Is a run important????

[Altonafamily]

I just bought my 4 chicks today and had planned on them living in their coop 24/7. We were planning on building a medium sized coop for them. After finding this site though and doing more research I'm thinking that I might have been wrong. Is it important for them to have access to a run. I live in the county and don't want them to be "free range" where the eagles and other predators are around. Could someone please help me?

 

[Judy]

They normally spend their days outdoors foraging, pecking and scratching, looking for food. They will also sumbathe and dust bathe outdoors if available. They will not be happy if confined to a building 24/7.

Where I live, chickens are often kept (the "old fashioned" style) in a run with a board laying over one end for a bit of a roof. I actually think if given the choice they would prefer this to a building.

 

[claudicles]

My chickens love to look out at the world too. I think if you don't have a run you may have more trouble with aggression between chickens.

 

[gabbyscritters]

Yes, please let them have a run. Your chickens will be so much happier and healthier.
We would not want to live 24/7 in our bedroom nor would your chickens
If they could talk they would be down on thier little chicken knees begging to go outside, dust bathe in the sun, chase bugs and do general chicken stuff!

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

A RUN IS NEEDED! chickens will go nuts, phsyco, without a run. They need a run, and the run doesnt need to be to complicated, just some fencing with a top (if you have like hawkes and such)

 

[vclark321]

Greetings Altonafamily! I live in Bonney Lake Washington! I have 2 pairs of nesting eagles within ear shot of my house and so far (knock on wood) I have not had a problem. I have a very dense canopy of trees over the majority of my yard. I prefer the girls to be in their run during the day when I am sleeping, but THEY prefer roaming the yard scratching and bathing and doing their thing. The days they HAVE to stay in their run which is smaller than they're used to, they let me know! I am modifying my tractor and run to contain them better. There is a lot of info here on this site and everyone here is awesome! Welcome to the club!

 

[Ole rooster]

I just look at it like a people thing. Would I be happy confined to my bed room? No, not me. How bout to the house? Not even then. I like to go outside for fresh air and the chickens would too. Give them a roost outside. Might be silly to us but they like it. Give um a dirt spot to dig and roll. Let um be outside and give the critters a few things to do. They'll be happy and their out put will reflect it.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Our chickens never use the coop, could be pouring rain with high winds and 35 F yet they prefer to huddle under the protected side of run. Chickens just love the outdoors. I went with a small coop and glad I did. They only use it to roost in at night and pass through to the laying boxes we have attached to coop. I'm in the process of building a hoop run to attach to the existing tractor. That is something I'd wished we made bigger is their run. Our girls get to free range at the least an hour a day in winter and half days in summer. I know they'll be much happier once I build the run extension.

In a nut shell my opinion is 4sqft per bird for a coop is a waste of space unless you think you'll get more birds. The 10 sqft per bird for run is not enough unless you let them free range some. The importance of a run is to contain birds, coop is to protect from winds and more common night predators. In our case our run would only slow down a determined stray dog and stop hawks, someone here is usually home. Our coop is Fort Knocks.

 

[duckinnut]

How would you like to be locked up with 3 others in a room all the time? Eventually there is going to conflict, the same could be said for chickens. Not to mention just not plain good for them and would be a birthplace of problems. Feather picking,egg eating,food spilling maniacs. Got to get them some sort of a run,even a put together dog kennel if you are not handy.
Happy

chickens= lots of eggs

,you got questions you will find answers here.

 

[ipie68]

Happy chickens=good tasting eggs
Mad chicens=agression, bad eggs all of the above
and besides if you were to keep them confined they would need 10 ft of space each
i would reccomend a run