Run Expansion Advice

[Suzi18]

thanks... It's seems pretty small for 10 chickens.... The coop is also 8x10 though.

Even if you could do 8x16.....that would make a huge difference

 

[Melky]

You're right. I just thought maybe I could get away with only doing the bottom half of the wire in hardware cloth, but if nothing else is going to be as safe, I can just bite the bullet and do the whole thing in HC and be done with it.

I was hoping to use the black PVC coated hardware cloth for aesthetic purposes, but I'm only finding it online. Has anyone used it and found a decent deal (in bulk) on it? I'm going to need 200 feet of 48" and 200 feet of 36". The cheapest I've found it online was about $1,000. Not including shipping, because I found out after I added it to my cart that they don't ship. Pick up only, and not in my state. Go figure.

Others always think they can get away with less but my experience here is they suffer later and are sorry they talk themselves out of HWC 19g 1/2 inch every time. The top being open is a concern but love the run expansion Pinterest photo otherwise. I just go to TSC as local. Don’t know if they have in bulk cheaper. Otherwise I use Amazon.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Even if you could do 8x16.....that would make a huge difference

that is what I wanted... But Dad said we can always add on... But it wasn't currently in the budget... But with a large chicken tractor run, it should make up for the smaller space.

 

[Tooshay89]

We contacted our guy that does all of our fencing for the property/bush hogging and he's going to help us with the run (aka he'll build it and we'll help HIM, lol) since he has all of the tractor attachments. He's going to check and see if the company he uses for lumber offers hardware cloth and maybe we can get a discount. I think Amazon may be our best bet, though.

 

[aart]

since he has all of the tractor attachments.

Like a post hole auger?

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Like a post hole auger?

Or a post driver attachment for the 3 point hitch... or if it's good rock free soil (none of that here) metal t-posts can just be pushed in with a front end loader.

 

[Tooshay89]

Or a post driver attachment for the 3 point hitch... or if it's good rock free soil (none of that here) metal t-posts can just be pushed in with a front end loader.

Yep, a post hole auger (he used that when installing our 3 board fence/gate out front). No hard rocky soil here, just sand in good ol' Florida. At least where we are, anyway. When we had some of our property cleared, we did get a couple piles of clay, but it was pretty far down when they dug out holes for burning brush. We ended up using it to make a pad for the chicken coop.

He's supposed to have a quote to us by Monday. He's awesome and quick, so I think we'll have it done before we know it.

 

[elizamamma]

Love the pinterest photo. Any idea what the ground cover is? We have a similar setup, with aviary netting over a fence lined with hardware cloth. We had the same thought you did as far as the height of the hardware cloth. Our conclusion was that as long as the coop was secure from racoons and other predators at night that a lightly less secure run during the day would be okay. So far so good. Our main predators thus far have been hawks and the netting has prevented any atttacks since we put it up. Only problem with the netting overhead is that branches and leaves tend to get caught in it when they blow off of surrounding trees.

 

[igorsMistress]

Honestly, I would probably not make the extension as Fort Knoxish as the smaller run and coop. Ours free range with hawks and owls the biggest concern but cats are around as well, raccoons and opossums could be. If your flock goes in at night, then while it's a risk to not use hwc they aren't going to be sleeping in the extension.

Would I be upset if a hawk or owl took one of my birds? Yes, but I am willing to risk it because I feel like a bigger space makes my birds happier. I make sure there are plenty of places to run and hide and our roo is good at watching the sky and sounding the alarm.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

[elmo]

I was hoping to use the black PVC coated hardware cloth for aesthetic purposes, but I'm only finding it online. .

This is where we bought all of our black coated hardware cloth:

http://www.wadavidson.com/

I have some pens that are ten years old. The coated wire on the vertical surfaces is still in perfect condition. The wire on my tractor roof hasn't fared quite so well: the PVC has gotten scraped off in places and the wire below has rusted. But that wire has been exposed to the full sun for a decade, so I guess that's the difference.