To tarp or not to tarp

[bobbieschicks]

What will be the downfall of not tarping my run? We don't get much snow, just cold and rain. However we do get the occasional 2' blizzard, nor easterner come through. I have sand in the run and they hide under the coop when it rains. I hate going out there in the pouring down rain, but there is a two foot overhang on the front of the coop so I stay pretty dry while cleaning each day.

Here's my set up it looks slightly different, but this gives you the general look of the run and coop. The coop is 10x5, the run is 10x15 but that space includes the coop in the rectangle. I have 13 chickens. Two 20 weeks, three 16 weeks and eight 8 week olds.

 

[Chicken Choozer]

I decided to place a Tarp on my run so that my girls could have a little shade and to keep the rain off. I'm in Florida and we get a lot of rain and sun. I like the sand in your run hope you don't mind if I steal your idea. My girls do good with the Tarp but secure it down good because if it flaps some in the wind they get spooked. Hope it helps good luck. I have a Orph,Brahma,and two Easter egggers.

 

[Hunter0704]

Your set up is really nice. I added a white tarp for $19.99 that is 11.9 x 9 I got at Home Depot (online only) that I put over one side of my run due to the strong cold winds we get from that side of the run in the winter to protect my flock.....lets the light in using a white tarp. We had such high winds a few weeks before we put the tarp on, my chicks were blown across the run...thus the tarp.

I built a coop 4 x 6 and a run 12 x 6 and after all my 4 chicks and 3 ducks have now gotten to two months old, I found the run area was not large enough. I just added two 10x10 connecting kennels to give them the needed run space. The four chicks sleep in the coop, so the space there is fine. The ducks sleep in nest boxes in the run area under the raised coop and that is fine. However, when they are all up and running, so to speak, there is minimal running since that 12 x 6 space contains a small pool for the ducks, food/water area, and nest boxes for the ducks, so the true run space is more like 8 x6 which was too small. When one first gets new chicks or ducklings, the space looks great. But, when they get older and larger, then a possible resizing needs to be considered, as in my case it did.

Here are a few pics of my set up for some ideas you may, or may not, want to use or think about. To give the chicks and ducklings a way into the new kennels I added a wooden tunnel for them to access the kennels. If it quits raining for a few days, I need to paint it white like the coop/kennel.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_cooprunkennel.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_run_encl_w_tarp.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_new_kennels.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_looking_into_tunnel.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_wood_tunnel_outside.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/106085_top_of_tunnel.jpg

Good luck with your new chicks...they are so entertaining and so much fun to have. I just love 'em all to pieces. Suggestion...you may want to add hardware cloth to the bottom three feet of your present fencing, all the way around, to keep raccoons from pulling your chicks through the fence and decapitating them.

 

[jaj121159]

You could tarp the sides, but I would be careful about tarping the roof. When you get one of those 2 footers, the snow will pile up there and the weight could play heck on the run. Not too mention if the tarp and roof held the snow and you had heavy melting or a rain with the snow on the roof, you could really have problems. The last thing you want is for your roof to collapse on the chickens. If you are thinking about a roof, I would go with a solid roof with a little more support between the 2x4s.

 

[bluebird]

We're in Indiana. We get severe winter weather with high winds. I use clear pvc tarp.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Alternatively I thought about adding those clear vinyl panels and appropriate supports for it if I can justify the expense.

Thanks Hunter for the ideas. My pic doesn't show it well but I do have 1/2" hardware cloth at the perimeter to about 3' high. And I'm already thinking of how to expand my run.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Quote:
Love the chicken tree ornament! LOL!

 

[bobbieschicks]

I also have some leftover roofing materials - I still have almost a whole roll of shingles. What if I put more 2x4 down on the run and then just laid that over it and nailed it down? I don't want to put plywood up there if I don't have to as it isn't flat.

 

[yellowjacket]

I used heavy greenhouse plastic leftover from a project.
It sure cuts down on the north wind!

 

[yellowjacket]

Forgot to mention-I'll remove it in the spring.