Securing a run?

[Rowzy]

My coop right now does not have a run. This is a big problem for me because 1. my dog attacks my chickens (or would if he got the chance) and 2. my rooster attacks my horses.
Behind my chicken coop is a large area (50' wide and very long) that is completly fenced in. It is very woodsy with lots of blackberries but the chickens go back there on their own anyways (under the horse pasture fence into this area). I was thinking of putting hardware mesh over the part of the horse pasture fencing that connects to it and adding a pop door.
How tall does the fencing need to be? Right now my guess is that it is somewhere between 5-6' tall.
How do you build a pop door? How large does it need to be and how far off the ground?
Anything else I need to know about securing it? I know it should be covered but it is so HUGE that i wouldnt be able to cover it (it is almost as long as my property in that area so it is really HUGE.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I'm not sure how successful that's going to be... most chickens are quite easily capable of going over a 6' fence if they feel like it (e.g. if your rooster feels the horses are too close). You'd also have to be sure your dog wouldnt' squish itself through the chicken door, or dig under the fence to get at the chickens. You could try it, but it sounds kinda expensive to 'just try'.

How do you build a pop door? How large does it need to be and how far off the ground?

It depends on your chickens, but for normal sized chickens you wouldn't want to go much smaller than 8x10ish *minimum* and not all individuals of all breeds will fit through that. You just cut a hole and make a hinged or sliding door to cover it, there are various ways of doing it, browse peoples' coop pages for ideas.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​