Looking for ideas for a run... share yours?

[JimWWhite]

Here's mine. I built a typical run early last year when I first got my chickens. It was 8'x'16' and was covered with tarps to keep the rain out and provide shade. The coop was in the back end of it. But it was a mess every time it rained. Mud, mud, mud. One day I was going by my friend's place who'd just bought a new house and he was out working on the carport. He was taking it down and was going to build an attached garage in it's place. He was going to call the local metal dealer and give it to them to haul it away when I said I'd take it. It took the rest of the day to take it down and get it transported to my yard a few miles away. I graded off a pad and layed down a couple of inches of Crush 'n Run which is just sand and gravel, then about three inches of creek sand. Then we put up the carport/run and moved the coop and my 19 Gold Comets to it and have been happy with it ever since. The week after we put it up and got the Gals in Tropical Storm Ida blew through in October and dumped about ten inches of rain for four days. I went out to feed them one day while it was raining hard and they were in there enjoying a lovely dust bath. Over the winter I enclosed the back and two sides with large tarps I cut down to size as a windbreak and I believe it helped keep the Gals a lot warmer. We had a lousy wet cold winter here but the Gals responded by laying every day. So it's been a big success!!!

 

[keeko]

Sorry I don't have pics up yet, but we're just wrapping up construction on the run, so it's a very fresh topic on my mind!!

We used 4 x 4s for the posts, and along the bottom (sorry, I'm no builder, just a lay person trying to keep chickens. I'll explain best I can!). I used untreated 2x4's for all the posts in between, the top framing, and cross beams. I painted those with a really low VOC paint, so it's safe (at least safer than chemically treated lumber!).

I don't mean to cause confusion, but everything I've read has said NOT to use dog kennels, "chicken wire" or wide mesh, since raccoons and weasles can tear it or reach their hands/arms inside and kill chickens. So we bought a 100 foot roll of 1/2 inch galvanized steel HARDWARE CLOTH, which most people suggest. It's easy to work with once you get the hang of it, but wear GLOVES and Long Sleeves!! Some people drill it to the wood frame with fender washers and screws, but we used "poultry staples" that the guy at Lowe's suggested...super easy, galvanized so it won't rust. It's also easy to do with a friend because if you have two hammers, and a buddy, you're golden!

Also, make sure there are no gaps. Not even 2 inches. I've read horror stories on here of people losing chickens to a raccoon that was able to flatten himself/herself to get into the coop in a teeny tiny space. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it to not have the heartache of losing hens.

We're not done yet, but we're planning on roofing half of the run. That way it will give the girls some shade, and a dry area when it rains/snows. Pitch it if you can so that it drains away from your house (or drains where you want it to), and that way the water and snow don't put pressure on your run and roofing material while it just sits there.

I've been told to put sand in the run floor to act as "litter" and it will dry quickly. Mulch holds water, and runs tend to get muddy. And all of this produces a big stink. Finally, we made the run just 6 feet tall so we could walk into it. Boy, I'm glad we did! It's so nice to go inside, and if done right, it doesn't look ugly at all. A little landscaping at the end goes a long way.

Anyway, that's what we did! Good luck!

 

[AccioSarah]

Thank you all so much for sharing!! Pleas keep posting- I love seeing all the different designs!
I'm still not sure what I'll be doing, but I'm going to head to home depot this weekend to figure out how much it'll cost... I'm looking into doing a simple run either with 2x4's and some kind of chicken wire, or one made out of dog kennels. We'll see... I'm trying to spend as little as possible while making it as safe as possible.

I've heard mixed things about every kind of run... but it sounds like a "reinforced" dog kennel run would be an upgrade to what I have now (a run made out of pvc pipe and chicken wire).
Once I have an idea of what I'm doing, I'll probably post another topic getting the A-OK on my design!

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[ChicksRFun]

Hello! I'm new to the forum as well as to having chickens and so excited that we just got our chicken coop finnished. I would like to share the photos with you

Thank you!
Jamie

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Mine is a simple 2 X 4 frame covered with 2 X 4 welded wire.
It's made in sections so I can take it apart if needed

This is the addition I just built, using the same design

 

[TwilightMom]

I have coop and run envy! These are great! I wish I had the room for a run like these

. I live in the 'burbs so mine is much smaller but I love it! This is my husband's first attempt at coop building...

The run is a walk-in type and is attached to the coop.

 

[Prospector]

JimWWine, I love the look of that. I need to find someone else tearing out one of those!!

 

[nicolets]

I don't have chickens yet, but I have an idea for a building with multiple coops each w/ a run (i have them be separated, and this is just my idea and feel free to change it to what you need it for if you want to use it). It would be made of mainly wood, but also fencing and probably metal, tarp, and/or plastic for the roof of the coops and covering for the runs. The people door would go to a rectangular room which could be used as a feed, water, and equipment storage. I think I would probably have feed and water containers on both sides of the wall for each coop. Also the nesting boxes from each coop would stick out into that room, on the right side when you looked in from the people door. A people door would lead into each coop, and I would probably have people doors directly from outside to the run and from the coop to the run. The separated but close together coops & runs would be for separating breeds and/or adult chickens and growing young chickens, while keeping them close enough so you wouldn't have to run from coop to coop to collect your eggs. I had originally thought 3 different coops w/ 1 run each would be good for RIRs, Austrolorps, and growers; but I may just do RIRs and growers. Maybe for those egg-eaters that you're supposed to seperate from the flock, you could have individual small coops w/ caged doors on the left side of the people walk-in area.

I don't know, that's just my complicated coop idea that popped up in my head one day. Unfortunetly my yard is too hilly and small for a coop like that, so I'd have to move before I could build it. Actually, idk if I could build it at all. I'm not much of a builder and these plans are rather complicated... lol

 

[nicolets]

nice coops lol