How big does it need to be?

[KDK1]

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Only if you live in an area where you might have predators... which is pretty much everywhere.

 

[gritsar]

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Around here, yes! Hawks will have a field day with chickens in an uncovered run. In alot of ways I think chickens in runs are more vulnerable to hawks than free range chickens. With my free range birds, one spots a hawk and sounds the alarm and all the chickens scatter to hide under something. Penned chickens are stuck in their pens and can't run for cover as well if at all.

 

[gritsar]

And btw, I have spotted a juvenile hawk frequently the last couple of days. So far I've only seen him at the other end of the farm (about 40 acres away from my chickens) and once kinda close, close enough that my head hen sounded the alarm. Instantly it was if I didn't have chickens cuz they all disappeared under cover.

I'm hoping that he's just passing through.

 

[rjlanger2]

"Covering" the top of the run is always a good idea. Have you considered whether your cover will be just for keeping predators out or will it be something that also provides shade? I live in Central Texas. The afternoon sun can be just as detrimental as predators! Having shade can be the difference between raising chickens and having "broilers" in the afternoon heat.

 

[Arkantex]

Well we live out in the country and I have seen hawks out here numerous times before...I was planning on covering part of the coop with reed fencing as a shade... Do you think tree netting would work well for a to cover tp keep hawks out?

 

[cupman]

Yeah netting would work fine to take care of the hawks but if raccoons are problems in your area you want to cover it with some type of wire. You could use 2 inch gauge chicken wire I think it costs about 8 dollars for a 36 inch 50 foot long roll. The raccoons around my area will yank on it from time to time but usually they decide it's not worth trying to break in. Raccoons do have the potential to break in through poultry wire, but I would think at 6 feet in the air they might be less likely to try. Welded wire is good too.

 

[yellowirenut]

I covered the top of my run with a snow fence material, although Lowes called it garden fencing. Its a heavy duty plastic with about 2" holes. My main concern is hawks.

 

[geoff40]

25 birds isn't a small flock, and I'd go even a bit more than 4 square feet per bird for the coop. If you stuck to that and built a 10X10 coop, then start adding in roosts, feeders, water, nesting boxes, etc. for that many birds, it'll get cramped pretty fast. If it were me I'd build them something a size or so larger, 12X15ish. You want enough room inside so that you can get in there without bumping in to something with every step.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A lot of us do not cover the run, but there are advantages and a few possible disadvantages. The main possible disadvantages come from potential snow and ice loads. You have to build them strong if you are in snow and ice country or you can have a severe problem. With 10' and 12' spans, you might need some serious, expensive framing to support the snow load. There is also the issue of height. You really do want it high enough for you to walk in without banging your head. A couple of things to consider. The framing takes up space. The clear height for you to walk is the bottom of the framing, not the wire or cover material. Also, when you walk, you do not walk level. You bounce up and down. If you are 5-10" and you build it 6'-0", you will still probably hit your head.

If you put a solid cover over it and slope it properly, you help keep your run dry. A solid cover also helps provide some shade, but how much depends on orientation to the sun. Mine runs North-South so they don't get a lot of shade early morning or especially late in the day. A solid cover also helps keep snow out of the run so it is more usable in the winter, but you would probably need to put up a snow fence on a side or two to help keep snow from blowing in. Many chickens don't like to walk on snow, so they are stuck in the coop a lot when it snows. Some actually get used to snow if you have it regularly and will walk out in it. They usually don't like wind either. You can get a lot more use out of your run in the winter, depending on your specific condituons, if you have apart of the run where you keep the snow out and block the wind.

Some people put various types of wire over them. Different wire achieves different things. Chicken wire and some netting will keep the chickens from flying out. It also helps to keep hawks out. But many predators can climb and can tear through chicken wire and most netting. You can use heavier wire or netting, but that starts to get even more expensive. 2' x 4" welded wire will keep most things out, but weasels, snakes, rats, and such can get through. Smaller meshed hardware cloth keeps even more things out but gets expensive.

