[flowerpot]

I've just ordered a 9 foot x 12 foot run to keep my chickens safe from the foxes who ate my last chickens. I would like 6 chckens, and intend to let them out when I'm arround.  I think they would be best down the end of my 180 foot garden as there is plenty of space to move the run to fresh ground. The family are keen to have the run much nearer the house ( which I agree would be much more fun) so we will all see more of them and be able to enjoy them more as pets, possibly safer from Mr Fox, but the run would not be able to be moved around.
My concern is the welfare of the chickens, any advice would be grately appreciated.

[Rubellite]

6 chickens would soon reduce 9 x 12 to mud!!
Why can't the run be moved around if it is down near the house?

[flowerpot]

Thanks Rubellite,  I needed a wake up call. Its 5 years since I last had chickens. I'll be putting it down the end of my garden.

[spudgun]

Hi Flower Pot!

I've had 3 chickens since november, at first we moved the run & coop around every couple of weeks, but they really trashed the ground! we have now put them into a perminant spot.

I've found that making a 'roof' for the run (I used see-through corrigated plastic) helps - if the ground gets wet it turns into utter slush with the chickens scratching around.

Another tip is wood chippings - they love scratching around them looking for bugs!

[poultrygeist]

Definitely agree on the roof. Wet ground makes for nasty smells. Hopefully you've gone for welded mesh rather than thin chicken wire.

If you can move it to fresh grond about once a week, you might be ok, depending on the hardiness of your lawn. If you decide to go for permanent, don't forget to place mesh and/or slabs around the base as a skirt to prevent digging foxes.

Rob

[FCG]

How about a compromise? Let them run about in your garden when you can but enclose them in their run to give the garden time to recover?

This is the current system i have in place and i assume it's a lot of peoples choice. Mine is still evolving however as i have plans for a roof & bigger house within the next month.

[poultrygeist]

Trouble is, with 180ft to watch over, the fox is likely to get there first.

[Lardman]

6 chickens would soon reduce 9 x 12 to mud!!

Yep. My 3 have reduced my run  to mud in 6 Days - pretty impressive really.

[Bruced]

If  you go for corrugated plastic, use a saw and take care in cutting it - it's very brittle as my rather splintered affair will attest to.

[spudgun]

agree with bruced on how brilltle the plastic is, but by some fluke, the sheet i bought was exactly the right size!

we did let the chooks out to roam the garden at first, but they started to dig up all the veg in the beds and the plants on the borders.. it was like they had a vendetta!

[FCG]

My best advice?

£9.99 rolls of green PVC coated wire mesh from wilkinsons. 1mx10m. I must have spent enough for 3-4 rolls but it is a godsend at keeping them off my plants.

Is it at all feasible to make a garden within a garden surrounding the 'main run'? This may sound like a POW camp with the chickens enclosed space in the middle with their coop with a larger external section. You can easily keep an eye on to let them run free whenever you can in the bigger area. Bonus is that you can make the centre covered and defended like Fort Knox from the fox while the outer enclosed area can be more open. This may give you a great area for the chickens to live - permanently. If your garden is big enough and you can spare enough space you could have the outer 'ring' sectioned off into seven sections and the chooks only allowed into each one once a week.

Yeah, I've put too much thought into this one. Follow my advice and you're going to end up with a Crystal Maze looking chicken coop with each sectioned area a different 'theme'.

[Bruced]

You would of course need to make sure the Henditz gun towers positioning allows for all-round cover. Also make sure the chicks can't operate some kind of complex tunnelling operation to break out. If you see a suspcious looking pigeon in the garden, wish it "good luck" in Chicken, that should help.

[cathangirl]

I like your thinking, FCG.
We have a secure inner run, with welded mesh under as well as around and over. Outside that, we have two extension runs, plus a much bigger, moveable run in various parts of the garden, with a walk-way from hen house to free range.
When OH built the hen house, he made two opening doors underneath (it's raised about 15 inches from ground level), as well as the pop hole and ladder on a third side, so they can be directed to wherever I want.
With eight girls, they still get the grass sorted in next to no time.

Of course, the reason for moving the run every few days is really to help prevent worm infestation in the girls.

Good luck flowerpot.
cathangirl