[neil9797]

Hi, utter n00b here! I'm building a coop & attached run ready for my first chickens. How low can I make the run without turning then birds into hunchbacks? The run will have a mesh top so they will not be able to get out. I intend to buy hybrid hens. I never thought I'd ever ask the question "How tall is a hen?"

[Foxy]

Make the run as high as you can, preferably so you can stand. Alternatively I would go for around 2 - 3 foot, they need plenty of head clearance and also so they can stretch up and flap their wings comfortably.

A little note if you are making your own run, absolute minimum reccomendations per hen is 1m squared, however, the bigger the happier your new hens will be and also that will decrease any potential to develop vices like feather pecking.

Finally good luck and welcome to the forum!

[Aunt Sally]

It's nice to have a run tall enouth to put things in for the hens to jump up on to - they enjoy that.

[neil9797]

Thanks Foxy (should you really be in this forum?) & Sally. The coop comes with an small, attached run, 3.5ft tall and I have some logs for them to clamber on. I want to extend it with a DIY run along the length of a shrub border, hence I need it as low as poss so as not to detract from the tall shrubs. Could I get away with 2ft high in the extended run then? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to cramp the poor things!

I'm getting two hens and they will have a strip of ground about 20ft long and 2ft wide. That's enough, yes?

N

[meterman]

I would go with a minimum 3 on both, 3 feet and 3 hens.the reason for 3 hens is so that you dont have a lonely hen if 1 dies till a replacement can be found. If you can only go 2 feet would it be possible to have 1 end up to 6 feet high by 3/4 feet long with a perch at 2/3 feet. Hope this makes sence.

[neil9797]

OK Meterman, I see what you are getting at and I could do it except I'd have to move our compost bin! Perhaps that's something to consider later in the year. Until then I'll go with 3ft. Cheers, N

[meterman]

Thats o/k as you will need a much bigger compost bin anyway for all that poo laced wood shavings

[scrappydoo]

  Hi Neil
         Personally what ever length and width you make the run, I was glad that I made mine 6 foot tall  as when you are trying to clean it etc it's a darned site easier than trying to clean it out on your hands & knees , especially this weather .

Best Regards

Steve

[neil9797]

Thanks folks. I understand your recommendation for making it a walk-in run but that's not possible as the run will be in a shrub border: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pocketmoth/4257032330/. I couldn't get in even if I made it 6ft high, also it would be unsightly in a teeny garden (there's not much more of it out of shot)!

The coop is going next to my bike shed on the left and the run will extend along the border to the right. I'm planning to mount the chicken-wire sides on tension wire. In the gaps between shrubs I plan to shape more chicken wire sheets as a lid to the run. I should be able to lift these off quite easily for maintenance - what do you think? Is this a solid plan or chicken-brained?

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, can i ask how are you going to clean inside the run if you cant get in?

[neil9797]

Well, dizzylizzie, I'm hoping to leave the mulch and poo to rot in situ as it is in a shrub border anyway. I expect to top up with fresh stuff every so often before it gets muddy. I also plan to give the run a sprinkle with Jeyes or similar every few weeks to disinfect/de-pong. Does that sound workable or are you ROFL? 

[dizzylizzie]

i have 13 chickens, a cockerel and a turkey in  very large garden, and they have destroyed it  ....IMHO, having the run only 2ft wide is just like giving them a corridor to go up and down. Once you put a few feeders/water containers, logs to play on etc, there isnt going to be much room for them. I doubt once they are fully grown they will be able to pass each other comfortably( i think ive got fat chucks tho ). There will also be ALOT of poo, i think it would be rancid after a few weeks....disinfectants are good but they dont work miracles! Are they going to be let out of the run at all? Chickens love to scratch and dustbathe, im trying to visualise how much space they need/take, and mine dig up whole plant boarders . I dont think you shoul get less than 3 hens, but i wouldnt put 3 hens in the space you are giving them. each to their own tho eh?

[neil9797]

OK, I honestly appreciate the advice. I think what I will do then is:

(1) make sure the 'lid' of the run is easily removable so I can get at the rotting filth
(2) extend the run even more to an area under a tree which would be about 5ft square, making the fence 6ft high at that point for access and a bit of raised perch space

How about that? With the coop's built-in run the 3 hens will have a run 26ft long, at least 2ft wide with a 5ft square perch area at one end. Surely that's enough?! BTW we will let them into the garden but only while we are there.

N

[karlooben]

it seems ok to me , the one main thing is u can only do your best to keep your girls happy and so far your giving this a lot of thought which shows your going to care . once u have the main fencing inplace you can make the roof in sections so that each section can lift up on its own  say u made one section 2 metres long on hinges then place a strengther bar across the width of the run an then do another 2 m section of roof on hinges and so on so instead of having the whole roof up at any one time you'll only need to lift the section your in  if u can put pics up on here then peeps will have more of an idea of what your talking about 

welcome to the forum .

[neil9797]

Thanks karlooben. The lid is going to be in sections anyway in order to fit between the tall shrubs. I'll certainly post some pics once the thing is in place.

Rgds, N