Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: RichardH on September 27, 2009, 09:15
-
Now the inmates have settled in to the coop and run, we wanted to give them more space to range during the day. I decided to make a set of weldmesh panels, but wanted them to be easily moved if we wanted to change the area the chickens had to roam.
Here's the run in situ
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/run-01.jpg)
I used some big screw eyes (http://www.screwfix.com/prods/17867/Fixings/Hooks-Eyes/Screw-Eye-12ga-x-55mm-Pack-of-10) and fencing pins linked through the eyes to fix them in position and hold the panels together
A picture's worth 1000 words etc
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/run-02.jpg)
I made a narrow panel and did not fix that in place at one end, so it works as a rudimentary gate.
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/chickens-06.jpg)
All works well, but the colour of the mesh makes it hard to see through, so I painted the timber and the mesh itself with "tudor oak" fence stain. Here's a pic of one panel half done, showing the difference it makes
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/run-03.jpg)
The ladies had a good grub around while the fence was incomplete
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/run-04.jpg)
And here it is all painted up - so much easier to see the chickens. I did the mesh on the coop's run too.
(http://www.dustyend.com/chickens/photos/run-05.jpg)
-
Richard what a brilliant idea! thank you! The panels are like Brian made, but ours are screwed together, so when we move the run around, we have to unscrew at least 2 bits to be able to pick it up.
And the darker wood definitely makes it look better and easier to see the chickens!
10 out of 10 for that one!!!! :D
-
that looks fab well done you, was a brillant garden you have for chooks, loads of places for them to explore. nickyx
-
very impressed! :)im going to be making a run and coup soon im going to show the oh your idea :D where do you get the pins from x
-
You can get the pins from builders merchants - Screwfix do them but are (for a change) quite expensive - £30 for 10.
I looked for fencing pins on eBay, and found best price was £13.50 + approx £7 delivery (agfain for 10), but then found some going for £11.50 - it then turned out it was a hire shop selling them that was 5 minutes from the place my wife works. They're secondhand, but who cares?
So there's a guide price for you :)
The panels I made at 1.6m - I used 1x3 for the bottom panel (OK, 25x75), and it came in 4.8m lengths, so slpit into 3 made best sense. The other parts are 38x25mm roofing battens - all pre tanalised.
I could then screw the sides on to the edge of the base to stiffen it up, and therefore didn't really need any cross bracing - though it's a bit tight to get two screws into the top rail from the sides to stop it rotating. Maybe a little corner brace at the top corners would be best for extra rigidity.
-
My husband made the same sort of things some months ago, we can now move the hen house he built around the garden and secure a run for them, once they have all laid we sometimes dismantle and use the panels to make a temporary 'ark' in a different part of the garden so they can realy chomp at the grass, whilst leaving the coop in its place, very versatile system these panels. We also use a blue sheet of DPC over the top of the run and panels in part of it to give a dry area for them when it rains. Its cheap enough from the builders merchants
-
This might be a great solution for my garden in winter...I want them to be able to chomp the grass so I want to be able to let them out of their run, but was thinking I's have to sit out there with them in case of fox attacks. How fox proof would this set up be for a few hours in the garden?
-
I think I'd be happier using 16ga mesh rather than 19ga if I wanted it to be more fox proof, to be honest. The 19ga is very thin in comparison, and (though I've not tested it)looks like it could be burst through - certainly by a large dog - maybe not a fox.
The panels won't be fixed down onto the ground at all, so I guess a fox could possibly try to burrow underneath and (potentially) end up lifting a panel - though if they were done "ark" like at an angle to each other then that should prevent them being pushed upwards.