Things to put in the run

[kchopper]

Looking for some ideas for things to put in my run. Run is 20'x20' for 16 chickens, so I have some room. Right now I just have a 10' board about 5 feet up with a ladder. What else can I put in there? Just trying to find some ideas to make it look not so empty, plus give the chickens a place to hide, play, etc.....

 

[clairabean]

A doghouse, a chair, some planters... Anything, really.

 

[Tala]

doghouse is good, I have an old crate/pallet thing that they roost on, and several log rounds from an old tree I figured would attract bugs

 

[Momagain1]

OMGosh lol now I have to decorate the inside of the run? LOLOL DH is gonna think I've done lost it!

 

[froggiesheins]

I had some terra cotta pots sitting doing nothing so I put those in.. if you have a junk pile....throw it in there, they will love it.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

How about a large rock?

I put a round (unsplit) log in there, then went up the road and found a 10 - 12 foot tree branch and proped one side up on the log and left the other side on the ground. They love it.

 

[darkmatter]

Fruit trees and/or tomato cages/trellis to give shade and free food dropping. (See my BYC page for pics of my everbearing Illinois Mulberry trees that drop mulberries for 10 - 12 weeks in the summer)

 

[sawmane1]

I got 4 2x4's Nailed them in a rectangle. Then, I put chicken wire with verry small holes over the top. Finaly, i nailed on 2x2's or smaller to hold the wire on then...you have grass growers so the hens wont run out of grass.

 

[motoclown]

I would like a large wooden ferris wheel.

 

[elmo]

Seriously, this is a good idea. In an empty run with nothing vertical in it, a bullied chicken has no way to hide or get out of sight. The girls who are at the bottom of the pecking order will be grateful to you if "decorate" the inside of the run.

I think chickens also appreciate it when there is something to hide under in the run. Even though my runs have hardware cloth on the top and are perfectly secure from raptor attack, my flock still likes to hang out under something that makes them feel like they're hidden, whether a shade tarp, solid roof panel, or a bunch of bamboo branches stuck on top of the run.