Topic of the week - Chicken run management

[WaylandFarmGirl]

Has anyone had any experience building a run with EZFrameup products? I'm having trouble getting in touch with them and wondering about quality, service, etc. It seems like such any easy way to replace our existing run.

 

[chickens really]

How do you keep rain from pooling on the tarp roof?

It has never been an issue for me...I live in Alberta Canada...It melts and dries...

Cheers!

 

[conniellutter]

For many chicken keepers free ranging the flock is not an option, so their birds are confined to a chicken run most if not all the time. All that traffic in a smaller space can throw up issues like build up of droppings, mud when it's raining etc. I would like to hear you all's thoughts on chicken runs. Specifically:

- How big should you make the run/how much space per chicken?
- How do you predator proof the run?
- How do you manage droppings build-up and how often should you clean the run?
- What are the best flooring/bedding materials (if any)?

 

[conniellutter]

We have built an extended run with three channels. I seed two channels and let them run one until it's like a desert. Then I'll close that one and open up another one and seed the previous one. Repeat...
It seems to work well. My eight girls do roam the yard when I'm home, but if I have to leave, the extended run is also fenced on the top.

 

[cluckcluckhens]

Our run is dirt since hardly anything grows in this area on our property. We have rain most of the winter and to get into the run without slipping and sliding a friend suggested to us to lay wood shavings down in our run since straw will sink down into the mud during the winter. Our run is bigger than 10x20 the size the palace (hen house) is.Not sure the size of our run. We don't worry about animals and such coming around since their in the palace at night. They have a doggie door they get into the palace all day long. Only animals around by us is squirrels, rabbits and Deer. We don't have coons, foxes or bobcats that we have seen in the last 4 years. Our run is not covered and they get plenty of sun during warm days.

Hubby says the run is 30x40 and chickens need 100 square feet per chickens so they don't peck each other to death. We have a pecker that pecks at one of the other girls. You don't want a pecker and by putting her in another area for a month did not break her of doing this like I read about, at least she didn't! We normally don't put anything on the dirt at all in the run. We might try the wood shaving this winter haven't decided yet on that. But I do know that straw will sink into the mud during the winter.

 

[TerryH]

For many chicken keepers free ranging the flock is not an option, so their birds are confined to a chicken run most if not all the time. All that traffic in a smaller space can throw up issues like build up of droppings, mud when it's raining etc. I would like to hear you all's thoughts on chicken runs. Specifically:

- How big should you make the run/how much space per chicken?
- How do you predator proof the run?
- How do you manage droppings build-up and how often should you clean the run?
- What are the best flooring/bedding materials (if any)?

- How big should you make the run/how much space per chicken?

We eventually plan to have up to 12 birds. We currently have 5. We wanted them to have plenty of room so we exceeded the usual 10 sq,ft per bird in the run. Our run is 9x26 so a total of 234 sq.ft. It was our thought that not only would the extra space be good for the chickens but would also lessen the poop load in the run.

- How do you predator proof the run?

First off the structure of our run is very sturdy. 4x4 posts in concrete with 2x4 and 2x6 framing. The end wall is a 8' treated privacy fence. The sides are double layered wire. The lower 4' is 1/2" hardware cloth. The upper portion is regular chicken wire. The sides are then covered completely with 2x4 welded wire. The run is surrounded with 18" of either 1x2 or 2x4 welded wire aprons to deter the diggers. The 1/2" hardware cloth prevents reach ins from predators such as raccoons. The upper chicken wire keeps out native birds. The 2x4 wire is added insurance for predators such as stray dogs etc.. The doors are solid 1/2" hardware cloth with 2x4 welded wire and are made of double layer 3/4" treated pine with double locks/latches. The run is completely covered with a corrugated metal roof. I've taken many pains to make sure there are not holes or entry points for predators.

- How do you manage droppings build-up and how often should you clean the run?
- What are the best flooring/bedding materials (if any)?

