NEED A *CHEEP* CHICKEN RUN DESIGN/MATERIAL

[Justino]

title says it all

an 8by 4 ft lattice panel here in ol CA cost 30 bucks i just found out so i need to know what would be a good, cheap thing to use for the runs walls? it doesnt really need to keep preditors, just hawks because we will lock the hens out of it at night

which will keep predators out

We are making a run off the coop just for when theyre home alone so we dont have to worry about hawks, but when we r home, they get the yard

Thanks,
Justina

 

[Yoko]

i dont know justin,i dont have a coop yet,or my chickens...

 

[Anny]

Check Craigslist for material.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
That is a really good idea. You could even set up a want ad.

If I were you, I'd build a smaller run (for now) with more expensive (strong and reliable) material rather than a bigger run with less expensive material. You can always take a weekend and add to it as you obtain more materials. Personally, I don't think the lattice panels are that great. They have huge holes in between the boards that would be the perfect fit for a weasel or snake and just aren't made of very strong wood. You'd probably be better off with some study posts anchored with concrete and some kind of wire fencing, the stronger, the better.

You've been on BYC long enough to know that hawks aren't the only predators that will decimate your flock during the daytime. I wouldn't want to see you hurt because your flock was killed by a lost dog or cat, a fox, coyote or anything else that hunts as an opportunist during the day.

 

[Justino]

Quote:
That is a really good idea. You could even set up a want ad.

If I were you, I'd build a smaller run (for now) with more expensive (strong and reliable) material rather than a bigger run with less expensive material. You can always take a weekend and add to it as you obtain more materials. Personally, I don't think the lattice panels are that great. They have huge holes in between the boards that would be the perfect fit for a weasel or snake and just aren't made of very strong wood. You'd probably be better off with some study posts anchored with concrete and some kind of wire fencing, the stronger, the better.

You've been on BYC long enough to know that hawks aren't the only predators that will decimate your flock during the daytime. I wouldn't want to see you hurt because your flock was killed by a lost dog or cat, a fox, coyote or anything else that hunts as an opportunist during the day.

well....for me, during the daytime, i only worry about hawks

no weasels or big snakes or anything else....and theyre in our fenced in backyard so no dog or cat CAN get them.....so i thought lattice would be fine....all i wanted to do was make it so they were protected from hawks and lock em up in the coop at night because of foxes and coons

and i was thinkin chicken wire.....but parents say it looks to redneck

(no offense to anyone, i personally think it would look perfect with wire

)

 

[Chicabee19]

you could make your own lattice out of pallets... course it would be kinda heavy.

 

[cmom]

oops!

 

[cmom]

The run off the coop has wire on top. Here is an older picture of my setup. If I could do it over I probably would have made the run higher.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Hi Justin!

We, actually, are just about done with our run. We made it 12 ft long, 8 ft wide, and 6 ft tall so that I could fit in it. All we used were 2 by 2's as the posts and frame then attacked wire. We made it into four separate pieces then attached them all together. We had to change it to 8 by 12 instead of 10 by 10 so that we wouldn't waste material because our 2 x 2's come in 8 foot lengths. Also, we have two support beams that we'll attach the cover wire to. I hope this gives you an idea. I'll have to post pics sometime... if I can figure it out or when I'm not too lazy

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

If your talking about lattice for the top check Walmart or home depot fthey have garden fencing that is plastic Some times its call deer netting or tree netting. its super cheap. We put it up on our turkey run so that the hawks couldnt get at them. We used the tree netting as they didnt have the deer netting i think it was like 10,00 a package two packages covered our area which is 12x12.