Re-thinking allowing my chickens to free range--- need to build a run.

Ruby Rogue

Free Ranging
Mar 31, 2020
2,765
8,184
606
Atlantic Canada
So after 8 months of free ranging with no losses (well, one young bird wandered off about 6 months ago) or daytime sightings of predators, I had a run in with a fox yesterday morning. It was wild.

It grabbed one of my birds by the tail feathers right in front of me. I was able to scare it off without any injuries. I rounded up all the girls and some of the boys into the coop, the rest of the boys refused to go to bed so they stayed outside. I came back home a few hours later and everyone was still alive. I let them all back outside for the rest of the afternoon.

I just 'finished' my new coop yesterday, moved all the girls in last night, planned on 'taking care of' the boys today. I wanted to keep a rooster or 2 but I think I've changed my mind about that as well.

I'm out of lumber. I have no more hardware cloth. I haven't thought this out at all, but I think I need to build a run over the next few days while my girls are inside getting used to their new coop, and before they go back outside.

What's the cheapest, most efficient way to do this without making my side yard look junky? What do I cover with to keep the snow out?
 
To be even fox RESISTANT a hoop house should be made from cattle panels and covered in at least chicken wire.

To keep snow out I zip tied 1/2 inch pvc to the hoop and use greenhouse pvc clips to hold 6mil HDX plastic to the pvc pipes. It has worked that way through several winters now.

https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/hardware-diy/snap-clamps
 
I like your ideas. I'd love pics.

My hoop run last November.....

IMG_20191126_134607.jpg

This is a summer pic showing the clips holding shade cloth.
IMG_20200625_102021.jpg

Prepped for winter with the HDX installed and a side raised for venting/airflow.
IMG_20200310_123410.jpg

The nice thing is I can raise or lower the sides depending on what weather we expect.
Removing snow is a drag but goes quick with an old broom and sturdy handle.

I use pvc hoops on my garden beds. Those hoops are quite small at 4' wide and 3' tall. I cannot imagine the difficulty trying to make bigger pvc hoops sturdy enough to stand up to fox and snow.
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom