Looking for some advice- building LARGE run

[TopazMaster91]

* Update *
I borrowed my little bro's phone and took some pics of the coop inside and out, and the area where the run will be attached to!
As you can see, the little square hole leading to the run will be open pretty much all the time since it's hot in Florida and we may not always be around to let them out; Shadrach's comment got me thinking, and I think we may dismantle the entire frame we already put together and go with a "fence" type run with bird netting over the entire thing, and tarp on top near the coop opening for shade and rain shelter. Tell me what you think!
PICS:

 

[aart]

That looks fine, tho spacing your wall studs to the size mesh you are going to use will make things easier when you get to the point.
You just need to sink some posts(4" x 4") into the ground to attach the walls to,
probably at each corner then half way down each wall.

 

[TopazMaster91]

That looks fine, tho spacing your wall studs to the size mesh you are gong to use will make things easier when you get to the point.
You just need to sink some posts(4" x 4") into the ground to attach the walls to,
probably at each corner then half way down each wall.

Good point; at this moment, I think we may just take apart the wall we framed out and go with more of a fence type of thing, six feet high and with bird netting over the entire thing; just seems easier and will probably use less wood than what we already started doing, and given our general lack of predators where we are, I don't think we need a Fort Knox type of run, know what I mean? As long as it's stable, will last a good long while, and the chickens can't escape / hawks can't get it, we're pretty much set. Thus I'm re-thinking the entire run, still want to go 24ft by 16ft, but instead of "walls", more of a fence instead. I'm thinking we'll probably save wood, save time, and save effort doing something I KNOW we can do VS something we have no experience doing.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd do it more like a fence. Make smaller panels, maybe 8x8 at most as that also removes need for cutting wood, and attach each panel to a post sunk into the ground. It'll make it more manageable to handle and more stable.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Good point; at this moment, I think we may just take apart the wall we framed out and go with more of a fence type of thing, six feet high and with bird netting over the entire thing; just seems easier and will probably use less wood than what we already started doing, and given our general lack of predators where we are, I don't think we need a Fort Knox type of run, know what I mean? As long as it's stable, will last a good long while, and the chickens can't escape / hawks can't get it, we're pretty much set. Thus I'm re-thinking the entire run, still want to go 24ft by 16ft, but instead of "walls", more of a fence instead. I'm thinking we'll probably save wood, save time, and save effort doing something I KNOW we can do VS something we have no experience doing.

You need to think about putting something down the middle to attach the netting to. I would use the same wood for the middle that you are using on the outside. To stabilize them use a 2 x 4 to attach the outside post to the center post. When you do this you have something to attach the netting to that will hold.

 

[Don 27]

* Update *
I borrowed my little bro's phone and took some pics of the coop inside and out, and the area where the run will be attached to!
As you can see, the little square hole leading to the run will be open pretty much all the time since it's hot in Florida and we may not always be around to let them out; Shadrach's comment got me thinking, and I think we may dismantle the entire frame we already put together and go with a "fence" type run with bird netting over the entire thing, and tarp on top near the coop opening for shade and rain shelter. Tell me what you think!
PICS:
View attachment 1977511 View attachment 1977512 View attachment 1977513 View attachment 1977514 View attachment 1977515 View attachment 1977516

The coop part is really nice. My coop is an old barn.(and It needs a little work). As for the run I just have a roof over chicken wire and a frame. it works well. As long as they have access to the ground.

 

[kiwi-chick]

With the exception of the weight, a single solid long wall, or two abutting short walls could act as a very nice wind break; cover this area with your tarp (or if at all possible, a sheet of zinc roofing material) and you'd have the makings for a sturdy, shady, dry spot for your flock to get in out of the weather.

I heartily agree with this - don't know what your weather is like but this would be great shade in summer, wind and rain shelter in winter!

EDIT: Chickens love to be outside and if you give them shade or wind and rain shelter they will be outside as much as possible.

 

[imnukensc]

Speaking to your coop only----it has nowhere near enough ventilation. It really, really needs some ventilation, and lots of it, cut in near the top. Your nest boxes also need a "lip" to keep the hens from kicking all the nest material out.

 

[TopazMaster91]

You need to think about putting something down the middle to attach the netting to. I would use the same wood for the middle that you are using on the outside. To stabilize them use a 2 x 4 to attach the outside post to the center post. When you do this you have something to attach the netting to that will hold.

I have a few ideas for that; since it's basically going to be a really large rectangle (24ftx16ft), I was thinking of putting some vertical posts in key locations to prevent the bird netting from sagging in the middle. Near the exit of the coop/entrance to the run, we'll attach a tarp as well, so at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the entire thing is shaded and rain protected .

 

[TopazMaster91]

Speaking to your coop only----it has nowhere near enough ventilation. It really, really needs some ventilation, and lots of it, cut in near the top. Your nest boxes also need a "lip" to keep the hens from kicking all the nest material out.

About the coop: My uncle did most of the planning and putting together of the coop, he really helped us out in building it but I agree that it needs more ventilation, it does have airflow at the top but not nearly enough, the exit hole to the run adds some airflow, and the door has some airflow via vents, but also not enough; the roof is metal with insulation under it to prevent the sun from heating it up too much. We're going to cut a decent sized rectangle into part of the wall somewhere and put some hardware cloth over it. Thanks for the advice though!
About the nest boxes: They're technically not completely done yet, and my dad did a kind of quick and dirty lip add on to them (you can see if you zoom in real close) but the lips are too small, I think; it's relatively simple and quick to add on a (bigger) lip to them all, we just haven't done it yet; there are a few little things we haven't gotten to yet, all the fine-tuning will get done whilst we work on the run