[Totty]

My run is now nearing completion. All i need now is to cover it with something to stop the rain hammering the chickens and making the ground a mess. Any ideas would be helpfull. Plastic roofing seems hard to come by and spending lots of money for my allotment plot is totally against my way of thinking! I am good at obtaining things (legally  ) so a point in the right direction would be nice.....

Totty

[kellym]

hello totty
 i build my own run too but didnt put a roof on it at all. my girls have cover and space from the rain if they need/want it but the silly things prefer to be out in the rain and the mud lol it emptied down here the other day but it didnt seem to phase them at all, they were drenched from head to toe with big muddy boots on lol. i know this isnt really an aswer to your question just thought i would share 
kellym

[Totty]

Same as mine then! Be nice to be able to save the rain that falls on it though for use on the allotments thats all.

Totty

[pigeonpie]

You could try finding a tarpaulin or perhaps an old tent that could be cut and altered to suitable size and shape?  You would have to make sure it was pulled tight though to avoid flapping which may startle the chooks.

[Totty]

I could get hold of a large tarp, but one to cover my run (11ft square) would be really weighty and to pull it really tight so that water wont settle in the middle may pull on the fence panels a bit much. Got to keep my eye out for some old roofing sheets i reckon, so if anyone in the south west knows of any....

Totty

[Sooz]

My chooks have a whole section of the run which is covered and bushes to hide in, but still choose to stand in the rain - stupid creatures!!

[New shoot]

Hi Totty

My big run is covered with clear plastic roofing sheets and have just bought a couple of translucent sheets for my new smaller coop & run.  The sheets were £6.99 each at Homebase and are 1.8m long by about 70cm wide.  They had bigger more robust clear sheets for £9.99.  Do you have a Wickes near you?  They are usually cheap as well.  Plastic sheeting is difficult to remove in 1 piece so second hand may be hard to find 

The sheets on the big run have lasted for about 5 years so far, so it's been a worthwhile investment 

[compostqueen]

I got black bituminous corrugated sheets from Wickes for my girls run and it's completely covered to keep them dry and the fox from getting at them

I'm all for being frugal but the welfare of the birds comes first. They don't mind getting wet, but being cold and wet for prolonged periods will do them no good.  If you want to keep hens then you need to be able to afford to care for them properly and that begins with their most basic need - a proper shelter

Don't skimp 

[DensHens]

A supermarket chain are at the moment selling a 12FT X 12FT Tarpaulin for £4.oo. green one side blue the other, with brass rings fitted to tie them down. Supermarket name rhymes with
  Nett ho!
         Cheers Den...

[trinamc]

Have you tried looking at freecycle even i f there isn't any on there you could always put a wanted posting on it.

[Totty]

Ok thanks guys. It is currently covered with fine blue wind mesh netting and is fox proof. Now the weather is getting better i guess i have a fair few months to find somethin.

Thanks again

Totty

[grenhouse]

I used the corrugated clear plastic sheets from wickes. did mi 10x10 for about £40 and it has worked great. Less mess and less smell!

steve

[hillfooter]

Rather than tarps which are woven and fray really easily in wind here's an off the wall idea.  Swimming pool vinyl.  Many outdoor pools have vinyl liners which are really thick and quite heavy weight.  They need replacing evet 6 years or so and around now till spring is when swimming pool companies are replacing them.  They usually are cut up into manageable sizes but why not approach a pool company and ask them if they have any scrap.  i suspect they just get dumped.  When we replaced ours a couple of years back I kept it and it's have lots of uses from ground cover to kill weeds to run covers and being heavy weight and rubbery it isn't blown about as easily as a tarp.

HF

[Totty]

Still think the solid corrugated stuff sounds best. Can put that on with a pitch and collect water from it.

Totty