Roof on the run?

[BCMominMD]

I have to decide today about roofing the run.

The coop is an 8x10 shed in partially wooded large backyard.
The run will be 8x20 (6 ft tall) off the side of the coop.

I can use a solid tin roof across the whole thing or just tight wire to deter hawks. It snows here occassionally but not alot.

What are the pros and cons?
There is a window for ventilation and a pop door on the run side wall that would be covered from rain if it were roofed which would be nice.
Seems like the ground might not get as muddy but then 8 ft is pretty narrow and the rain could blow in sideways.

Thanks for your advice

 

[CityChook]

I have a metal roof. Love love love it. The run still gets damp when it rains (it will still blow in from the sides a bit) but it's not close to as bad as it would be if there was no roof. It's nice for keeping smell to a minimum, and I can step into the run to open up the house in the morning with nice shoes and it's no big deal. Another good thing about roofing a run: you can put in another window or more ventilation that won't have to be closed up in bad weather because it's under cover. Wish I had done that....

 

[BreadNButterFarm]

Hey fellow Marylander . . . I'm up by Frederick and have been working furiously on our coop and run as our pullets arrive tomorrow! Yippee! We are getting them thru Bowman's Mill in Westminster. We roofed our entire run with leftover hog pen fencing and covered the half near the coop w/ a heavy duty tarp and the far half with chicken wire to deter hawks etc. We are hoping the tarp will keep most of the rain out near the pop door & window. If it doesn't work well, we haven't spent much as we had the tarp & zip ties on hand. How do you folks attach metal roofing to your run area? Thanks and love all the info on this site!!!

 

[BCMominMD]

Hey BreadnButter Farm
That's where I got my chickens 6 weeks ago!!!! Much better selection then TSC and all looking very good. They are all healthy and happy and have been from day one. One of the girls however is a roo - I guess there is a percentage risk that you run with that.
What kind are you getting?
Not sure how the roof is going to attach yet as someone is doing it for me.
I will post picts of it all when it is done.

 

[BCMominMD]

CityChook
What do you have on the floor of your run?

 

[Momo]

Definitely go with the metal roof. I have a full roof on my run (which is also 8' wide) and I'm so glad of it! For one thing, it's totally predator proof. Nothing can climb in there. For another, the run stays dry. Yes, some wind driven rain and snow does get in, but it's negligible. A dry run doesn't smell like a wet run does, the chickens don't track muddy poop into the nest boxes, their feed stays dry... They still get plenty of direct sunlight in the run but the roof also provides shade to part of the run for much of the day, which is nice in the summer. I also love it because at any given time we have 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground in the winter, and without the roofed run my chickies would be stuck in their house.

 

[patandchickens]

A proper metal roof is IMO without compare. EVER so much more predatorproof, and if built semi-intelligently it is less likely to collapse in snow. (You may not get snow *often*, but what snow you get is wet, and 6-12" of wet snow can easily take down all but the most heavily-supported wire top)

A proper roof (metal or plastic) is also, of course, more expensive (not jsut b/c of the metal, but because of the support structures required. Although frankly if you are building a wire top to really strongly resist the occasional heavy wet snow, it will need to be almost as stoutly engineered anyhow). And make sure it doesn't require a building permit - some places consider it a fixed structure, like a shed with no walls (which it essentially is).

If you do go with a proper roof, you will probably build the support structure along pole-built shed lines, but make sure to add extra diagonal bracing on all walls (the plans you're working from probably won't include them because it's usually assumed you have solid siding, which provides some diagonal rigidity on its own) so the whole thing doesn't collapse parallelogram-style in a stiff wind.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[BreadNButterFarm]

Hey BCMominMD - I am getting a dozen Bovan pullets from Bowman's. Did you get chicks? And what kind? I had 6 hens about 25 years ago and have really missed having them so I am jumpin' back in! CityChook's coop is adorable - fit for any princess . . . I wanna' metal roof on my run too! I would love to see any photos anyone has & how all is secured. Thanks!

 

[ducks4you]

Wire roof is fairly quick to do--cut, weave together with lightweight fencing/gardening wire. My original one sagged, so the new one will have a few pvc suppports. HAD NO HAWKS OR OWLS going after my birds!

 

[BCMominMD]

Thank you all for the confirmation - it will be worth it and the decision is now madee
Thanks PatandChickens - I got the original idea from you
CityChook - I visited your page now and see that your run is sand - think mine may be too long for that but you sure do have a nice, well thought out set-up
BreadnButterFarm I have EE's,Black Sex links,White Rocks & Wyandottes. I have never heard of Bovans - where do I read about those?