it too. Most people recommend 1/2" hardware cloth. I just posted a question about leaving the coop door open and the response was mixed. Basically it depends on your own personal risk tolerance.

 

[BooksAreNerdy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/744390/leaving-coop-door-open#post_10484287