We are building a run to accommodate the 8 - 10 laying hens we are hoping to end up with once all the girls have grown up & we have re-homed any potential roos (and troublemakers; I'm only keeping the sweeties). We currently have (5) 3-week old girls who DO NOT want to stay in their brooder, so we decided we should work on the run now since we have to wait for DH's bonus to start the coop. We had to cut down 8 Locust trees, so we got our posts for free. Here is DH cutting them to size after they were sunk 3 ft deep:
The run will have an 8.5' x 11.5' foot print. The short end on the back will be 3' tall, and the tall end in the front will be 5'10" tall. I originally wanted to have it all tall enough to stand up fully throughout, but after spending $200
on 1/2" hardware cloth, I decided we should go shorter, because I want a 2nd run on the other side of the coop. I have some breeds in my mixed flock who are typically bottom-of-the-pecking-order girls, and I want to minimize bullying as much as possible! DH will frame in the roof with 2x4s after we have attached the hardware cloth to the posts, and we picked up cedar shake roofing tiles which we are both in love with 
. It was even cheaper than going with the wavy stuff typically used on carports, which was what I thought would be the least expensive option - boy, it is ugly!
Trenching 12" is hard work! Especially in 98 degree weather. But here is the progress I made so far:
It's only a little over a 4' section, but boy, did that ever drain me LOL.
The run will have an 8.5' x 11.5' foot print. The short end on the back will be 3' tall, and the tall end in the front will be 5'10" tall. I originally wanted to have it all tall enough to stand up fully throughout, but after spending $200
. It was even cheaper than going with the wavy stuff typically used on carports, which was what I thought would be the least expensive option - boy, it is ugly!Trenching 12" is hard work! Especially in 98 degree weather. But here is the progress I made so far:
It's only a little over a 4' section, but boy, did that ever drain me LOL.
