We're building our run this week for our 4 RIR/Buckeye mix's. First, is 4' high enough. We just bought a roll of 1"x2"x48" welded wire fencing to build the run out of. Are they going to be able to fly over the top of it? The run is going to be really large and they'll be in the coop at night so I'm not really worried about predators right away. We're also thinking of the movable lightweight electric fences that use a car battery. Does anyone have a good source for them? What type of posts are good to use? We were going to go with either Cedar or Locust posts non PT. I thought with the Cedar posts being in open air it wouldn't affect their lungs. Any thoughts? Our other option is the 48" T posts. Are they sturdy enough? Thanx
how old are they, i have month and a half olds outside in 4 ft high run and they cant fly up and out, just today they figured out how to have fun by flying halfway up grabbing hold and seeing who could stay up the longest. However, one thing that is causing us to build a new coop/run, is that ours is only 4 ft tall, with a welded wire roof so they dont fly out. im 6'4" and even though my wife is only 5'1" she still gets upset at having to bend over for cleaning collecting and feeding/watering. If you have "framing" up around the top of the wire however, and dont want to roof the whole thing. i took some cord, and ran it back and forth across the roof like you see over ponds that people dont want geese in, just as a deterant to keep predators from flying in, and to try and keep them from flying out.. hope that helps. feel free to PM me with any other questions. brad
I had Barred Rocks way back when that could fly over a 6 foot fence, so it depends on the chicken. Solve the problem by putting at least deer netting over the top. Deer netting comes on rolls 7 ft. by 100 ft. and costs around $20 at big box stores. You can attach it to the welded wire & to itself with nylon zip ties.