I'll combine these 2 questions into a single answer. We began with just the dirt floor which actually worked out ok. As I stated before, bird density is low so the poop is dispersed over a larger area which makes a big difference. The dirt in the run is loam that drains well and the general slope of the run takes water to the back and out the end opposite the coop so no water pools anywhere inside the run. We have a few inches of pine shavings in the run. The shavings have worked out well so far but we need more time to know how the performance is going to be over the long haul. The shavings dry out the poop and keep the chickens from walking around in any wetness on the run floor. The chickens constantly scratch around in the shavings which we promote with an occasional hand full of meal worms or some scratch. Judging from how well the shavings have performed in the few months that we used them I'd guess hat we would not to clean the run more than once a year if that. There is no smell and no flies.

Interior...





Exterior..

Front..



Rear...



West end privacy fence wall...



View of apron...

 

[sunnypj]

My pen is not as large as I would like but the hens don't spend much time in it. The pen is about 12 x 10 foot but 10 foot tall and they have an attached coop that they can also go under for additional space. The fun thing we came up with for our yard is the chicken tubes. I have made tubes out of fencing that are in sections and can be attached together to create all different combinations. There is a door to the pen that I can slide open when the tubes are attached. Once attached the tube ends at a moveable chicken tractor that is on wheels.

We do let the hens out of the pen when we are around to watch them but getting them back in is sometimes a challenge. We also have dogs that would love to taste the hens but this solves the problem and the dogs even come right up to the tubes but can't get to the chickens.
The hens love the tubes and we get so many comments on them, fun to watch (like the hamster tubes you may have had as a kid).
The really nice thing about this is that each night when the hens go into the coop I slide the door closed which secures them in the enclosed coop/pen and then I move the tubes around. This allows me to rake up each night any droppings and also keeps the yard with grass and not dirt due to the traffic and scratching. In the morning the hens tap on the door to be let out and then RUN through the tubes to the tractor. I also put an extra bowl of water and feed in the tractor each morning.

If you are looking for an easy way to secure the hens but yet don't want your yard ruined by the constant traffic, this is a good option. I am attaching an image of the tubes with the hens in them.

 

[dlgower]

Are run is 13 x 20. We started with 5 chickens now we have 7.
The coop is 4 x 8 and 6' in height . When i am home i let
Them out in the garden. The run has 18" of 1"× 1" on the ground
all the way around it. We got one of the Chicken Safe runs.

 

[kristi54]

Good Monday Morning!!

I love my girls!

Questions asked:

- How big should you make the run/how much space per chicken?
I have two areas: a chicken coop with their boxes and then the run. The coop is fully enclosed with nine metal boxes attached to the wall, one screened window, a human door and a chicken door. The run is a fully covered fenced area of about 8' wide by 20' long. The first six feet of the run is covered with corrugated metal roofing (as we live in the northwest and rain is our friend about nine months of the year) and the other end is covered with opaque corrugated roofing so light and sun can come in during the day without letting them get wet. It's worked beautifully.

- How do you predator proof the run? The entire run is covered with black powdered wire. The fencing was folded under the wood framing and bricks placed outside in a trench.

- How do you manage droppings build-up and how often should you clean the run? I clean the coop every spring and every fall, using the dropping as garden fertilizer. The coop gets a rototill at the same time, even though now, it's dirt and rocks. I try to keep it from becoming hard. After tilling, I put compost (clippings, leaves, etc) down in the run for the girls to scratch and peck and eat bugs.

- What are the best flooring/bedding materials (if any)? In the coop, I use wood shavings for the beds. I tried to be recycler and used shredded newspaper --- but after seeing several hens running around with flutters of paper from their butts (and after falling to the ground with laughter), I changed back to wood shavings. Much more dignified.

 

[SNJchickens]

I, too, have a tarp over my run that goes down one wall for winter protection from blowing snow. If you go to my coop and go to the bottom of the article there are pictures of the tarped area. I have had no trouble with rain or snow!