[Selkie]

Well ages ago I'd fenced off part of the hens' run to give the grass a chance to grow back, but then we had such bad storms that the wind took the barrier away :?

So today I've started over again - fencing off the bottom 1/3 of their run - they still have plenty of room to scratch about in.

I'm planting in 'weeds' (I prefer 'wild flowers' ) and grass in the bare earth, which hopefully will get established quickly now we've more daylight.

Does anyone else do this?

[Shazzer]

how big is your run, I started with lovely grass and wish they had it back, but I just dont know if it would be worth the effort my run is about 2 metres by 10

[Bodger]

Its amazing how few chickens can turn what you consider to be an adequate run into a quagmire in such a short time.

I've said it before, but a waterproof roof really helps and the other thing, if its really wet and horrible, consider keeping them in the shed as this will really help with the wear and tear and they will probably be happier as well.

[Shazzer]

my run is mostly covered with a clear roof, i put down bark after they killed off the grass, the end where there is not roof is a mud bath at the moment

[Aunt Sally]

Constantly wet conditions can give foot problems too  

[Selkie]

I'll measure our run tomorrow but it's pretty big for two hens (though they only have 2/3 of it now I've fenced off the bottom part.

A roof wouldn't work here, it would get blown off - things don't tend to stay where they should be.

If the weather's awful they tend to stay put in their house

[Selkie]

Our run is 3m by 5m, with the bottom 1/3 temporarily fenced off.