Run Height

[ladyhand]

Hello...

How tall should the run be? I have four Sapphire Gems and I'm not sure if chickens like to, or want to, fly? I want to make the sure the run is enclosed from the top to protect from hawks, but don't want my ladies to be upset for lack of room.

 

[3KillerBs]

Some people make half-high runs so as not to have to use so much hardware cloth. I made that mistake with my first one and bending over to work in there was torturous.

Best to make your run tall enough for your convenience.

 

[Folly's place]

Walk-in height is the only way! The birds do like to flit around, and crawling or crouching is awful for humans! Spend the money to make everything fine for the birds, and also for you!
Mary

 

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

Mine is about 6ft high, I then covered the top in chicken wire. Chickens don't ever seem to feel cramped, they don't fly up at all unless something scares them.
Hardware cloth is probably a better choice than chicken wire for a roof, but the store didnt have enough for me when I built the run. It's stood up to any predator that's tried to get in so far though.

 

[Folly's place]

I could live with six feet of height, but no man in my family could deal with it!
We had a chicken wire run roof for many years, and it was fine. EXCEPT when it snowed, and the birds declined to set foot in it, and in heavy rains, same story. Shoveling snow gets really old, and finally we had a full shingled roof added, wonderful!
Mary

 

[BleuSaphir]

5 ft if you want easier time to clean up the run.

 

[danceswithronin]

Definitely make the run tall enough that you can walk straight into it whenever you want. I had my run under draped netting for the first two years at four-foot height and it was awful, I basically had to crawl around in the run to do any work on it.

Last summer I paid someone $600 to enclose the whole thing with wire paneling top and bottom and it was completely worth the money. The run is SO much easier to maintain now, and it's big enough that I can sit in there on a chair or walk around wherever I want to clean it up.

 

[perkolator]

I would go at least 7-8ft so an adult human can walk inside without feeling claustrophobic and it makes sense with maximizing lumber dimensions. Do the math, it's likely not going to cost that much more $ to make it taller. To me, being able to walk inside and not bend over is worth the extra $100 in materials.

On a plus, I filled some upper areas of my run with branches - increasing usable space for them in the same footprint just made sense to me, the chickens love it up there.

 

[3KillerBs]

To me, being able to walk inside and not bend over is worth the extra $100 in materials.

What you save on hardware cloth and lumber with a 4-foot run you pay in chiropractor bills.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Ours is ten feet high at the coop and tapers down to about five. If I were to do it again, I’d make the shortest part seven feet high for ease of access. Most of it is covered by a metal roof. The five foot end has a pvc frame and is covered with a reinforced tarp.

And make it at least double the size you think you need because “chicken math!”