How important is having a top on the run?

[hypnofrogstevie]

That would help as a shelter and maybe a Place to roost if the branches are low

Edited: dumb typos

 

[livestock101]

I do not have a cover on my run. I've had chickens for several years and have never lost one to a predator.

Your tree may help somewhat, as we too, have a very large tree covering a portion of our run.

 

[King Tubby]

My chickens have a large chain-link run of roughly quarter acre so it is impractical to cover it. I haven't lost any to hawks though I did witness an attempt one day. I don't see how a cooper's hawk could take one of my chickens but it tried.

My speckled sussex gets out of the run almost every day and free ranges the yard. I kind of like that she does that but I do worry about her, though she is usually seen scratching under a large clump of holly bushes.

Also I have a lot of local birds that get into my run and I worry about disease spreading into my flock. Has anyone had a problem with that?

 

[mamaboyd]

We don't have a cover on our run, but we are going to put one on this year as I got tired of running around trying to schoo all my birds in the coop whenever I spotted a hawk flying around. Also, our chickens learned to fly over the fencing and were free ranging in our yard and in with the horses, not that I minded that, but our birds got so much exercise that the they didn't weigh as much when we had them turned to meat. I'd rather keep them safe from predators and have let them free range at specific times when I'm around to watch out for them.

 

[Josie]

We have had a cover on our run eversince we caught the neighbors cat climbing over. He had already taken out half the chicks and was going back for more, luckily he hadn't killed any.

 

[unionwirewoman]

We have 36 acres close to the highway and we don't have a covered run. The reason why I mentioned the highway was that we get alot of deer hit by cars . Carrion brings hawks , osprey , crows ,ravens , eagles etc . I have yet to lose a bird to predators . We also have bear , coyote , skunks , weasles ,fox , wolves.........oh wait .......fish and game said that there are no wolves in NW Montana !

We see more Bald Eagles than any other.......guess they're making a come back huh !

 

[kj7ty]

Just got mine done, and I did cover it. We have hawks, eagles and racoons. Just wanted to be safe. Take care all. Mike

 

[MissPrissy]

If you are willing to risk loosing chickens you don't need to cover your run. You may spend years without a predator taking one but when a predator does finally realize there is chicken dinner waiting it and others will come calling until you have no chickens left. Lighter weight chickens are more likely to fly and take a roost in the trees and you may end up with 'yard birds' instead of hens in your hen house. You may have to have an egg hunt daily as if every day were easter to collect and find your eggs.

If you have a garden and want to eat from your own hard work cover the run. If the chickens can get out you won't have a garden for long. They will eat it to the bare ground. Not just the garden, anything you have planted that you want to keep make sure you lock the chickens away.

You have to weigh the pro cons in your favor and decide what works best for you.

If covering the run becomes a money issue don't forget to watch freecycle and craigslist for freebies!

 

[stilwellchick]

I did have netting over the run but then switched to metal roofing panels with a slant so the rain and snow slide off. I love it! The run stays so much drier and shadier. I love being able to go in and visit and clean in the heaviest of rains. I have some hay bales that I can sit on to visit and it is always dry in there with much less smell.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Miss Prissy - You sum things up so well!

I have a run and it is covered. When I didn't have it covered, I lost a chicken to a cat. Also as Miss Prissy said, I enjoy my garden and unfortunately so would my chickens.