Small space: want to set up small coop with secure run

[manley123]

I'm a virgin to chickens, but I want to get three. As of a month ago, I knew nothing about chickens. My backyard isn't that big, but it does have a stretch of fence with no neighbors (oleanders and then sidewalk and the street on the other side of it). My (incipient) thought is to set up a secure run against that fence, maybe 12feet x 4feet of welded wire fencing 1 inch opening against it? I want to say that people here have talked about needing a "Fort Knox Run" if the coop is going to be open and chicken wire not doing the trick. I know we have critters in our neighborhood and I also think I want to leave the (not yet built) coop's access to the little run open.

So: you might be reading my post and thinking: wow, that's a bad idea to start with! If so let me know and why.

I noticed that there were many Livermore (California) people here, so that's perfect, since I'm interested especially in local experiences and where people get pullets and fencing, etc.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I have what many here would dub a very inadequate run. Yup, it really is only to stop the hawks, keep chickens in when I want and slow down a straying dog from getting in. It works great for me. The main reason why is that most predator excepting straying dogs or hawks prey at night and we always close the coop door after the chickens go in to roost at dusk. The coop is like fort knox as it has no openings for critters when the door is shut and has a floor to prevent any tunneling in.

So with that said my two cents on runs is they don't need to be all that and then some if you shut the girls in the coop at night, every night. You will want to have a top to your run to prevent flying predators though.

To answer the what and why of runs with coops open you asked I'll take a crack at. You need to bury tough small wire (hardware cloth) a foot in the ground around your entire run. This small opening hardware cloth should also run up two feet along the sides of your run. The rest of your run could be larger opening welded wire. The hardware cloth prevents digging into the run and hands, claws of predators from reaching through the openings to grab the chickens. Racoons, for example, will work together to scare chickens to one side as another ambushes them through the fencing, literally pulling pieces of them through the openings. Welded wire combined with the hardware cloth should be strong enough to stop larger prey animals from smashing, ripping their way into the run. In a nut shell, if you choose to keep your coop open at all times your run will need to be like "Fort Knox".