[chocchicken]

we've had our chickens for about 2 and a half months now and things are going good 
they are laying well and were getting loads of double yolkers! 

we have an arc, but they spend all day out in the garden from light until dark, they are obviously really happy, but im not 100% happy and am thinking towards the spring...

we've got young children who will be in and out of the garden constantly and wearing no shoes! every time the back door is open the chooks are there wanting to get in and obviously they poo everywhere in the garden which i pick up a few times a day, but in the spring/ summer this is goning to be tricky as the back door is always open and the kids are going to be treading in chook poo.

Im thinking of making a new run but space is a bit limited and i feel really guilty about them being in a run as they are used to constant free ranging  but i think its a needs must..

what can i make it out of and fill it with? id like to have a roof on and how much money is this likely to soct me? we only have 3 chickens.

any advice will be greatly received and thanks for reading my essay!

[lucylou]

hi there! i know what you mean about the pooh! pplus ive got a little dog who loves to roll in it last thing at night and then spread it on the carpet! so we are keeping ours in 2 fixed runs (4 in one and 3 in the other) my oh is shortly going to join the 2 runs together to make a permant and larger enclosure(they are lucky he is going to do this for them as we are only getting 1 egg per week from the 7 of them).  i was worried about the girls being frustrated at being kept in a run but they dont seem to mindand are easily pleased with cabbages etc.  some of the best advice i got off this site was to cover their runs - it has made a massive difference to the hens and the ground & it seems to stop it smelling too. i think the recommended size of run is 2 squre meters per hen minimum hopefully someone more experiemnced will be along to confirm this. good luck with it all lucylou

[Aunt Sally]

Buy some jellybean shoes for the children and make a trellis gate (bit like a fire guard) to keep the chickens out of the house.  Job done, only a few pence spent

[Bonniebean]

How about a baby gate someone has finished with?  :happy:

[matilda duck]

I have chickens and ducks 21 of them! 2 children and a dog.  The children wear wellies to play outside!! Even in the summer, it's good fun.  Saves ruining good shoes too.   
Chickens or ducks are not allowed in the house!  That's where we walk round bare foot!
Having said that they are not too bothered when they have to go into their enclosure.  Better safe than sorry. 

[kitkat]

Agree with the others really, chooks poo a lot. Wouldn't it be easier to section a bit off for the kids- and cheaper.

[MrsC]

Hi, I have to share this with you.  I've had my hens free range in my garden for 18 months, and have kids and have the same poo problems.... I have been considering a large run, but have now decided I absolutely must.  The other day my hens had just taken themselves up their ramp to bed, my back door was wide open and I was crashing about in the kitchen.  Heard the most awful squawking and ran outside to see a fox trying to drag a hen out of her house.  The fox had dug under the fence to get into our garden. 

Sadly she had a broken wing and had to be put down.  Put me off free range.  Safety first.  They will be let out when I am in the garden, and only then.   

[jackie]

We had the same problem with them coming onto the decking, really messy. My husband made a run for them, high enough for us to stand up in. Made it out of offcuts of wood and chicken wire. Put polythene sheeting on the roof, we bought this from ebay, not at all expensive. Put some woodchip in their run and they are really happy. We let them out occasionally if we are with them. We bought seven in november and four are laying so we are really pleased.