mature tree in possible run?

[theoldchick]

Great photo... I wonder how chew proof that is.

That particular photo was of a large cat exhibit so I'd think it would be pretty strong. Good question!

 

[Alaskan]

Oh... last night it did dawn on me.... you will want to have hefty support for the wire around the under tree area to hold all of the leaves and whatever else the tree drops. It might be easier to slope it a bit to make it easier to sweep off leaves etc.

Also... hardware cloth will hold snow, so if you have a bunch of snow that is another reason to slope the roof.

 

[Grisbeard]

Thanks, everyone! The tree is really big (maybe 30 or 40 feet tall?) so I couldn't net it. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

My run surrounds a large silver maple about 70’ tall. Thought about net to hawk proof but decided to provide some fence wire arches covered with hay as shade and shelter instead.

 

[AuntieD]

Hello. We're just barely planning our coop and run. One of the possibilities is having the run enclose a mature Chinese Hackberry tree. The trunk is about 3 to 4 feet wide. I want them to have the shade of the tree during our hot summers so I was toying with the idea of putting the run around the tree. Have any of you done something like that? How would you secure the hardware cloth to the tree without harming it? And, would the chickens eventually kill the tree my messing with it? Thank you!

If the Chinese Hackberry is as large as a regular hackberry tree I do not think the chickens could hurt it. Our hackberry is around 30-40 ft tall and makes great shade but I need a covered run so I would not incorporate the tree inside the run.

 

[bhawk-23]

My run surrounds a large silver maple about 70’ tall. Thought about net to hawk proof but decided to provide some fence wire arches covered with hay as shade and shelter instead.

Could you post a pic for me? I am not good at visualizing but this might be a good fix for a small area I am wanting some cover on! Thank you!