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All really good information, thanks! I have gone back to my plans and tweaked them a little.
Ridgerunner - Good idea to just leave the vents open and cover with hardware cloth. Depending on the budget, that might be the preferred option! I can always add soffits later if I just want to purty it up. As for interior storage, I think I'm going to just store everything in my nearby shed.
I uploaded a drawing of the updated run, so you can see the overall layout. I tweaked the run so the distance between posts are all 8', including the interior posts. It reduced the square footage by about 100 sq ft, but it should still be plenty based on the 10 sq ft per bird rule, and makes much better use of materials. And it lines everything up perfectly to include a small outside partition for the second chicken door and a 3' gate for that area. I'll probably build something that can be put up/removed as needed for that partition, so it's ready to go, but I don't loose that area on a regular basis (same thing for the interior isolation pen). I actually did "sun studies" to determine coop/window position and angle for the most winter sun, but then I was trying to adjust for the coop angle and line up the run with the existing structures and such (I'm kinda a tidy freak). Now if it just builds as well as it laid out on paper!
From everything I've read on here, I suspect the 4' chain link won't actually keep them in their "free range area", especially if there are tastier tidbits on the other side (like my garden, lawn and blueberry plants). The area is partially irrigated, so there will be plenty of green to munch on, but would it help to either extend the fence up or add a hot wire? I actually have hotwire on that fence, about 8 inches from the top and bottom (a mini donkey used to live in there that liked to use the fence as a rib scratcher), so it would be easy to move if it would be at all helpful.
The run (thumbnail):
Edited post to upload drawing
Ridgerunner - Good idea to just leave the vents open and cover with hardware cloth. Depending on the budget, that might be the preferred option! I can always add soffits later if I just want to purty it up. As for interior storage, I think I'm going to just store everything in my nearby shed.
I uploaded a drawing of the updated run, so you can see the overall layout. I tweaked the run so the distance between posts are all 8', including the interior posts. It reduced the square footage by about 100 sq ft, but it should still be plenty based on the 10 sq ft per bird rule, and makes much better use of materials. And it lines everything up perfectly to include a small outside partition for the second chicken door and a 3' gate for that area. I'll probably build something that can be put up/removed as needed for that partition, so it's ready to go, but I don't loose that area on a regular basis (same thing for the interior isolation pen). I actually did "sun studies" to determine coop/window position and angle for the most winter sun, but then I was trying to adjust for the coop angle and line up the run with the existing structures and such (I'm kinda a tidy freak). Now if it just builds as well as it laid out on paper!
From everything I've read on here, I suspect the 4' chain link won't actually keep them in their "free range area", especially if there are tastier tidbits on the other side (like my garden, lawn and blueberry plants). The area is partially irrigated, so there will be plenty of green to munch on, but would it help to either extend the fence up or add a hot wire? I actually have hotwire on that fence, about 8 inches from the top and bottom (a mini donkey used to live in there that liked to use the fence as a rib scratcher), so it would be easy to move if it would be at all helpful.
The run (thumbnail):
Edited post to upload drawing
Last edited:
