Run instructions needed

[camilleathome]

Hey everyone. With 18 little chicks here and a lot more on the way in a month Its time to plan my run. I was going to free range but with us spotting a few foxes everyday, multiple hawks and a few loose neighborhood dogs. We have decided to build a run. i would like to build something very large.(40 by 40 if I could even). But I have never build a run before. I need photos. I had photos of how people put wire in the trench under where the run is going to be but cant find it anymore. Also tips on how to set up the posts. what wire should I be using for the walls. I was thinking since its so large I might put a middle post and use netting for the top part.

Im visual. I need photos badly and I need to have a gameplan set before I start buying supplies.

 

[chfite]

Depending upon your soil, you can set your posts in gravel rather than concrete. Easier and cheaper. I use 4x4 posts, 8 feet tall set 2 feet into the ground. I have some 16 feet apart. The posts are solid, but the fencing is rather floppy, but I figure that the keeps anything from trying to climb.

I used 2x4 welded wire for the walls of the run, with small mesh wire overlaid on the bottom 24 inches to keep anything from reaching through.

The wire around the bottom as a skirt I installed by attaching it to the bottom of the fence and laid it on the ground. I tacked it to the ground with some landscape staples. These look like croquet hoops. Over time, it will mesh with the soil and vegetation. Animals aren't smart enough to move back two feet to dig under the edge of the wire.

I stretched heavy nylon twine over the run from one end to the other to dissuade raptors. It is easy to see. I spaced the strings about 6 inches apart. I doubt that a raptor would try to fly into a place that it could not see a clear path in and out. It seemed to me that cleaning any debris from the strings would be easier than cleaning it from netting.

We have hawks, coyotes, stray dogs, and such. This has worked so far.

Chris

 

[RonC]

chfite's idea sounds simular to what I did. The 2x4 welded fencing is relatively cheap to fence a large area. I have heard of many people doing the top that way. You could add a few poles in the interior to help support the "roof" if it sags too much.

 

[camilleathome]

Do either of you have any photos of your runs? That sounds like a really good Idea.