Is your run covered?

[TheSpiceGirls]

Our run is covered with heavy gauge wire to protect the girls from hawks and other critters.

What I meant to ask, "Is your run covered to protect your girls from rain?"

I have a small area covered to keep them and their food dry and they just seemed so sad huddled under there today while it rained. I was just wondering if I needed to put up more roof panels to protect them from rain.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

My run is 10 x 20 and has a solid roof. It's great! When it rains it rains sideways so part of it gets wet, but it's nice to have more than half of it dry. Less stinky too.

 

[gavinandallison]

We have a reinforced chain link 10 x 20 outside run, covered partially by 2 10 fence sections and the rest by wire, half of which is covered by a tarp to give a dry outside run. See our page and you will see what we have done!

 

[cottage19]

We built our 8x8 coop and an attached 8x8 predator secured run under the overhang on the back of our small barn. Building under the overhang worked well for us - the coop and run are completely roofed over and we can access the coop from inside the barn which makes storing feed etc. easy. We let the (7) girls free range when ever possible but we also like the security of knowing they are confined in a safe place when necessary. This spring we plan on increasing the length of the run to 16 feet. During bad weather we often let the girls roam free in part of the barn. We tossed some straw down for them and they seem to prefer being inside the barn on cold, snowy days.

 

[henney penny]

All my runs are covered with avairy netting because of the hawks,I don`t know how good you can see it in this picuture but it works great.

 

[TrystInn]

We have PVC roofing on both our pens to protect the ladies from hawks and Bald Eagles. It also helps keep the rain off the ladies when its too cold.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

We change our run coverage, depending on the season. We still have vegetation growing in the run at the far end, so in the growing season, that end only has the wire on top. It lets in rain to keep things growing. The end near the coop has a solid cover, to give the chickens shelter from the heavy rains. That end has sand.

During the winter, my husband covers the wire top at the far end with a tarp, to give the chickens a larger snow free area. Otherwise, it would have to be shoveled out regularly, to be usable at all. We get a lot of deep snow.

It sounds like a solid cover over all of your run would give your chickens more usable space during the rainy season. I'm sure they'd appreciate that. I see lots of runs with full solid roofs. It gives protection from precipitation and also provides more shade when it's hot. If you still have vegetation growing in your run or you want them to get more sun, you can always tarp the wire end only during the heavy rains.

 

[valentinebaby]

I have an enclosed run attached to my coop that's completely covered - top, all sides and about 1' buried along the sides - with hardware cloth - expensive, but worth it. I plan on adding a corrugated metal roof over the entire length and about 2' out on the sides as funds allow. In the interim, I purchased a huge tarp at Walmart that it attached to the top. During the really heavy rains we get here in North Texas from time to time, the smell of the wet feed was AWFUL! The tarp is large enough to keep their primary run dry and no more smell

! Plus it keeps their dust bath area dry as well.

 

[valentinebaby]

P.S. If you get the large hail like we do here in Texas, DO NOT buy that clear plastic corrugated roofing - I did to allow more light in and it was hammered with large hail holes shortly after installing it - go for metal if you do!

 

[SallyF]

I have 11 chickens and a 10x10 run. We originally covered it with chicken wire to protect from predators, then added shade cloth to part of it to protect from sun, then covered it with a tarp to help keep them dry. Have to replace the tarp about once a year.