Short height runs?

[ZooNana]

I noticed in the coop thread that a lot of you have chicken runs that are short in height. Looks like maybe 2-3 feet tall. How do you clean in them or get into them when needed?

I'd like to relocate some of my hens to my mother's house in town so she has some chickens of her own. Her backyard is set up in a way that a tractor won't work there. It's best for her to have a completely covered run as they have foxes running around the neighborhood. The short run looks like a good idea for her, but I was worried about how to get into them if she needs to.

 

[RocketDad]

My temporary run was the height of the welded wire I had laying around. It irritated the heck out of me.

My run is 7' tall, the maximum height allowed by the city under the urban chickens rules. It's much nicer.

 

[gsim]

Rocket dad nailed it. You will be sorry if you build a run that you cannot stand in. I cannot say how many times I have seen that posted on BYC.

 

[ZooNana]

See that's what I figured. I figured they'd be a pain, but I saw so many of them in the coop thread I thought I'd ask.

 

[racuda]

My first coop had a 4 foot high run:

It is very much a pain to do anything in there. I clean it out with a rake, squatting and reaching as far as I can. The last 3 coops have runs tall enough for me to stand up in.

 

[Eggcellent]

One thing I have done with short runs (2-4 feet) is to make them light enough that you can flip them on their sides to clean the ground beneath them. It doesn't bother me at all and can save some money on materials.

 

[ChanceRider]

The run on my smallest coop is about 6' wide by 15' long, and only 5' tall. To make it easier for cleaning, etc., I built the top of the run in two pieces, each on hinges so that I could lift it up for cleaning. The tops can either be propped up or flipped over to open completely. Each top section has fairly heavy duty hinges and locking swivel hasps to keep predators out. Works like a charm for the smaller run. The coop/run we're building this spring will much larger so it will have a fixed roof approximately 6' tall.

Here's a pic of the run just after we finished building it:

 

[teach1rusl]

I figure all those short runs were built and owned by very young, limber folks. My back wouldn't be able to handle it.

 

[possumqueen]

Quote:
I'm building a run that will be four feet high. I was planning on one three feet high, but the four-foot stock panel is only $3 more than the three-foot stock panel, and I'll be able to put in roosts they can fly up to, which they like.

But I'm doing like eggcellent. The run will go with a tractor on wheels, and it will be light enough to just drag around separate from the tractor, so the height will be no problem.

But I have a question for rocketdad: Where do you live that they have a height limit on your pens????? I know that some governing bodies can be strange, but I've never seen that one before

 

[cafarmgirl]

My run is 4 foot tall and while I don't love it I'm ok with it, was a lot cheaper to build. Raking it is not real fun but I'm not in there very often to do that as it's pretty good sized. So it really depends on how much you want to spend and if the person taking care of it is willing/able to handle stooping over to get in there when the need arises.