Is a closed run necessary?

[debra and shenderra]

Hi -

I'm a new chicken keeper (my girls just started laying two days ago, and I am over the moon!) and am deciding how to set up my girls for next year. Right now I'm using a cheap pre-fab coop from Tractor Supply Company, which I always intended to toss after a year or two to build something more permanent and suited to my needs. I could really use advice about whether or not to build a closed run in addition to a coop. My main concern is being able to leave the chickens for longer periods of time - e.g. 3 days, a week, etc. I wouldn't plan to leave them for more than 4 days without a checkup from a friend or neighbor checking up on them, so I wonder if building an enclosed run is necessary.
Here's some info about my setup:

• I live in a city which requires 4 square feet of coop space per bird.
• Right now my girls go in the coop only to sleep and free range in the rest of my yard during the day. My backyard is surrounded in chain link. I clip 1 wing on each bird, but they can still get on the chain link. C'est la vie.
• For Christmas, my roommate is building me a chicken door that detects the sun's rays and automatically opens at dawn and closes at dusk. This would mean my presence is not necessary for the girls to get in/out and access their food, water, and raspberry bushes (their favorite place to hang out).

With all that in mind, could I get away with just building a coop and letting my girls free range? Other than having some run space rooved in order to protect them from snow, am I missing anything critical about the benefits of a run? I know that predators must be kept in mind, but the only predator my girls have encountered has been a near-escape with a hawk while I was working from home, and I've seen a couple cats around after night. Nothing has ever been caught when I set my live trap. What would you advise, oh lovely fellow chicken keepers?

we used a cattle panel greenhouse to give out girls weather protection plus it works for preditors too

 

[NatalieP]

I'm in a city too and after researching, my biggest fear is raccoons which I'm sure lurk near you as well but it seems everything will want to snack on chickens. Foxes, coyotes, hawks, skunks, and cats are present in my neighborhood as well. I opted for a closed run (with proper locks to deter racoon hands) and dug hardware cloth around the perimeter to deter any digging predators. I've set up my food and water system so that we can leave on vacation and just have neighbors collect eggs. You can build food and water systems that dont require daily maintenance to lessen the burden on whoever is watching over your chickens.

 

[jreardon1918]

The fact that you plan days away, leads to having a very secured run. Where food and water can be kept. Secure enough that either the pop door can be left open 24x7. Or a very reliable auto chick door. And still somebody to check on them would be best.

We have such a setup. 3+ years no losses to predators in the secure area. We also have a fenced non-secure area. And we have had a few attacks and losses in the fenced area.

 

[Sally PB]

While I would love to free range my chickens like the guy on the corner a mile from me, I have them in an enclosed run instead. The guy on the corner doesn't have chickens any more. Still have mine, and I know there are eagles and hawks above, and raccoons, skunks, opossums, coyotes and dogs on the ground.

 

[AOrchard]

I'm going to be the contrairian here! I do not think I closed run is necessary for a vacation because of predators. If you are comfortable with the knowledge that you might lose a chicken or two, I think you are fine to let them free range for a couple days vacation. Yes, something could happen to one or two of them, and you would not be there to take care of it. However, the likelihood is fairly low, and saving a chicken at the cost of putting up a closed run just might not be worth it. I think that is a valid opinion to hold, and is a matter of your personal risk tolerance. Since you regularly free range, and don't seem overly bothered by the hawk, I don't think a closed run is worth it for you.

The other important factor here is that you live in a suburb type environment. If you personally are not present for a few days, there are still plenty of people present in your area, so nothing changes from a predator's perspective. The predation risks to your free-ranging chickens during vacation is identical to their predation risk normally, for you. If you were gone for a week on a more isolated property, you being gone for a while would mean no humans for a while, and could change things for a predator.

Closed runs are also not bulletproof anti-predator boxes. Unless you're closed run is hardware cloth only and highly maintained, there will always be creatures capable of getting in. Mine lived happily in a closed run for 2 years with no loses, and then a mink got in through a 1-inch hole and slaughtered the entire bunch, not least because they couldn't get away. Both of my neighbors, who have free ranged for a decade, regularly lose a hen here or there to a hawk (which I don't in my closed run), but they've never lost their entire run to a mink. At this point we're probably even in the number of birds we've lost, and we keep them very differently. Now, I was probably unlucky, but I'm far from the first person to have a mink problem, and the closed run meant none of the chickens could not get away when the mink attacked. So while a closed run is generally safer, it is absolutely not a sure thing, and it is absolutely not a golden ticket.

That said, completely separate from vacation, I do recommend a small closable run be available if you have the resources and space to do it. There are a lot of other situations when it's helpful to temporarily confine chickens. You could be in the UK where there's a bird flu going around and you have to confine them for a bit. Your neighbor might get a new dog, and you need to confine them for a few weeks while you accustom the new dog to chickens. You might want to sell a couple of them, and need to confine them until the buyer arrives. Necessary? No. Helpful in a lot of situations, absolutely.

 

[AlicesEggstaurant]

We live in a small community in the high desert. I've seen foxes (midday!), hawks and owls, raccoons, coyotes all in my yard. We built a big run out of 2x4 and hardware cloth, with a roof (part plywood for shade/precip protection, part hardware cloth) and a 2ft hardware cloth apron buried around the perimeter. They've only been out in the coop/run since September but so far so good. We also have two dogs that patrol the yard frequently.

To each their own though. They say some nasty things about a fox in the hn house... at the end of the day, it is a cost benefit anaylsis for you.

 

[Bob 1313]

Raising chickens is NOT something you can do part time.
Do your flock a favor and give them to someone willing to put in the time and effort needed.

 

[black_cat]

Raising chickens is NOT something you can do part time.
Do your flock a favor and give them to someone willing to put in the time and effort needed.

I disagree with that.........I'm going to be elsewhere for a few days, leaving today, and we have someone taking care of our chickens and cat while we're gone. It's not bad to go on vacations with chickens as long as you can make sure they have proper care. I don't think that it's right to assume that they can function entirely on their own, but overall I think that OP isn't doing anything problematic with their birds.

 

[black_cat]

I'm also in the suburbs and there were raccoon tracks near my coop yesterday, and the other day there were four hawks circling overhead at once (yes, all four were there at the same time- not just one coming back) so there are definitely predators in the suburbs. I'm always going to advocate for a closed run- that way you can confine them if they hide nests and want to re train them, if they want to roost in the trees, same concept, you'll be able to find them if they're wounded because there aren't many places to hide in a run, you'll have better rodent control with food and water, and fewer predator risks.

 

[Lazy Layers]

After reading the comments, you've got some good advice here. Hope you listen to your fellow chicken lovers: no automatic door, covered run, and someone to check on them daily. With that said, you can only do so much based on other commitments. The best you can do is make sure they are secure, have food and water, and attention when you can. Good luck.