How did you cover your run?

[benwantegg]

Pen and coop are sharing the same shingled roof. I added ,on each side of the pen, 6x8 tarp for snowing/raining days that i can roll up on good weather days. I used regular chicken wire for the pen to keep the chickens in doubled with hardware cloth to keep small predators outside the pen.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/convenient-cheap-coop

 

[Gifa]

We covered our run with 2"X4" welded wire over the top, and the upper portion of the sides, 1"X1" welded wire/hardware cloth around the bottom, buried to a depth of 10 inches, and flanged out to a width of 18 inches with panels of 2"X4" welded wire.

This is the Summer/Fall (dry seasons) config.



Here you can see how the welded wire over the top is overlapped and supported.



In the photo below you can see the transition between the 1" hardware cloth skirt around the bottom. and the 2"x4" welded wire that is on the rest of the run.


This is the Winter Config. I've got clear heavy duty tarps secured to the wire. The picture below does not show the wall to the left of the door covered with the other tarp I have, and the door will be covered with a small amount of clear plastic as well. The idea is to keep the rain and snow out and also take advantage of the greenhouse effect on sunny days which should collect solar heat in the run and draw through the coop to help increase it's thermal inertia of the coop itself which is already painted a dark color to suck up as much heat during the day from the sun directly.

In addition to the tarps, I've set up three large bales of straw up against the open sections around the bottom on the inside of the run area. They are meant to provide an additional wind baffle as well as a place for the chickens to get up into the warmer air provided by that greenhouse effect during the day.



For the Spring config, the tarps covering the front are removed leaving only the tarp that covers the top (and back... and a little on the north end... it's a huge 10'x20' tarp) in place to keep about 80% of the rain out of the coop so that it can be moist (which attracts bugs and helps break down the old straw which gets tilled into the dirt floor of the run every 3 months or so... which improves drainage and bug attraction) but not muddy (which is bad for the chickens)

 

[TXchickmum]

^ Great coop and run!! Wow!!

 

[kaylee gee]

We covered our run with 2"X4" welded wire over the top, and the upper portion of the sides, 1"X1" welded wire/hardware cloth around the bottom, buried to a depth of 10 inches, and flanged out to a width of 18 inches with panels of 2"X4" welded wire.

This is the Summer/Fall (dry seasons) config.



Here you can see how the welded wire over the top is overlapped and supported.



In the photo below you can see the transition between the 1" hardware cloth skirt around the bottom. and the 2"x4" welded wire that is on the rest of the run.


This is the Winter Config. I've got clear heavy duty tarps secured to the wire. The picture below does not show the wall to the left of the door covered with the other tarp I have, and the door will be covered with a small amount of clear plastic as well. The idea is to keep the rain and snow out and also take advantage of the greenhouse effect on sunny days which should collect solar heat in the run and draw through the coop to help increase it's thermal inertia of the coop itself which is already painted a dark color to suck up as much heat during the day from the sun directly.

In addition to the tarps, I've set up three large bales of straw up against the open sections around the bottom on the inside of the run area. They are meant to provide an additional wind baffle as well as a place for the chickens to get up into the warmer air provided by that greenhouse effect during the day.



For the Spring config, the tarps covering the front are removed leaving only the tarp that covers the top (and back... and a little on the north end... it's a huge 10'x20' tarp) in place to keep about 80% of the rain out of the coop so that it can be moist (which attracts bugs and helps break down the old straw which gets tilled into the dirt floor of the run every 3 months or so... which improves drainage and bug attraction) but not muddy (which is bad for the chickens)

wow! that is fort knox! wonderful coop/run!

 

[Gifa]

Here she is this morning... with most of the rest of her winter coat on. We're still getting days in the 60's around here, but come mid January, the door will get covered up with some 6 mil plastic.

The weather this morning at 8am was 25-30mph wind, 40mph gusts... and snow. =)



Inside... (I had just set out the water, I bring it in at night so it doesn't freeze.)

 

[Jakoda]

nice job,,Can I ask where you found clear tarps??? I'd love to find some of those

My run is covered with 1/2 mesh and 75% of it is roofed with ondura corrugated roof panels. Since it's been getting rainy and winter is setting in, I am definitely going to roof the rest of it this spring. In the meantime I have a huge tarp thrown over the (uncorrugated roof) part. I am using clear heavy duty shower curtain liners to block up the sides from rain/wind..

Here's a pic of my set up (before Storm sandy, smashed my barn,) the run was left intact thank goodness


this is what my barn looks like now for those interested,,am rebuilding in the spring, chickie part was left intact, just slapped a wall up to it.

 

[Gifa]

nice job,,Can I ask where you found clear tarps??? I'd love to find some of those

I got these at www.tarpaflex.com. They're the "heavy-duty clear tarps".

 

[The Lazy L]

1/3 is roofed with shingles. The other 2/3 is covered with 1/2" weld wire fabric.




For the winter I put a 30 year old orange mouse chewed tarp over to keep the snow out.



North side of run has steel roofing used as siding to keep the south wind from blowing thru

 

[joan1708]

My run is enclosed in hardware cloth with sun-tuff roofing over that, then shade cloth over the sun tuff roof, and then left over bamboo fencing over all that, to keep the Texas summer heat, rats/mice and rain out.

 

[Kaitie09]

Half is covered in metal roofing, half is covered in bird netting with lattice over that. The metal roof is connected to the coop, so they have some dry ground all year. The lattice half allows for sun but also provide shade.