What would be the benefits of building a larger run?

[Brizi]

My fiancé and I are going to be building a new run soon. It has been expressed to us by some family members that a 20x10 run would be overkill for our 4 chickens. They say a 10x10 would be fine. Personally, I think that 20x10 is a great size, but I'd love to go with an even larger 30x10! They think I'm crazy but, thankfully, my fiancé and I are on the same page.

What would be the benefits of building a larger run? Or, for a small flock of 4 to 8 chickens, are there not going to be any real benefits?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Rurumo]

More space usually means you will ultimately end up with more chickens, that's how it always worked for me. Honestly, if you have the motivation and means to go bigger, go for it! Just don't be surprised if your 4 chickens become 12 or even 20. 10x10 is a good sized run for 4 chickens though, but they always appreciate more space especially if they don't get let out to range in your yard. Probably the biggest benefit will be for you if you like spending time with them, it's more fun when they're in a big run and you don't have to hunch around while doing chicken chores.

 

[Brizi]

More space usually means you will ultimately end up with more chickens, that's how it always worked for me.

...That's a good point.

I definitely want to do at least a 20x10. If a 10x10 is fine for 4 chickens, maybe I'm overinflating the importance of run space in my head. My fiancé and I will have to do a cost vs benefit analysis for a 30x10.

It'd certainly be easier to move around inside and it'd give us more room to expand our flock. They will have some free range access, but it'll only be for maybe 15-30 minutes a day when we're outside with them.

 

[DobieLover]

My fiancé and I are going to be building a new run soon. It has been expressed to us by some family members that a 20x10 run would be overkill for our 4 chickens. They say a 10x10 would be fine. Personally, I think that 20x10 is a great size, but I'd love to go with an even larger 30x10! They think I'm crazy but, thankfully, my fiancé and I are on the same page.

What would be the benefits of building a larger run? Or, for a small flock of 4 to 8 chickens, are there not going to be any real benefits?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

You and your fiance are on the right page. Ignore the rest. Listen to the chickens. They would vote for free ranging so 20 30x10 it is.
The only con is the up front cost. Everything else is a pro.
More space per bird means less work for you, much happier/healthier chickens, the opportunity to grow the flock when chicken math strikes, less lawn to mow.

 

[Brizi]

You and your fiance are on the right page. Ignore the rest. Listen to the chickens. They would vote for free ranging so 20 30x10 it is.
The only con is the up front cost. Everything else is a pro.
More space per bird means less work for you, much happier/healthier chickens, the opportunity to grow the flock when chicken math strikes, less lawn to mow.

We're going to be using this modular Retriever Kennel from TSC as the framing for the run. After pricing it all out, that additional 10x10 area would cost us an extra $500 or so. Personally, I don't think that's bad, but I need to run it by my fiancé again. We both agreed that we'd be willing to sink a good amount of money into this, so I don't think he'll have an issue with it.

I'm so used to seeing my chickens in a nice big 30x20 space, but that is ultimately what got our first 4 girls killed. We didn't predator proof it properly due to the size of the run.

 

[3KillerBs]

The benefits of extra space include:

• Improved sanitation: Manure is spread over a larger area and a greater volume of bedding so that it requires less frequent cleaning, is less likely to draw flies, and is less likely to have any odor.
• Improved behavior: Crowding contributes to a large number of negative behaviors.
• Greater ability to enrich the space to allow chickens to engage in natural behaviors through the addition of clutter.
• In-coop/run storage. I don't have a separate storage shed for my chicken feed and most used tools, I just set them in a corner of the 16x16 Open Air coop.
• Room to work without banging tool handles against the wall.

10x10 for 4 birds is pretty generous already, but if you have the resources to do the larger run there's no downside. They'll use the entire space for sure.

 

[Sueby]

A bigger run also makes it easier to integrate new chickens. Integration can be tough and chickens can be jerks, but the more room they have the easier it is.

I have a 1200 sf run & 6 chickens. There is really no such thing as too big, IMO. I also have the ability to close it off into 3 separate sections so that also works well for adding new birds, broodies with chicks or separating sick ones.

eta: easier to block off sections to regrow grass too!

 

[Iluveggers]

Your other option is to do a secure 10x10 run, with an additional less secure 10x20 space attached. Our setup is a predator proof, roofed run, and a second no-top, fenced in area off of the run. (Fencing strong enough to keep the dogs out). When we are home during the day but not outside, I let the chickens into the larger fenced area for extra space. You could cover the top with cheap bird netting if hawks are an issue. That would be cheaper but also give them extra space as a bonus. Predator proofing costs money, so using money on the enclosed section to really secure it is great, but it would have been way more expensive for us to do the whole thing roofed with hardware cloth, so it was a good financial decision “compromise”.

Good luck!

 

[rcm1201]

My fiancé and I are going to be building a new run soon. It has been expressed to us by some family members that a 20x10 run would be overkill for our 4 chickens. They say a 10x10 would be fine. Personally, I think that 20x10 is a great size, but I'd love to go with an even larger 30x10! They think I'm crazy but, thankfully, my fiancé and I are on the same page.

What would be the benefits of building a larger run? Or, for a small flock of 4 to 8 chickens, are there not going to be any real benefits?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

10x10 is even big for 4 chickens but there is no such thing as too big. Chickens will love the extra space. For comparison, I have 6 chickens going in my 12x6 and they will have plenty of room.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

"I wish I had built a smaller chicken run."
- Nobody. Ever.