Suggestions needed for run cover~

[DixieChicks2012]

Good evening!

I am new and have been welcomed very nicely by many of you, for that I say thank you~

Today I started to rework my coop and run. I used recycled material and am pleased with the it so far. My plan is to have 6-8 Red Sex Links and though I want to free range them, I am not home all the time. Not to mention I have a deaf dog (which should be fun) that is lazy, but curious. I live in Marana, Arizona and being a Natural Photographer I am well aware of the raptors and wildlife abundant in my area. I can tell you about each one of them, but chickens.......I am clueless! SO I have uploaded images of my progress so far and my questions to you chicken pros is this......

Can I use a poly netting for the top? I want it to be light yet durable and affordable. We get some massive winds (aka microbursts) not to mention the fabulous oven temps we live in as well and I want something that will not take the run with it or melt....lol. Also I thought that perhaps the netting would catch the would be diner if approached before catching one of my soon to be here girls (that I thought would be humane and I could release once caught). The run is about 4+feet high and I was hoping to be able to come up with something that I could stand or hunch over so I could get in there and clean. I have pondered using the netting around the sides as well, but haven't finalized the thought as of yet. OR should I just stick with the chicken wire......*sigh*




I know that is a lot to "ask" followed by a lot of thought process.....I tend to over think things and get brain block. I just want to get it right.

Thank you so very much~

 

[ChicKat]

If you are hot like we are....you will want to be sure to have dense shade available regardless of the angle of the sun. It may be that something like an old table would give them the shade factor at all times of the day. Then some wading water in the shade....

Netting against an aggressive predator may be something that the predator wins at.

You may perhaps get the best of both worlds....a netting area designed to keep the chickens from roaming when you are around/near---- and yes, sadly a very secure area of something like hardware cloth.. that is safe from your birds of prey as well as coyote, to lock them up when you have to be gone for long periods of time.

Best of luck with your construction project.