Landscape fabric

[Kim McD]

I am building the Taj Mahal of chicken coops. The run is 24 feet X 18". I want to put something over the top to protect them from owls and hawks. Will landscape fabric allow enough rain to come through that it won't collapse the walls? I am trying to keep from building a frame, because this project has taken way too long. I know that a tarp will just allow it to puddle and then will collapse. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Dmontgomery]

I know others on this site have simply stretched twine back and forth across the run to stop hawks, but I don't think that would work for the owls. Water is probably not going to seep through landscape fabric quick enough to keep it from pooling up and collapsing the walls unless there is some kind of support. How tall is your run?

 

[Kim McD]

It is about 6 feet tall. I have built no ceiling support. It is in an incline, but I still think it will collapse. What could I use to keep owls away? My dogs are outside, so they keep all the ground critters away.

 

[Dmontgomery]

"Deer netting". It looks like hardware cloth but it's a plastic/rubbery material. You can zip tie the edges together. But I think it is going to sag a lot over an 18' span. Off hand, I can't think of anything that is strong enough to be stretched that wide without being too heavy for some kind of support. Sorry. Can you post a photo of your setup?

 

[Kim McD]

I can when I get home tonight.

 

[aart]

I am building the Taj Mahal of chicken coops. The run is 24 feet X 18". I want to put something over the top to protect them from owls and hawks. Will landscape fabric allow enough rain to come through that it won't collapse the walls? I am trying to keep from building a frame, because this project has taken way too long. I know that a tarp will just allow it to puddle and then will collapse. Any suggestions are appreciated.

A roof without good framing will most likely have to be rebuilt.
What is your climate? Putting your location in your profile can help folks give better answers/suggestions.
Will you have to deal with snow load?

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Kim McD]

 

[Dmontgomery]

It looks like you've already got center posts for roof supports and some boards under the coop. If you are just in a hurry to get something up there, put 2x4's on top of the center posts running along the 24' span then stretch the deer netting running side to side over that.
Aart is absolutely correct though. Unless you take the time to build it the right way, with a frame, you are going to have to come back later and rebuild it. My suggestion above is just a temporary, quick fix to get you chickens inside and covered.
Believe me I know how frustrating it is for coop construction to drag on and on. If it's possible, step back and take a few days off from building until you feel refreshed and motivated again. If that's not possible, do the best you can for now but understand it is going to be a remodeling project in the future. I had to rush through my newest coop build this summer because my old coop was simply too small. I didn't have any helpers building it with me, so I did what I could under the circumstances. There are several things I will have to go back and change, and a couple things I have changed already.
You can go to my member page and see what I ended up doing for the run roof. My run was very similar to yours but I made it 16x24' because I had 8' boards.

 

[aart]

Still need to know your climate/location.......but looks like you might have to account for leaf drop load too.

 

[Kim McD]

I am in central Alabama. Snow is rare, rain in the winter. highs are in the 90's in the summer, and 30's, for the most part, in the winter. I have about decided to leave the top open for now. I don't really have any pests, except for birds, because of my dogs. I have cemented the bottom of the wire about 6 inches down in the ground. I will be running wood 2 x 4's around the top. The chickens are in the barn right now, and I need my stalls back.