Why do I need a run?

[Tikkijane]

So, now that we're in the country, my better half wants to make a temporary run so the hawks can't get the babies. Once they are old enough not to be food for those in the sky and pretty well nesting box trained, he wants to get rid of the run entirely because they are going to be free-range.

Pros?

Cons?

I've never not had a run, but we've never been out in the sticks, either. I am not worried about a secure coop because we'll make Ft. Knox for nighttime.

I'd love to hear your two cents!

Thanks!

 

[JackE]

I'm out in the sticks, but I had to set up a safe area for the chickens. I found that a fox will do a lot of damage in a short time. They don't just take one, like a hawk. They'll kill and take as many as they can. I built a FortKnox coop, thought the only serious preds came out at night. I was wrong. I got away with freeranging for almost a full year, getting a full sense of false confidence. One afternoon took care of that. Maybe you'll have better luck than me.
Jack

 

[wren]

I lived in the middle of nowhere for decades. Never lost any free range birds on a regular basis. Lost one to a raccoon that pulled a young roo through an inch wide gap, which i fixed. Another to a dog. We had a neighbor a mile away that shot every hawk he saw. I don't believe that chickens ever get big enough to be safe from any hawk. I heard the guineas making a big racket in the middle of the afternoon once and I looked to see what the fuss was about, and 15 guineas had formed almost a full circle around a coyote! They were screaming their heads off and the coyote ran away.

I say keep the run, but let them free range if someone is home. If they are free range, you will have to be okay with some losses. One of my favorities broke a toe which cost me $75. God knows how that happened. Bad things can happen in a coop too. Seeing your chickens out free enjoying themselves is worth it!

 

[Sharon Bee]

Oh that sounds terrible. All your stories about what happened to your chickens. I hope to let mine out only when I can keep an eye on them. I have never raised chickens before and expecting mine May 16. 10 chicks

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not going to say that you absolutely NEED a run. I will say they can come in real handy.

My parents did not have a run. They never locked their chickens up and we depended on the eggs and meat. We were a few miles outside of not much, really out in the sticks. We’d go years without a predator attack. Never had a problem with hawks though they were around. But occasionally a dog or fox would show up and have to be dealt with. Our fox experience was that the fox would take one a day, taking one real soon after they left the coop in the morning. He was pretty regular which made it pretty easy for Dad to take care of him. We all have our unique situations.

Here my problem is not hawks at all, although there are a whole lot of them around. I don’t know why they don’t get my chickens but they just don’t. I know hawks are a problem for some people. I lost two chickens in three years to a fox, which I don’t think was too bad. When I lost one to a fox, I’d leave the chickens locked in the run for a couple of weeks, long enough for the fox to learn there was not always a free meal here. Those fox losses were in the middle of the day, not at daybreak like the one Dad had to deal with.

But out here where I am now, also in the sticks but not as far back as my folks were, well some people see this as a great place to dump dogs. If I notice that some dogs have been dumped in time I’ll catch them and take them to the pound. But I’m not always in time. I’ve lost a bunch at a time to different dogs dumped here. It got so bad I put up electric netting to protect the chickens when they are out. That really cut down on the free ranging. I guess you could consider that electric netting a run.

Before the dog problem, I’d occasionally have a hen that decided to hide a nest. When that happened, I left them locked in the run for a couple of weeks so she could learn where to lay.

When I process chickens for the crock pot, I leave the others locked in the run. That’s partly to keep then away from the processing area but also to keep them contained so I can get the next one to process.

If you ever have to treat them for mites or lice, it might be handy to have a place to keep then contained.

I don’t know that you have a need for the run, but if you have one, you will probably use it occasionally. I just don’t know what for.

 

[cafarmgirl]

It's nice to have a run for a lot of reasons. If a need ever arises where you want to keep your chickens penned up for their own safety a run comes in handy.

Chickens are never old enough to not be prey for hawks. Not to mention if you do live in a very rural area they are going to be easy prey to anything that finds out they are there, including stray or roaming dogs. For people that free range large flocks the occasional loss is expected and acceptable, for people with small flocks it can be devastating. A fox or stray dog can wipe out your whole flock in minutes. I used to free range my first flock, many years ago. I truly lived out in the sticks, very rural. It lasted for a while until the coyotes found out that there were chickens roaming about and started picking them off. Also had run in's with a couple stray dogs. So, since then I keep my birds behind a fence. They still have access to a nice pasture but it is securely fenced, including hot wire. This does not stop threat of hawks but it's the best I can do and still let them live a decent life. It's the only way I can keep chickens, if they were 100% free range I'd be chickeless in a very short amount of time.

So I would suggest at least build a good run so you have the option of using it when you want or need it.

 

[Tikkijane]

There are lots of people out here with hunting dogs, too. In the fall at the very least, I think they would be a problem. {I have to worry about the horses in the fall, too, so everyone's going to be wearing orange.......} I'm not too worried about foxes during the day because my dogs are around, and eventually the guineas will be good alarms. I'm not relaxed at all, though- once we add the food source, who knows what's going to come crawling out of the woodwork. We do have the occasional stray dog, but my dogs are pretty good with barking and keeping them from coming too close.

He just really wants the space back- the run for that many will take up a huge amount of space, but if I don't have anything, at all, that is also going to be an issue. I think we may compromise on materials. I'd love to do all hardware cloth like last time, but also don't want to spend $1,000 on it, either. We'll see where we land on this.... I am a worry wart about my babies. I think he is counting on some loss, {as am I, but I don't want to just set them up for it, either} but I don't want to go looking for it, either.

And that's the thing- while they will put themselves to bed, catching one to treat for something will be interesting, although they will have a separate area in the coop. I'll need a quarantine area well away from the coop if anyone gets sick, but I can work on that down the road.

For what it's worth, someone is really always home. We homeschool, and the oldest hasn't left the farm in weeks, if not longer.

Thanks, all.