Transitioning from roofed to roofless run

[Diane H]

In an unfortunate turn of events, I'll have to take the roof off of my run, because the town is counting the roofed run as a "building" and applying the building zoning code to it, and, as a building, it's too close to the property line (nevermind that I asked permission to build it as such in that location and got the okay from the two town officials in charge of this... ). So, we are where we are, and I need to take the roof off. I have two questions.

First - can I replace the roof with this welded wire mesh:

View attachment 2380000

It's 2x3 inches and 16 ga. I know the spacing is too wide to stop everything, but this will only be over the top in place of a roof, and the chickens will be locked in the coop at night... I'm doing this balancing act between the town saying it can't be "covered" on top (definition of "covered" being stretchy and up to interpretation here), and my chickens being safe. Wider mesh makes it look less "covered". I know there are no clear answers, and dense HC is the best, but still... Given my situation, what do you think the risk is? I live in the suburbs and while we do have some animals, it's not teeming with wildlife.

And my second question. I'm sad to see the roof go because it kept the run dry. My chickens have never known precipitation, and probably won't be happy with the roof gone I still want to give them something overhead so they can use the yard in rainy/snowy weather, but I can't put anything on the roof. So I had this idea and bought two large patio umbrellas Nobody regulates those, so I can just put them in the run under the overhead mesh. They are square shape, so I can put one against the side of the coop flush with the wall, and give them a dry area to walk out onto when exiting the coop. And I'll put the other one in the opposite corner over their run perches, so they can have another dry area to hang out in. Patio umbrellas are meant for the outdoors so I'm hoping they'll do the job and be okay outside, though I've never had one myself and don't know how well they do in wind/rain/snow. That's where I'll appreciate your input. The run is pretty sheltered in a corner of the yard, with a 5' tall retaining wall 8 feet away on one side, and a 6' tall privacy fence on the other side of that corner (west and north respectively). For the winter, I'll put plastic (shower curtains) along the sides of the run on the south and east as well. So it will be pretty sheltered on all sides, with not a lot of wind blowing through. I'll anchor the umbrellas as well (one against the coop wall, and the other against the run wall). And I'll tilt them so they shed rain/snow better. Would that be enough? We don't get a lot of snow anymore. Every few years I'll have to take the snow blower out, the rest of the years there isn't enough to justify it.

What do you think? Again, I know there are no clear answers and part of this is accepting some risk. I just want to see what people with more experience think about this setup.

You need to get on the offense. Take a look at his property and what he has, how he uses it. Does he leave a car parked in front of your property? Does he have wind chimes that are annoying? Does he have floodlights that could potentially affect your sleep or shine on your property causing ptsd attacks? Loud music? A dog that poops and he doesn’t clean up after? Non-compliant mailbox?
Legitimate issues.
THEN
Educate yourself on all the bylaws, rules etc. Find something in violation and make him aware that you’ll start your own complaint case against him. OR he can drop the case against your chickens and you’ll take it no further. It’s a called Leverage. He has to realize the consequences of what he’s doing will have far-reaching effects that go well beyond chickens. Stay within the law but use it to your advantage.
Good luck. It’s a frustrating situation.

 

[writerskramp]

That is why i want to live in the middle of nowhere.

not no more.. droning on.

 

[writerskramp]

You need to get on the offense. Take a look at his property and what he has, how he uses it. Does he leave a car parked in front of your property? Does he have wind chimes that are annoying? Does he have floodlights that could potentially affect your sleep or shine on your property causing ptsd attacks? Loud music? A dog that poops and he doesn’t clean up after? Non-compliant mailbox?
Legitimate issues.
THEN
Educate yourself on all the bylaws, rules etc. Find something in violation and make him aware that you’ll start your own complaint case against him. OR he can drop the case against your chickens and you’ll take it no further. It’s a called Leverage. He has to realize the consequences of what he’s doing will have far-reaching effects that go well beyond chickens. Stay within the law but use it to your advantage.
Good luck. It’s a frustrating situation.

That is thinking.. the few. the brave. the non-compliant.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Click on the My Coop link under the OP's avatar.

Thanks @aart! I have been on here for over 2 years and never noticed that before. How do you make a "my coop" link like the OP has? I would like to put my coop on my profile like he did.

