Would you consider this a chicken run?

[Nicole01]

A 3 acre chain linked fenced in yard?

I have a nice run now, but it's only 22x5x5 for my 8 hens.

Next year we are fencing in with chain link 3 acres of our 4 acre property. I prefer to free range, so would any of you consider this a a nice big run?

I'm just curious. I'd like to turn their existing run into an extension of their coop since it has a roof already. Our main coop(12x4x9) is inside our garage.

Here's our current run, we cover it in plastic, so they use it all winter long.

We are fencing in our yard just for our chickens next spring.

I'd like to add 4 more chickens for showing. This is why I want the coop to be bigger.

 

[NightHawk123]

A fenced in yard works great for free range birds. They can still fly out and hawks can fly in tho. We free range all our egg layers and except the loses. Close them up at night tho. All in all I think you will love the free ranging.

 

[Nicole01]

I free range now, but I'm having issues with land predators. Dogs and coyotes. The chickens have great tree coverage from the hawks. I lost one to a coyote, but that coyote has moved on for now or a neighbor shot it.

I do worry about them flying the fence, but I can clip the non show birds flight feathers on one side. Or I could put some barrier along the edge where they can't fly over. That might look silly though.

I'm very excited about getting our fence. Mostly to keep stray dogs out. We have our own big dogs that do protect our property. We can leave them out in the fenced area. They don't bother the chickens at all. One dog is deathly afraid of my hens.lol

 

[RedStarLady1207]

Already said - hawks can get the birds with no top. I have the same thing (not 3 acres) but 30 by 50 feet with 3 sides an existing picket fence (which they don't like since it is pointy). Most flights have been attempted at the top rail (below the pickets) and they lost their balance which gave me some time to run over and get them (making the episode not quite pleasant for them which is good for them to learn). If you make your chain link very high and clip one wing you might prevent escapes that way depending on whether or not you have light weight birds or not. My chickens can fly pretty good until I clipped them.

Just in case you didn't know - there are two types of hawks. Buteos (which are large soaring type hawks) and Acipiters (which are bird hawks). The bird hawks have short wings which allows them to easily move about in the trees so trees don't protect your chickens from these types of hawks, in fact, the hawks can sneak up using the trees as cover. I've been feeding the wild birds for years and the sharp-shinned and cooper's hawk eat the birds that come to the feeders (on occasion). I've seen the attacks, they use my house and come screaming around it to scatter the birds at the feeders and ground and I've seen them dive into thick evergreens even and come out at the bottom with a song bird.

Some of the adult bird hawks get fairly big, not as big as buteos, but they eat birds and could put a serious hurt or kill a chicken IMO. I've seen one carry off a turkey carcass I put out one winter (before I had chickens I used to feed them), but now I don't. Vultures would come too. Now my wild bird feeders have been moved to the opposite side of the yard and I've reduced the number of feeders, to keep them and the chicken areas more separated. I use different shoes when I walk in the wild bird area and have my chicken shoes for just the chicken yard. No need to try and pick up problems carried on my feet.

Your fence and yard, your chickens are going to love it, but you could lose them to predators and they could escape. One thing to consider with such a large run. Plenty of country folks I've seen have lots of chickens that run all over their farms loose but then they don't name them either. They do lock them up at night.

 

[Nicole01]

I do know that hawks are a potential problem. We have a minimum of 5-6 species in our backyard.:/. That's the glory of living in a heavily wooded area. Our tree branches go straight to the ground, which is nice. Some of our trees are very thorny like rose bushes. They cut me constantly.lol

I'm most worried about dogs, coyotes and fox. All my hens get locked up behind a steel door inside our garage at night. They hate being stuck in the run and the whole neighborhood know this.lol. They make quite the racquet until they are let out. They have me trained well.

 

[RedStarLady1207]

All my hens get locked up behind a steel door inside our garage at night. They hate being stuck in the run and the whole neighborhood know this.lol. They make quite the racquet until are let out. They have me trained well.

Mine start to fuss when I open the garage door as they associate that with me coming to let them out and treats. They sing and I can hear them from inside. Some of my neighbors know about my chickens but not all. We are not allowed to have them (HOA rules). If I want to go stealth I use my front door and walk around back quietly. They whine if they see me in the other parts of the property and want me to come over to them. I've created monsters!

 

[BGinVA]

I think if you are willing to accept the risk, it will be great. The risk of course is hawks, which I can't even let my little 5 pound dog go outside unsupervised because we've seen them too many times swarm down and grab a wild rabbit and fly off with it. But then you also have possible feral or nearby resident cats to worry about in addition to the wildlife predators, plus a chain link fence doesn't always stop some breeds of dogs (my former huskies would be a prime example). But if you are able to expand your flock by offering them more room, it may be a manageable risk you are willing to take. Good luck!