Run Questions

[Junior]

i'm about to start building a 20x40 ft. run (when i finish my coop i will add on to it and make it 20x70).i plan to use 2"x4"welded wire fencing and hardware cloth on the bottom & skirt.

now the part i'm not sure about - i'm pretty tall and i dont want to have to stoop over while i'm in there.so,should i buy all 10 ft 4x4 posts and have 7-8 ft.tall perimeter fence or should i buy 5 10 ft. 4x4 posts for the center and 8 ft 4x4 for the perimeter making the outside fence 6 ft. & have a sloped top (not shure if i'm going to cover with tin or wire)?

i'm leaning toward the second idea because with the extra posts running down the center would allow me to divide the run into 4 separate 10x20 pens till i get my coop finished.

any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

thanks,
Junior

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you put a solid top on it, you will need it to slope so water will run off. A flat tin roof will leak.

 

[In His Service]

My current run doesn't slope, because we are building a new one...this is just temporary. We use tarps for shade on one end and the rain causes them to sag almost to the point of collapse. Our new ones will be sloped, with higher posts in the middle.

 

[patandchickens]

It would take a considerable bit of lumber and money to effectively roof a 20x40 run, even if you never get any snow at all. You could drape netting over it to just keep out hawks, that requires less support if you do it circus-tent-pole fashion (and then height will not be an issue, since the pole/s *has* to be pretty tall). But be aware that won't keep out any predators besides birds.

If you are contemplating a tin roof, price it all out first, making sure you price out appropriate posts and rafters and crossbraces (essentially you will be building a 20x40 open-walled shed, or carport -- even without snow there are some real engineering issues to respect, so make sure you have designed it appropriately!)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Baymule]

For help on figuring rafters try www.awc.org Click on span tables on the right, then scroll down to online span calculators. I hope this helps.

 

[PepsNick]

Chickens need light, and chicken wire is good predator keep out roofing. But you should definetley use a solid metal wire. Chicken wire is NOT predator proof.

Hope that 2 cents helps.

 

[Junior]

thanks everyone for the help & advice.i really appreciate it.

Junior