To Roof or Not to Roof?

[ChikinInThePines]

Hey Everyone!

My last post on here was regarding a coop design in the hot foothills of South Carolina. We ended up going with an "Open Coop" design that will ultimately be perfect. We have been taking advice from our friend and his wife (who is a veterinarian) about a coop and run design but I wanted to see other people's opinions as well....
They have an area of maybe 20'x25" that is covered from the middle outwards with a baseball netting/bird netting material draped over the outer edges of their fence. It works perfectly. We dug our posts about a week ago and have ended up with a chicken run area of about 30'x35'. We were told that hawks and other flying critters will swoop down and grab chickens, but we have run into an issue of finding a material to cover this massive area. My question is....is it really needed?

Our chicken area is behind our home in thinned pine tree area. My concern is if we put netting above the run that the pine needles and branches will fall causing huge issues. Also finding something big enough to cover the area without breaking the bank seems near impossible. We have another friend who keeps his chickens out in a field 24/7 and has never had any predatory issues...but then we talk to others who will say, "I have had a hawk swoop down 3 feet in front of me to grab a chicken." So now I am a little torn? I just wanted to get some other opinions!

 

[Badchickenpun]

Hey Everyone!

My last post on here was regarding a coop design in the hot foothills of South Carolina. We ended up going with an "Open Coop" design that will ultimately be perfect. We have been taking advice from our friend and his wife (who is a veterinarian) about a coop and run design but I wanted to see other people's opinions as well....
They have an area of maybe 20'x25" that is covered from the middle outwards with a baseball netting/bird netting material draped over the outer edges of their fence. It works perfectly. We dug our posts about a week ago and have ended up with a chicken run area of about 30'x35'. We were told that hawks and other flying critters will swoop down and grab chickens, but we have run into an issue of finding a material to cover this massive area. My question is....is it really needed?

Our chicken area is behind our home in thinned pine tree area. My concern is if we put netting above the run that the pine needles and branches will fall causing huge issues. Also finding something big enough to cover the area without breaking the bank seems near impossible. We have another friend who keeps his chickens out in a field 24/7 and has never had any predatory issues...but then we talk to others who will say, "I have had a hawk swoop down 3 feet in front of me to grab a chicken." So now I am a little torn? I just wanted to get some other opinions!

Just my two cents.
I built a small coop and a 12'x18' run for my small flock. Hardware cloth on top, roofing. Then the sun got to be a bit much. So I covered the roof with metal roofing. Now, I am wanting to make a bigger run. However, I also have aerial predators. I had a hawk almost get one, but he ditched at the last minute because I was running full throttle at the little jerk.
SO. I am enlarging a run area (30'x30'), but the fencing is the cheaper 2"x4" welded fencing and I plan to cover with heavy duty orchard netting.
I plan to only allow them access to this run when I am available to keep an eye on the flock, not when I am at work, etc.
This will also be a heavily enriched area with various shrubs and plants. I figure if I don't give them full access to this area, they may not shred it as quickly.

 

[Sally PB]

Can you post some pictures of what you have?

 

[ChikinInThePines]

Thank you for the quick replies! I will see if I can get some pictures this afternoon!

 

[3KillerBs]

The tradeoff for the lower cost and ease of dealing with an open run is that you will probably lose some birds from time to time.

I'm in the NC Sandhills and I've lost one young pullet in 3 years, though I see hawks frequently and they nest in the woods behind my house and yard. I consider this an acceptable level of risk.

Are your chickens pets or livestock?

 

[David61]

https://pinnonhatch.com/poultry-sup...ry-protection-netting/2-heavy-knotted-netting
85lb/255lb break burst. lasts 7-10 years.
my 2" net is going on 4 years and is like new. pine sticks and limbs have not broken it. 99% of anything hung in it shakes out with little effort. pine nettles come right out with one tug. I might shake it ever other month or so. I use a center pole so i can side it back like a curtin and tie it down for hurricanes or tropical storms.

 

[Iluveggers]

Could you roof a smaller section, to keep rain out, and then bird net the rest? Or split it into a smaller roofed section with fencing, and then let them into the bigger open-top area for a few hours a day when you are home? I have a roofed run & love it, but when I am home and weather is mild, I let them into an adjoining fenced area with no top. Works great for us!

 

[3KillerBs]

I use a center pole so i can side it back like a curtin and tie it down for hurricanes or tropical storms.

Good thought!

 

[Birds of paradise]

Just my two cents.
I built a small coop and a 12'x18' run for my small flock. Hardware cloth on top, roofing. Then the sun got to be a bit much. So I covered the roof with metal roofing. Now, I am wanting to make a bigger run. However, I also have aerial predators. I had a hawk almost get one, but he ditched at the last minute because I was running full throttle at the little jerk.
SO. I am enlarging a run area (30'x30'), but the fencing is the cheaper 2"x4" welded fencing and I plan to cover with heavy duty orchard netting.
I plan to only allow them access to this run when I am available to keep an eye on the flock, not when I am at work, etc.
This will also be a heavily enriched area with various shrubs and plants. I figure if I don't give them full access to this area, they may not shred it as quickly.

We built an enclosed run for our small flock. It cost quite a bit in the end. It's basically rectangular in shape and we covered half with tarp. It was great for shade and protection of their feed, but it really put strain on the whole structure when we had 2 weeks of constant rain. If we had to do it over, I would use shade cloth over the mesh to provide some shelter and protection from predators, but still allowing the water to drain through. The weight of the water nearly buckled our rebar welded frame.

 

[Badchickenpun]

We built an enclosed run for our small flock. It cost quite a bit in the end. It's basically rectangular in shape and we covered half with tarp. It was great for shade and protection of their feed, but it really put strain on the whole structure when we had 2 weeks of constant rain. If we had to do it over, I would use shade cloth over the mesh to provide some shelter and protection from predators, but still allowing the water to drain through. The weight of the water nearly buckled our rebar welded frame.

So I ended up PEAKING the run... saved me grief when I decided to cover the roof with metal panels. It's held up to 50 mph winds and major snow loads. I think if the roof on the run would have been flat it would have been a different story.