Your Runs

[hairco]

My runs are only 6ft tall and i am wanting to make all my new runs 8ft. tall and my husband says i don't need them that high and i say i do.So what you all say?

 

[handyman42]

I'd say if you're dealing with a "heavy breed" such as Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, or Wyandottes then 6ft is plenty because they're not typically high flyers. That being said if I'm wrong and you have one fly out that means they can get back in and all should be good and then you have proved your husband wrong.

Now if you're dealing with "Light Weights" like Leghorns, Minorcas or especially Araucanas (because their natural instincts are to fly and roost in trees) Put up the highest fence you can afford because they WILL fly. Or clip their wings either way they're grounded, For real. I myself am working with Buff Orpingtons and will be building new breeding coops over the winter and am only putting up 6ft fences in the runs because I don't foresee it being a problem.

On the predator side of the spectrum I would run an electric wire at the bottom, for diggers, as well as at the top, for climbers. this will cut down on fatalities from predators. And if hawks are a problem you can buy plastic garden fence to keep deer out or fruit tree netting to keep bids out of fruits and put that over the top of the run and that solves all problems of hawks and escapes.

Good Luck!!

 

[AugeredIn]

I say make them as tall as possible for flight. I like 8 foot minimum. You can see my video.

 

[3BirdGirlz]

I made mine 8 feet because with a roost I don't want the males train to drag on the ground.

 

[MinxFox]

I'd say if you're dealing with a "heavy breed" such as Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, or Wyandottes then 6ft is plenty because they're not typically high flyers. That being said if I'm wrong and you have one fly out that means they can get back in and all should be good and then you have proved your husband wrong.

Now if you're dealing with "Light Weights" like Leghorns, Minorcas or especially Araucanas (because their natural instincts are to fly and roost in trees) Put up the highest fence you can afford because they WILL fly. Or clip their wings either way they're grounded, For real. I myself am working with Buff Orpingtons and will be building new breeding coops over the winter and am only putting up 6ft fences in the runs because I don't foresee it being a problem.

On the predator side of the spectrum I would run an electric wire at the bottom, for diggers, as well as at the top, for climbers. this will cut down on fatalities from predators. And if hawks are a problem you can buy plastic garden fence to keep deer out or fruit tree netting to keep bids out of fruits and put that over the top of the run and that solves all problems of hawks and escapes.

Good Luck!!

This is the peafowl section, but you had a great response!

I agree with the others and I especially agree about the train...You want your peacocks to have tall roosts so 1. They don't get their train dirty and 2. If a predator does get in, it can't pull on your peacock's train. My aviary is 15ft. in the middle and the netting is connected to 6ft. fencing but most of the aviary is tall. You can't really see the netting here but those two cross posts are 15ft tall and they hold up the netting.

 

[hairco]

MIN XFOX that is why i posted on the peafowl site because i am building new runs for my peacocks and maybe i should have said peacock runs.SORRY

 

[3BirdGirlz]

MIN XFOX that is why i posted on the peafowl site because i am building new runs for my peacocks and maybe i should have said peacock runs.SORRY

No, she was talking to handyman42 about being in the pea section he gave you advice about how tall your run should be for certain types of chickens....

 

[MinxFox]

Yep I was talking to handyman42. Every now and then someone will post in a peafowl topic and think we are talking about chickens because most of BYC is chicken related. It is always interesting when that happens. Hairco I wasn't talking about you, I knew you were asking about a run for the peas.

 

[handyman42]

This is the peafowl section, but you had a great response!

Oops... That is rather embarrassing.

 

[MinxFox]

Oops... That is rather embarrassing.

But your response was very good. I don't raise chickens so I don't know all of that stuff you talked about, so I enjoyed reading it.