Outdoor run with poultry wire

[georgiapumpkin]

Hey,
We bought our house a few months ago and the previous owner had a big dog kennel in it's on building with everything all set up I just put wire mesh on top to prevent predators. I will be keeping the chickens in there at night and then let them out in the run during the day.
I was planning on building my run with a bunch of t-posts the other owner left with poultry wire. I plan on using 5' or 6' wire with one inch holes. My husband has retired and we are home all the time. We do have coyotes, raccoons, opossums. I never see any of those during the day. Maybe because we live in 88 acres and they have other room to roam. Lol
Do y'all think my idea of the run will be ok just for the daytime use?

 

[Acre4Me]

Can you show us pics of the building/ coop, dog run and proposed run?

if you lock them up in a secure coop at night, that is great, but hard to say in daytime.

will you have electric available at the coop/run so you can put up electric fencing if needed?

 

[georgiapumpkin]

I have extra dog houses that the previous owner left. I'll put the biggest one in the run so they can hide in if necessary. I have black netting that my husband accidentally bought thinking that's what I wanted that I will put above the entire run to keep the Hawks out.

 

[mowin]

The coop area is not secure. Poultry netting is easily breached by predators.
Just because you haven't seen predators around, once they smell chickens, they will try for a free meal.
Hardware could would be my choice. Also closing in the kennel to keep drafts off the gals would be helpful in the colder months. Although assuming you live in GA by your username, that might not be a issue.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If you're building one from scratch, I'd use hardware cloth. It's better to er on the side of safety. Unless you're extremely rural it's likely they will be safe during the daytime with just chicken wire provided you lock them in a secure coop at night, but accidents happen. It's easy to forget to shut up your birds or be caught away from home later than you intended.

 

[georgiapumpkin]

No, I'm in TN
When we got our first computer 21 years ago that's the email I chose because I am from GA.
The coop isn't quite finished. That's the set-up they had for there dogs. It has electricity in the building from where they ran air and heat for the dogs. They were hunting dogs. Lol
I'm still reinforcing the coop and will be closing in the open part.
I will be putting electric fencing on the run.

 

[Acre4Me]

Best things about your current setup:
1. Concrete pad.

2. nicely protected area from rain, and maybe sun? Seems like upper curtains are there for shade? Or for blowing rain protection?
The chain link fencing is ok, however, here are the issues with the “coop” area:

1. top will allow in climbing predators. Thiswill primarily be raccoons. Fix with durable fencing securely attached to top. Not chicken wire...needs to be something welded bc raccoons are strong and will rip apart the twisted (not welded) chicken wire.

2. Do you have bears? If so electric fencing might be required. Bears are even stronger, but dislike electric shocks. Same for raccoons, but electric is not required to keep coins out.

3. Chain link has big openings, so rodents can freely enter and little chicks can leave. Simple mesh/plastic fence 1’ high keeps in chicks. Best defense against rodents: don’t feed them. Take in food, store in metal containers, sweep up spilled feed. Also, if chickens sleep near chain link openings, a raccoon can/will reach in to try to remove a chicken, but will instead decapitate it bc the body won’t go through the fence.

the run area looks shady -perfect for fluffy feathered birds.

are you planning to build an enclosed run area in the grassy area? Will they be locked up in the chain link area at night? Any plans to build a more secure coop inside that building?

 

[georgiapumpkin]

I've still got a lot of work to do. I already planned on putting extra foot or two protection around the bottom of the coop. I may even see about putting some electric fencing around the top of the coop.
The ( run ) will all be enclosed with electric fencing and an old dog house for them to go into when needed. They'll only be out there during the day. The Hawks are my biggest worry but like I said I've got netting to cover the top. I read somewhere on here that some people use fishing line and zig zag all across it. Since my husband bought that netting I'll just use that to cover the top.
My chicks are arriving on May 20 maybe so I still have plenty of time and work to do.

 

[Acre4Me]

@georgiapumpkin - Yay! New chicks! Post pics when they are little!

If you put electric around top, make sure you also add a ground wire, otherwise they won't get shocked.

 

[georgiapumpkin]

Thanks I wouldn't have thought about that. Growing up all those years ago when my parents had chickens seemed so much easier Probably wasn't but when your young you don't pay much attention to all that.