 

[Erineh]

I would use rat wire or something a little smaller in place of a roof. Opposing and raccoons can really co tort through small openings. Then under the rat wire you could put a piece of roofing, such as metal roofing supported by poles, maybe only a third of the way across. So they would have shelter but it technically wouldn’t be a building?

 

[DuckyDonna]

I just looked at all your pictures of that coop and run and it's absolutely beautiful! It makes me so mad at your masshole neighbor that I could spit!

What could possibly be his problem with it? Is it possibly because the sun on the plexiglass makes a glare that bothers him? But the clucking of the chickens is fine? If it's the glare maybe you can get some of that camo netting and just throw it over the plexiglass?

 

[aart]

Thanks @aart! I have been on here for over 2 years and never noticed that before. How do you make a "my coop" link like the OP has? I would like to put my coop on my profile like he did.

First you make a member page article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/member-pages.10/

Then you add the URL to your account details:

 

[Diane H]

I just looked at all your pictures of that coop and run and it's absolutely beautiful! It makes me so mad at your masshole neighbor that I could spit!

What could possibly be his problem with it? Is it possibly because the sun on the plexiglass makes a glare that bothers him? But the clucking of the chickens is fine? If it's the glare maybe you can get some of that camo netting and just throw it over the plexiglass?

where do you go to see the pictures?

 

[NatJ]

where do you go to see the pictures?

Click on the My Coop link under the OP's avatar.

 

[the old rooster]

In an unfortunate turn of events, I'll have to take the roof off of my run, because the town is counting the roofed run as a "building" and applying the building zoning code to it, and, as a building, it's too close to the property line (nevermind that I asked permission to build it as such in that location and got the okay from the two town officials in charge of this... ). So, we are where we are, and I need to take the roof off. I have two questions.

First - can I replace the roof with this welded wire mesh:

View attachment 2380000

It's 2x3 inches and 16 ga. I know the spacing is too wide to stop everything, but this will only be over the top in place of a roof, and the chickens will be locked in the coop at night... I'm doing this balancing act between the town saying it can't be "covered" on top (definition of "covered" being stretchy and up to interpretation here), and my chickens being safe. Wider mesh makes it look less "covered". I know there are no clear answers, and dense HC is the best, but still... Given my situation, what do you think the risk is? I live in the suburbs and while we do have some animals, it's not teeming with wildlife.

And my second question. I'm sad to see the roof go because it kept the run dry. My chickens have never known precipitation, and probably won't be happy with the roof gone I still want to give them something overhead so they can use the yard in rainy/snowy weather, but I can't put anything on the roof. So I had this idea and bought two large patio umbrellas Nobody regulates those, so I can just put them in the run under the overhead mesh. They are square shape, so I can put one against the side of the coop flush with the wall, and give them a dry area to walk out onto when exiting the coop. And I'll put the other one in the opposite corner over their run perches, so they can have another dry area to hang out in. Patio umbrellas are meant for the outdoors so I'm hoping they'll do the job and be okay outside, though I've never had one myself and don't know how well they do in wind/rain/snow. That's where I'll appreciate your input. The run is pretty sheltered in a corner of the yard, with a 5' tall retaining wall 8 feet away on one side, and a 6' tall privacy fence on the other side of that corner (west and north respectively). For the winter, I'll put plastic (shower curtains) along the sides of the run on the south and east as well. So it will be pretty sheltered on all sides, with not a lot of wind blowing through. I'll anchor the umbrellas as well (one against the coop wall, and the other against the run wall). And I'll tilt them so they shed rain/snow better. Would that be enough? We don't get a lot of snow anymore. Every few years I'll have to take the snow blower out, the rest of the years there isn't enough to justify it.

What do you think? Again, I know there are no clear answers and part of this is accepting some risk. I just want to see what people with more experience think about this setup.

#1 Just a thought if you convert to a Chicken Tractor that you can pull around your propety will it be considered a none stationary entity thus not falling under the "Building Code" #2 you will need a roof of some sort to keep the coop dry ,Becaues moisture and cold will not be any good for your Chickens #3 do you have an existing building that you can allow the chickens to take cover in? #4 can you buy a green house for the Chickens? a plastic 10ft by 20 feet is under $200.00 .