[woodbwoodman]

and the last 2

[henamoured]

Whoo Woodman, that's a very neat job. Your girls are very lucky - and such a lovely setting!

I'm just about to erect an enclosed run in half my girls patch (after Foxy took my girls last month). Can I ask did you screw and glue the wood? And do you think the diagonal reinforcers are strictly necessary? Also would you recommend assembling mesh panels first before putting together - how do you fasten them to the sleepers on the ground?

Many thanks for any advice.

[woodbwoodman]

Just screwed - I used a drill/driver, too many to do by hand! I use screwfix turbo screws - more expensive than normal screws, but in the grand scheme its not a big difference in cost. However, you dont need any pilot holes and they dont split wood.
Simple butt joints all round. Top strut screwed with 1 screw into the end of the uprights. At the bottom, I changed the orientation so I had a wider area to screw into and put 2 screws in each side (could have used bigger wood, but I just bought a lot of the same size). I figured that the weldmesh would pretty much keep the frame straight (it did). The weldmesh was stapled on, 10mm staples using a carpet stapler. Stapled on the outside to make it more foxproof (cant push it in). Note that I dont have a waist-height cross beam on the frame., so I needed to put the mesh on the outside.
I wasnt sure the diagonals were really necessary, but it does make the frame much stronger and doesnt take much effort, so worth doing.
DEFINITELY put the weldmesh on before putting the panels up. I put the panels up one at a time on to the sleepers - take time with the first one with a level etc, and then the others are easy. Use a spare bit of wood (or willing helpers!) to hold the panels in place  until they are all connected together. The beauty of using screws is that you can easily 'tack' bits of wood together to keep everything in place, then remove them later!!
To actually attach the panels I used 4mm (#8) x 100mm screws. You definitely need a drill/driver for that. Using the turboscrews comes into its own here, they just go right in.
Three screws down the length to hold one panel to the next.
NB- the sleepers were 'fastened' to the ground by driving a few posts either side into the ground, then screwing through the posts into the sleepers. They will probably rot eventually, but now the frame is holding it all together.

I have close-up photos which I'll post tomorrow once I reduce them, too big to put in tonight!

[tosca100]

Lucky chooks, that looks great.

And lucky you, having the space to keep them out of the garden!

[henamoured]

Thanks so much Woodman.

I wondered about the turboscrews and chickened (!) out because of the cost but I think I will take your advice on board as I know they are much easier and for a job this lengthy it's worth it.

Interesting about fastening the sleepers to posts in the ground. I hadn't thought that they would need fastening but of course they do as the ground is the bit probably most vulnerable to fox attack.

Thanks again, really helpful. 

[andy46]

BEFORE:



AFTER:

[woodbwoodman]

Thanks so much Woodman.

I wondered about the turboscrews and chickened (!) out because of the cost but I think I will take your advice on board as I know they are much easier and for a job this lengthy it's worth it.

Interesting about fastening the sleepers to posts in the ground. I hadn't thought that they would need fastening but of course they do as the ground is the bit probably most vulnerable to fox attack.

Thanks again, really helpful. 

Glad to help. Actually, the posts were there to keep the sleepers (really reclaimed floor joists) rock steady, so I had a solid surface to screw the panels on to. To foxproof the run (hopefully!) I used more weldmesh in strips attached to the outside of the sleepers. Maybe 75mm vertically to attach it, then about 200mm sticking out along the ground, like a skirt. Didnt look too pretty so I have put some divots of grass on top and these have the advantage of providing a few extra greens for the girls as it grows up and sticks into the run!. The skirt also allowed me to compensate for some lumps and bumps on the ground, and I think the run is now not only fox proof, but rat - and perhaps mouse- proof too. We do have plenty rodents about (despite the cat), but so far no signs of anything getting in.

[ANHBUC]

Thanks so much Woodman.

I wondered about the turboscrews and chickened (!) out because of the cost but I think I will take your advice on board as I know they are much easier and for a job this lengthy it's worth it.

