Hi everyone
A couple of years ago I built a Carolina Coops style coop and run which has been a great success with my girls! The one thing I have realised since building it is how much they love to sunbathe when they are let out to free-range and even though this has skylights its not the same, unfortunately I only get to let them out for a short time each day, maybe an hour, often less - so I want to extend the run at the end of the existing run where the storage bins are in the pic below at a right angle - approx 8ft x 18ft which would double the size of their run.
Most importantly I want it to be secure from predators so I would build the walls in same manner I've built the coop (½ weld mesh, same height, skirt, etc), but rather than a solid roof I'd like to put mesh so that they can sun bathe. Where I am in the UK the biggest predator threat is foxes, badgers, owls and hawks.
1. I am thinking of buying 8ft x 3" x 3" 10g mesh panels for the roof - is 3" x 3" small enough to keep out those predators (I assume badgers don't climb)? Would you suggest another roofing material or size? The run is near a large tree so I'd like the gaps to be big enough that all the leaves don't collect on top.
2. Once the extension is built I was planning on putting an automatic door in the middle section of that end wall, however I'm not going to get through that so should I add a human door in one of the other panels also? - not sure how much of a hassle it will be to not be able to walk from one part of the run to the other (even as I type this it sounds obvious!).
3. What haven't I considered with my plan?
Sorry for the crappy resolution - this is what google earth has for my house, the red box is the existing coop and the green is the proposed extension. Yes it's under trees but we have garden chairs in that location for when we sit out with them and it is surprisingly warm and sunny.
When it is sunny they spend a lot of their time doing this. Though oddly one will start and then the next has to block the first ones sunlight by sitting right in front of her - number 3 will be along in a minute to block this ones sunlight, etc ....
As always, thank you for reading and any advice
edit - sorry, wrote all that and have to go out now so won't see replies until tomorrow
A couple of years ago I built a Carolina Coops style coop and run which has been a great success with my girls! The one thing I have realised since building it is how much they love to sunbathe when they are let out to free-range and even though this has skylights its not the same, unfortunately I only get to let them out for a short time each day, maybe an hour, often less - so I want to extend the run at the end of the existing run where the storage bins are in the pic below at a right angle - approx 8ft x 18ft which would double the size of their run.
Most importantly I want it to be secure from predators so I would build the walls in same manner I've built the coop (½ weld mesh, same height, skirt, etc), but rather than a solid roof I'd like to put mesh so that they can sun bathe. Where I am in the UK the biggest predator threat is foxes, badgers, owls and hawks.
1. I am thinking of buying 8ft x 3" x 3" 10g mesh panels for the roof - is 3" x 3" small enough to keep out those predators (I assume badgers don't climb)? Would you suggest another roofing material or size? The run is near a large tree so I'd like the gaps to be big enough that all the leaves don't collect on top.
2. Once the extension is built I was planning on putting an automatic door in the middle section of that end wall, however I'm not going to get through that so should I add a human door in one of the other panels also? - not sure how much of a hassle it will be to not be able to walk from one part of the run to the other (even as I type this it sounds obvious!).
3. What haven't I considered with my plan?
Sorry for the crappy resolution - this is what google earth has for my house, the red box is the existing coop and the green is the proposed extension. Yes it's under trees but we have garden chairs in that location for when we sit out with them and it is surprisingly warm and sunny.
When it is sunny they spend a lot of their time doing this. Though oddly one will start and then the next has to block the first ones sunlight by sitting right in front of her - number 3 will be along in a minute to block this ones sunlight, etc ....
As always, thank you for reading and any advice
edit - sorry, wrote all that and have to go out now so won't see replies until tomorrow
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