Run modification

[Renee2020]

Hello All,

I have recently joined and I am enjoying reading the various posts. I have 8 hens (18 weeks old) who I am enjoying raising. I posed yesterdy a questions concerning letting them free roam in woods behind me or enclose the run. Today it appears the girls located my neighbors garden and I think between me worrying about predators and now going to neighbors yard I will need to get my run enclosed.

I have a 30x30 ft area that I enclosed with a 5ft chain link fence that they are now flying over. They have a secure coop with an automatic door for the nights. Since I have already invested/cemented in the fence (should have joined before I attempted the living area) are there any suggestions on how I can use what I already have and extend/enclose the area? Hoping to accomplish this rather quickly since they have discovered my neighbors garden.

Thank you!

 

[3KillerBs]

The fastest thing you can get up to preserve harmony with the neighbor whose garden is being eaten is probably going to be tarps strung up on ropes like a kid's closeline tent.

Long term you can either build a roof over the run, put up wire, or put up bird netting.

 

[SueT]

You can cover your run w bird netting to keep them from flying over. It may not keep out all predators, but it should keep out owls and hawks. It is inexpensive, lightweight, and will stretch over your 30' no problem. Ours is that wide and it has worked out fine.
It is strong enuf to withstand a cat walking on it....

 

[rosemarythyme]

A roof is the best predator and weather protection, but netting can work as well. Depending on how much protection you want, as well as weather concerns, there's various weights and sizes of netting from 1/2" to 2" square and from very lightweight (meant to deter small birds from stealing fruit) up to very heavy duty with break/burst rating, such as this: https://pinnonhatch.com/Poultry-Sup...y-Protection-Netting/2-heavy-knotted-netting/ They have different opening sizes and weights, but the 2" heavy seems to be the most popular on here.

Because your fencing is on the short side for ease of access you'd need to create a higher edge for the netting to rest on. For the 4' tall side of my run I used 6' U-posts and ran tension wire across the top of the posts to create a roughly 6' tall boundary around the run. You'll also need some support in the center to hold up the net - in my case my coop serves that purpose, along with some cross supports on the other half of the run.