Another thing to consider. Chickens can fly. If they are properly motivated, they can easily clear a 5' fence. Most of the time they don't get motivated and stay inside the fence. But if a pullet is trying to get away from a rooster, or there is a serious pecking order fight, one may fly/climb/walk up the fence trying to get away. Once they learn how to do that, some really enjoy that freedom and will leave on their own. Also, if you have a solid top railing on the fence, they will often fly up there just to perch and look around. Then there is no telling which side of the fence they decide to fly down on. And, no, they do not know to get back in the same way they got out.

Do you need a cover over it? You need to do a cost benefit analysis. What does it cost and what benefits do you get out of it? Is it worth it to you. If you have four birds that are more pets to you where the loss of one is devastating, you might think differently than if you have a lot of birds that are more livestock than pets and an occasional loss is not the end of the world.

My run is not predator proof, but I consider it predator resistant. Sides are 2" x 4" welded wire with chicken wire around the bottom to keep the chickens heads in and baby chicks form leaving. I also have a welded wire apron around it to stop digging predators. Part of the top is covered with metal I salvaged from a shed roof that blew off during a storm, but part is open. I did have a few pullets that learned to fly over the fence, so I took some 2" x 4" welded wire and attached it to the top of the fence standing up, both to raise the height and to not give them a solid perch to land on. It worked. An additional advantage, though not much of one for me, is that if a raccoon or fox tried climbing the fence, that free standing wire at the top would bend back over from their weight and keep them from getting in. With mine they have other ways to climb in. Hawks can get in, but they never have. That's why it is predator resistant, not predator proof.

I free range mine most of the time, but there are times I keep them locked in. Somebody recently dropped off two dogs for the good life in the country. I lost a few chickens but was able to keep them locked up to prevent further losses until I took care of that problem. My fence did keep the dogs out. It is good to have that flexibility if you need it.

My general philosophy is to take some chances during the day by letting them free range but always lock them securely in the coop at night. Until this dog attack, I had lost very few, one to a fox and one to a dog in three years. We have plenty of foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and such here. I have hawks that fly over a lot. I can't tell you how bad your predator problem will be in West Texas and I don't know how precious each chicken is to you.

I know there is nothing between West Texas and the North Pole other than a barbed wire fence, so you can get some cold and wind in the winter. Not sure how much snow and ice you actually see. Your coop size is probably big enough if you set up a part of the run where they can get to it during most of the winter. It doesn't have to be the whole run and it is hard to tell you how much is enough. That kind of depends on how long at a stretch they are restricted by weather. That means keeping snow out and blocking the wind on some of it. The coldest I've had here during the day (it's been colder at night) is 4 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. As long as the ground is not covered with snow and they are out of the wind, mine go out to play in that temperature.

I know the assumptions are not right but I'm rounding them off to make the math easier. Assume a chicken occupies 1 square foot of space. If you have 4 chickens and provide 4 square feet per chicken, you have 16 square feet total. Chickens occupy 4 square feet of that space so they have 10 square feet to explore. I you have 30 chickens with the same 4 square feet per chicken, they occupy 30 square feet and have 90 square feet to explore. This is not to say to reduce your overall space per chicken, but to point out that you are more likely to get in trouble with just a few chickens than a lot using this rule of thumb, plus the area taken up by the feeders and waterers become a lot less significant when you have a lot more chickens. This is why I think you will probably be OK if you can give them a little extra sapce in the run.

There are no hard and fast rules for this, just general guidelines. We all have different experiences and risk tolerances. What works for one will not work for another. Good luck!

 

[Arkantex]

Well, as far as the coop size goes, I think ours will be plenty big enough. We are getting 25 birds and the coup is sized for 30 according to the 4'/bird suggestion. The run is going to be huge. More than double the 10'/bird suggestion. We are going to do 3' tall hardware cloth burried 1' or so all the way around the bottom and then 6' chain link fence for the rest. I am 6'3". So, if we cover it, it will have to be at least 6'6" or 7" tall. I think we are going to leave the majority of it uncovered and see how that goes. We live in the desert, so our predators are few. Snakes, coyotes, are the main two... I have seen some hawks... I haven't seen any skunks at our place but I have friends who have delt with them in our area. No trees so no raccons or opossums... We have quite a few ground squirrels, prarrie dogs and rabbits... Could they possibly be bad for chickens/eggs?