[Hengist]

Hello, new member here, seeking to pick your brains!

We are pre-chicken at the moment, designing and building a house and run.  We hope to have 4 chickens and have a sheltered area we can put a house (on legs) with a run continuing underneath.  The run will be about 5ft by 8 ft and will be their 'safe haven' when we are out.  I'm retired so they can free range the garden much of the time.  I wonder, would you go for the 19g weldmesh or the 16g?  Can't guarantee a fox wouldn't make it into the garden and I want them safely tucked up when we're not around.

Also, the area we want to use has paving on 2 sides, a dwarf wall on one and a 6ft fence at the back.  The paving continues into what will be the run, but there is a part of the area that is soil - was a flower bed.  Are we better to pave the lot so that when the flooring material is changed we can pressure-wash the flagstones?  Otherwise I foresee the soil getting rather nasty eventually.  The run will have to stay there most of the time because the garden is fully in use - no lawn, shrubs, veg plot (yes, I know, but I have a half allotment to grow stuff I don't want them to fossick amongst!)  We can move it onto the veg plot when there's space there but only as a short term measure.

My husband is worried that there will be a drainage problem in wet weather if the floor area is completely paved.

I hope someone with exerience can give us a clue - I'ver already got loads of advice from here in the few weeks I've been lurking.  Thanks in anticipation.

[poultrygeist]

Hello hengist, welcome aboard.

Firstly, the guage of wire. It is accepted that 19g is fox-proof. If you make it 25x13mm, it should be rat proof too, though that's only from adults.

For 4 hens, I would make the run a bit bigger if you can, unless they are out for most of the time.
Some people used paving as a base, with a deep bed of softwood bark chippings on top, regularly changed. If you can cover the run to keep the rain off, it shouldn't get too bad. As you say, you can hose it down.

One thing to watch is the dwarf wall. Foxes are apparently good climbers and will used anything they can to gain access via the top. You'll need to make sure the top is covered and secure.

The drainage of the flags would be a problem if there is nowhere for the rain to run off or between. With a deep enough litter, it shoudn't bother them.

Hopefully, you'll get advice from people with similar setups. There is no one right way so you can adapt pretty much any situation.

Rob

[Hengist]

Thanks for the info Poultrygeist.  The dwarf wall shouldn't be a problem as the run will have a roof of the weldmesh panels too.  Will have to look into letting in a run-off drain maybe.

[poultrygeist]

Might be for the best. At times like this, it could be difficult to avoid a river running through.

If you leave the bare earth section, but cover the entire floor of the run in several inches of bark chippings, it may soak away naturally.

Will they be able to get out and free range every day ?

The minimum space for hens is 1 sq metre each in a run but as far as I know, this can be compromised if they are spending a large part of their day outside.

Apart from the build up of deposits, they also get very bored and can develop behavioural problems if they are too confined. Ours are in a fixed run which gives about 3 or so sq metres each so I'll someone else comment on it.

Rob

[Hengist]

They can free range every day for several hours.  Don't want to keep them in prison!

[poultrygeist]

You're making me feel guilty now  :roll:

I prefer to think of it as protecting them from the dangers that lie without. I hope to afford some leccy fencing at some point in the future. Then they can gambol free to their hearts content  

That's if the ducks don't chase them off  :shock: