Multi level ground

[Rosie34]

Hi- I am planning building my own run- the ground it will cover is over 3 levels. Anyone any experience of building a run on a slope or levels?

 

[aart]

Would be good to post some pics of your coop plans,
and the slope you have to work with.

Meanwhile here are a couple of recent threads about building on a slope.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/se..._than]=2021-04-12&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

Oh, and... Welcome to BYC! @Rosie34
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Rosie34]

Hi- this is the space I have to work with. It’s quite a large are but sort of wrapped around the new building. Aiming for the building work to be done in a month or so and then can tidy up the space and work on creating the chicken run.
im in north west England.

 

[Rosie34]

Would be good to post some pics of your coop plans,
and the slope you have to work with.

Meanwhile here are a couple of recent threads about building on a slope.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/se..._than]=2021-04-12&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

Oh, and... Welcome to BYC! @Rosie34
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2634954

Thanks for the link to the other post!

 

[3KillerBs]

That should be a great space for a run. The buildings will provide shelter from the wind and shade at appropriate times.

Chickens don't mind going up and down. The thing will be to carefully step the fence down when the ground level changes and secure all the gaps against your local predators.

 

[Banana01]

I know you have not built your coop yet, but the cinder block building in the photo would make a nice place for sleeping, except chickens like to perch up near the ceiling in beams, so keep that in mind for your design. And if you get perching chickens, then everything below gets bombed with their droppings, so you can't layer the chickens above one another in a single story house.

It is handy if you can place your sleeping beam where all their droppings clean themselves. I have a beam that sits above the top of a slope, and the droppings from the chickens that sleep there fall and roll down the hill into a channel and get washed away by the rain into a garden.

You could build a two story sleeping house next to the completed cinder block building. The bottom floor of it can be enclosed for hens and eggs, and the top floor can be for perching chickens at night. If multi levels don't work, the back wall could be for hens and eggs, with the sides for perching chickens.

One problem with sloping terrain is that water runs downhill and the ground is always wet in the rain.

Can you move chickens into that completed cinder block house to test it out and expand from there as needed? I have good results from developing a coop as my chickens need more area, but that is because my resources are very limited and I don't have to worry about cold weather or escaping chickens either.