Which material for a large 50x50 run?

[bocephus]

I plan on making two large runs to rotate between, each one will probably be 50x50 in size. I got a 15% off coupon from TSC and thought this would be a good time to get my supplies. I was thinking of going with a 4 foot fence with t posts. Livestock and poultry fence is pretty comparable in price, does it make much of a difference with which one I should go with? I'm under the impression that they will go into the coop at night and I can secure the door until letting them out in the morning.

Their's farmers fields on each side of where my runs will be so, so far I haven't seen much but it has been winter. I've been setting up a trail cam in different areas and so far all I've seen are rabbits and mice. I hear coyotes and have seen racoons, possums and skunks in the general area.

 

[Jaxon4141]

If you have that much room why not consider smaller more mobile runs. A 50'x50' run would be hard to protect for the air. If you make small hoop runs you can move them around wherever you want. Something like this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/6513042
http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/1/12/122e95d0_PA010027.jpeg
http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/6/61/617459dc_P6140319s.jpeg

There easy to make. It's hard for predators to get into and they're very movable. Just depends on your coop and land.
Do you have any pictures of the site?

 

[bocephus]

Yeah here's a pic from another thread I started, I'm tearing down and rebuilding that shed into a larger coop. This is the back corner of a 10 acre lot.

 

[Jaxon4141]

Oh would I love to have that much room.
Since you haven't built any thing yet, consider going totally mobile. If you are following posts on this forum you will notice a great many posts about how to deal with muddy runs. Even if you don't have very many chicken, eventually, most permanent runs are reduced to dirt, then when they get wet you have mud/brick problems. Stationary coops and runs make diseases hard to deal with. Stationary coop have parasite (mites) problem and once started its hard to eradicate without resorting to chemical warfare. Stationary coops also end up with odor problem if not judiciously cleaned. Mobile coops eliminates a great many of these problem. When the run has been reduced to dirt, you can move things off that spot and give it time to rejuvenate. You do not get a build up of disease organisms. When an area is allowed to grow plants, it is also creating is creating a diverse microbial population that is a very competitive to disease organisms . Like wise when you move a coop you automatically clean the coop. Droppings are left behind and parasites have a harder time becoming established. Your main chore with mobile chickens is to move them sometimes. The rest of the time can be spent just watching the chickens do there thing. Maybe something to consider.

 

[Bullitt]

Having two pens to rotate the chickens is a good idea.

Will the runs have open tops? Predators, like raccoons, can climb into the runs, and hawks can fly into the runs. Is someone going to be around there during the day, or will you have a dog there? If not, you should cover the runs. At least some netting would be a good idea.