Size of Run

[smdcleland]

Hello. I have 7 Rhode Island Reds. I need to buy a safe covered run for them. We have a lot of hawks here that have already attempted to snag them. How big would be an adequate size?

 

[Mrs. K]

As big as you can, the general rule of thumb is 10 square feet per bird, so 70 square feet or close to that. Adding clutter to your run, can really help make use of the vertical dimension. Hide outs, roosts, pallets all allow birds to get away from each other while being in confinement.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Take that 10 sq ft stuff with a big grain of salt. I have 10 RIRs in a 12 x 16 run--that's over 190 sq ft--and it is way too small for such an active breed. I'm in the process of enlarging it to 12 x 24 (288 sq ft). That better be big enough because I'm out of space to make it any bigger!


Rusty

 

[smdcleland]

Thank you. I will definitely do my best. I am very attached to them and want them to be happy. I wanted to free range but we have fox and hawks. I created a monster though. I let them run around the yard as babies and would sit with them. Now they want to be out and running free all of the time! However a hawk swooped at them right in front of me. He didn't even care that I was there. It was scary. Luckily he missed.