We Built a Chunnel Today!

[jlwquilter]

Haha. That’s the patio/pool enclosure.

 

[jlwquilter]

This is what the Chunnel entrance looks like from inside the coop. We added a piece of plastic tube over the cut edge of the crate and wire to protect their feet going thru it as they tend to step on it instead of over it.

This is what the inside of the crate looks like from the outside of the coop with the crate flip top door open.

This is the crate doors closed

The leghorns were out in the Chunnel when I came out to do the morning feed. We did add a piece of sod. I placed feed bags over a section for shade but I need to go back and attach them to the wire.

 

[aart]

Haha. That’s the patio/pool enclosure.

Geez, it's huge! Why so tall?

 

[jlwquilter]

Geez, it's huge! Why so tall?

That’s actually a great question. I don’t know why they build them so tall. But they are all like that so I never gave it a thought. I can tell you it’s a real challenge when a screen gets ripped and needs replacing!

 

[Papa John59]

I had thought about the same thing! Our run is 3 x 5 meters and its fine for our 3 girls. But we were thinking how we could give them more space. My son suggested that we build a "chunnel" and run it all along the fence of our yard. This would give them an extra run of about 60 meters long. We were thinking about making it 50cm (19") wide, building a little at a time to spread the cost of material. Just wish we had more free material laying about!

 

[jlwquilter]

The biggest cost for us was the hardware cloth.

You could look into using a plastic bin as the transition point between coop and chunnel. The ramp can be a piece of ladder, plywood with cross pieces to give traction, or a cookie cooling rack!

It was a fun project. And the leghorns are using it like crazy. We added even more sod and a small pile of sand that in my case provides grit. They could also sand bathe in it although I put in a dirt bath area inside the coop too.

 

[jlwquilter]

I added shade to parts of the Chunnel. I cut a feed bag in half, pinched some holes in it and used zip ties to attach the bags to the hardware cloth wire

I don’t know how long the bags will hold up with the sun and rain but the bags are free and I have plenty.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

My two leghorns are assholes as well and I may have to do something similar since they have shown no signs of relenting their iron fisted reign over my other 5 sweet ladies. Hoping once the other five come into lay soon they will become more assertive. Thanks for the idea!

Yikes, your comments on white leghorns concern me. We have 3 CA white leghorns and so far they're not the flock "terrorists." In fact, other than the usual chest bumps and scwaaaaucks, I haven't seen any of them act really badly or very dominantly. At 12 weeks, I know they have their pecking order, but there are no signs of anyone picking roughly on anyone else. No fights that I've seen. We have 3 Isa Browns, 1 RIR, 1 Production Red, 3 Golden sexlinks, 3 CA whites, and 2 Easter Eggers.

 

[jlwquilter]

My leghorns were added to the existing flock. They were part of a small flock I added that also contained 4RIRs and 2 BOs. They were all super aggressive to the existing girls. I expected that in the beginning but it continued to the point I was scared they were going to kill other hens. I got rid of all but the leghorns. I kinda regret not getting rid of them too. I’ve now had them 1.5 years and they still act badly toward the other hens, especially regarding laying. But it did calm down enough that I no longer feared for the lives of the others. I think a lot of it depends on the circumstances. If your hens were all added together they’ll probably be fine.

 

[CrazyTownChick]

My leghorns were added to the existing flock. They were part of a small flock I added that also contained 4RIRs and 2 BOs. They were all super aggressive to the existing girls. I expected that in the beginning but it continued to the point I was scared they were going to kill other hens. I got rid of all but the leghorns. I kinda regret not getting rid of them too. I’ve now had them 1.5 years and they still act badly toward the other hens, especially regarding laying. But it did calm down enough that I no longer feared for the lives of the others. I think a lot of it depends on the circumstances. If your hens were all added together they’ll probably be fine.

Gotcha! Yes, it does make a difference that all 13 of ours have grown up together as a flock from 2 weeks old, now 12 weeks old. And like humans, I suppose it depends on the temperaments of the individual chickens. Mine are all sweet angels and a close knit flock Wait till they start laying, we'll see how angelic they are.