h c hennery
Chirping
It seemed like our original 5’ x 10’ run was too small for our 3 hens, so we just added an 8’ x 16’ run to give them more room. We built the new run in panels in the garage, connected the panels on site, added a roof (Tuftex panels, cut with scissors), and then added hardware cloth to the walls. The whole thing cost us about six weekends of work and $700.
To provide access to the new run from the existing run/coop, we made a chunnel out of 4’ hardware cloth. We learned that a tube made of hardware cloth DOES NOT BEND, so we had to design the tunnel with right angles and then make a little boardwalk out of plywood and cinderblocks. I was worried that a 12” square-ish tunnel might be too small for the hens to navigate, but they can sprint through it like Olympians (Buff Orpington, Plymouth Barred Rock, and Golden Comet). (You can see them using it in a short “Chunnel Tour” video at https://youtu.be/PukwgITHhsk.)
We used PVC to make a sort of collar to wire the chunnel to, and then cable/zip ties to attach those to the runs (for now). We’re still fiddling with this part of the design. We'd like it to be secure, but detachable. If we were starting over we’d use 2”x2”s to make the collars instead of PVC, because it seems to make for an easier and more secure attachment.
To provide access to the new run from the existing run/coop, we made a chunnel out of 4’ hardware cloth. We learned that a tube made of hardware cloth DOES NOT BEND, so we had to design the tunnel with right angles and then make a little boardwalk out of plywood and cinderblocks. I was worried that a 12” square-ish tunnel might be too small for the hens to navigate, but they can sprint through it like Olympians (Buff Orpington, Plymouth Barred Rock, and Golden Comet). (You can see them using it in a short “Chunnel Tour” video at https://youtu.be/PukwgITHhsk.)
We used PVC to make a sort of collar to wire the chunnel to, and then cable/zip ties to attach those to the runs (for now). We’re still fiddling with this part of the design. We'd like it to be secure, but detachable. If we were starting over we’d use 2”x2”s to make the collars instead of PVC, because it seems to make for an easier and more secure attachment.