Interesting about fastening the sleepers to posts in the ground. I hadn't thought that they would need fastening but of course they do as the ground is the bit probably most vulnerable to fox attack.

Thanks again, really helpful. 

Glad to help. Actually, the posts were there to keep the sleepers (really reclaimed floor joists) rock steady, so I had a solid surface to screw the panels on to. To foxproof the run (hopefully!) I used more weldmesh in strips attached to the outside of the sleepers. Maybe 75mm vertically to attach it, then about 200mm sticking out along the ground, like a skirt. Didnt look too pretty so I have put some divots of grass on top and these have the advantage of providing a few extra greens for the girls as it grows up and sticks into the run!. The skirt also allowed me to compensate for some lumps and bumps on the ground, and I think the run is now not only fox proof, but rat - and perhaps mouse- proof too. We do have plenty rodents about (despite the cat), but so far no signs of anything getting in.

You will be surprised where a mouse can get.  Have had some in ours despite 13mm x 13mm weldmesh.  Saw one squeeze under the frame and a tiny gap to the paving.     Our big girls can catch them easily but I don't think the Bantam chicks have got the hang of it yet.   

[ANHBUC]

Nice job andy46 and welcome to the site.   

[Taylor40]

Brilliant thread this.. Some great ideas and inspired me to go make some improvements to our run... Will take some pics and post soon...

[Carolf]

As we got more chooks we decided to get more coops and give the chooks more space to free range (ok that's most of the garden gone but what the heck    )  The 2 fat ladies have the left hand side coop of the double coop and run setup, and the little Terrorists still have their original coop which you can just see on the right hand side.  The 2 new Pepperpots will, after their quarantine, be getting the right hand coop.  Which leaves me with my original coop at the front of the house (yet more garden gone) so I think that will be used as a 'sick bay' or maybe, just maybe, more chooks   :blink:  (hopefully no chooks will need it for a sickness)
No one told me when I first got chickens just how addictive it is     

First prize(in a few years when the 'El Cheapo' coops have given up the ghost) would be to get one HUGE coop to house the lot of them 

[JaK]

As we got more chooks we decided to get more coops and give the chooks more space to free range (ok that's most of the garden gone but what the heck    )  The 2 fat ladies have the left hand side coop of the double coop and run setup, and the little Terrorists still have their original coop which you can just see on the right hand side.  The 2 new Pepperpots will, after their quarantine, be getting the right hand coop.  Which leaves me with my original coop at the front of the house (yet more garden gone) so I think that will be used as a 'sick bay' or maybe, just maybe, more chooks   :blink:  (hopefully no chooks will need it for a sickness)
No one told me when I first got chickens just how addictive it is     

First prize(in a few years when the 'El Cheapo' coops have given up the ghost) would be to get one HUGE coop to house the lot of them 

Don't buy anymore chooks, just wait until one goes broody and she will hatch you some in the sick bay coop. 

[Carolf]

Don't buy anymore chooks, just wait until one goes broody and she will hatch you some in the sick bay coop. 

I love the idea of hatching my own but the thought of getting a load of cockerels has put me off     The little terrorists had an egg that they sat on for over 3 weeks but it didn't hatch although there was a chick inside (obviously wasn't meant to be).  Boris likes to have his wicked way with all the ladies so I whisk the eggs away pronto just in case 

[grinling]

Here are some pics of Wendy's set up. She is a lady on an allotment I was on. She had 20 + chooks some years back and the numbers dwindled to 9. Recently people broke in and stole her big white orpington which was all fluff and at 8 years old was no longer a layer. She has added a mixture to hers now.
Inside the polytunnel structure are hen houses and perches and nest boxes with loads of floor space.
She is the most amazing digger and has cleared another full size plot ready for renting. She is over 60 and willing to help others.

[stickmeup]

Quite limited to the space we have, but it started off with this



and then quickly progressed to this within 24 hours, once they've settled in they will have free range of the garden aswell