While chickens are quite creative when it comes to keeping themselves entertained - free-ranging is their forte! the Homestead extra-large run, have enough space for your chickens to get in a real flap and stretch their wings. If you have to keep them restricted to a chicken run, give each chicken enough space to forage in peace or retreat if the pecking order creates a squabble. Multiple levels to explore, networks of roosts, and even chicken swings are all good ideas for utilizing vertical space. Set in places where you know the rodents are moving, usually around the edge of the chicken run or an outbuilding. Unfortunately, even in a spacious coop and run, the chicken waste is concentrated in their small living area. To not only move away from our dependence on confined animal feeding operations on factory farms, but to produce a higher-quality product for our family that we would otherwise not be able to purchase? Depending on your location, this decision might already be made for you—many local ordinances don’t allow backyard chickens to range outside of an enclosed run in a coop. There, you have the complete set! It also keeps them off the cold ground—roost should be raised at least 2 or 3 feet above the earth. In most coops, the space is one big open box, and there is no challenge to walk from the door to the roost, or from the roost to the nesting box. 1 of 10 Go to page. Even if your chickens roam loose, you can still wind up with a mud problem right around the coop, or in favored areas such as under the bush where it's nice and shady in summertime. Oak Bay: You can keep up to 5 or 10 hens depending on your lot size. Roosts can be constructed using normal tree branches that are either affixed to a wire frame or wedged into the available wire of their existing run. Constructing a network of roosts, perhaps leading to a treat-holder or other incentive will give chickens an opportunity to exercise their legs and wings, as well as forcing them to think about the path they will take from one point to another. Logs, stumps, tree branches, etc can be piled in various configurations for them to climb on, roost on, and explore. If you have a unique way to keep your chickens busy that wasn't mentioned here, please feel free to share it in the comments. This is by far the most effective way to keep your chickens safe from foxes and more and more people are turning to electric fencing in order to offer their hens the highest level of safety. Know the height needed for your flock. It is difficult to say when a chicken run becomes a ‘fenced off area’ (see my page on fencing chickens if you have a large area to fence off as a run). If you do plan on keeping your hens permanently in an enclosed run then you should expect the grass in that area to soon wear thin and turn in to a bit of a quagmire when it rains. Chicken wire is more for keeping your chickens in than keeping predators out. This turns the bedding over, allowing it to air out and extending its usefulness, making less work for you with fewer coop cleanups. Rats are cautious creatures and won't go near something new and unknown. An alternative to letting them out of their run is to use a portable run so you can move them around onto fresh grass at regular intervals. My chickens are allowed to free-range in our fenced backyard during the fall because they help clean up our garden beds. The Chicken Run is the next most expensive thing you will buy, next to chicken houses and is most likely to be the weakest link as far as predators like foxes are concerned. Hide them inside of hollow logs, cinder blocks, or other nooks and crannies--just don't put them in the nesting boxes. If you have a coop with a run then it would be advisable to place something heavy like paver's around the perimeter of the run to prevent a fox from digging in under the side of the runs. Written by. In the winter months, when the days are shorter and there aren’t as many exciting bugs, weeds and grasses to peck at, chickens can become bored. Use this run for your girls when the weather is really bad or when there is a higher risk of predators but at other times, open the door and let them out! Two hens for each family member works well for egg production. This is, no doubt, a huge step above and beyond what the factories do. The birds will need a place to spread their wings, so to speak: a sizeable chicken run, for example, or a whole backyard. Better to utilize wood ash if you have the option than to take the risks involved with DE. If you don’t believe me, go to my page on, There are a number of chicken run designs that manufacturers use and a few other ‘home made’ runs that are successful. Electric Net Fencing. Each adult full-size chicken needs at least 2 square feet of floor space for shelter and another 3 square feet in outside run space if it isn’t going to be running loose much. Something like this is ideal, placed away from your chicken run. Chickens can see in color, and are sensitive to movement. You may not be planning on keeping your chickens confined, but it is always ideal to be prepared, and it certainly won't hurt anything to have a really appealing coop for them to come home to, even if they do free range. May 25, 2020 2,707 32,493 626 Western Washington. How to keep chickens warm in winter: Do not add heat lamps. You can keep your chickens in a coop with just a small run attached, but meat birds raised on pasture tend to produce meat that is … Even though we prefer to keep our chickens secured in their run we do like to have another option for them. Pieces of bread, vegetables, dried mealworms, or scratch grains all make excellent goodies for your chickens to seek out. Is this going to be an issue? The first thing my chickens do when I open the coop in the morning is run out and look to see if I’ve left any food scraps for them. Freedom is very important to us as human beings, but the truth is, chickens are not people. You can cut all of your wood in one go, with many pieces being the same size. [14] It may seem counter-intuitive to install items that will startle or concern your chickens, but in moderation, this can actually help them stay alert and sharp, particularly if you plan on letting them free-range again at some point in the future. Build a ‘cutting list’ of pieces you will need to build the chicken run. It has worked so well that more than once I have had to remove otherwise wild or feral chickens from it, because they darted in while I was cleaning or feeding the birds there and then refused to leave. If it isn’t particularly thick, a determined fox will be able to tear at it to get in. Hi, everyone! It's natural to assume that chickens would want to be free, because that is what we would want. Building a chicken run is a good way to keep your chickens secure and happy. Cut windows in the coop if there are none, and break up the visual space of the run with barriers and "chicken furniture". This post will help you deal with a wet chicken run and all the mud and mess that comes with it. Keep the chicken coop clean. Virtually all of the enrichment opportunities you can provide to your chickens will relate to one of these three drives, and once you understand their basic psychology, you will be able to utilize the tools available to you to keep them fulfilled. Gates should ideally be made from a solid mesh stapled to a sturdy frame. This will prevent fowl getting out and wild birds and predators getting in. You can put wood chips down inside the run so they can be changed regularly. Unfortunately, for any variety of reasons, it may simply not be possible to let your flock free range. Connection kits are available to attach the run to most types of Eglu, while other houses can be placed directly inside the poultry run, giving your hens a place to rest, shelter and lay their eggs. Sort by reaction score Thread starter Starburst; Start date Jun 9, 2020; 1; 2; 3 … Go to page. I personally don’t use chicken wire to protect the chicken coop and run because predators can easily tear through it. As the plants grow within reach, your chickens will be able to nip them off through the wire, but they won't be able to scratch them up and leave the earth bare. Keep the panels off the ground so they don’t rot, a brick base on a small strip foundation is perfect but I’ve seen people use rectangular posts on their side and (better) old railway sleepers buried in the ground. Using boards, logs, cinderblocks, tires, or whatever else you have handy, block off an area of the chicken run and cover it with chicken wire. They are very capable of climbing and jumping. Be sure to use a heavy-duty tarp so … 2The Chicken Run. To help keep the chickens warmer next year, we bought more chicks this spring (yay), because more bodies will generate more heat naturally – both in the coop and in the run. Batten down the hatches. Plant tasty greens like lettuce, spinach, turnips, clover, or anything else your chickens like to eat. Your run should be attached to your coop, with a little door on the side of the coop that will allow the chickens to come and go during the day. raising chickens with coop and run. Inside the coop, scattering scratch grains in the bedding material will encourage the chickens to dig through it. If you don’t believe me, go to my page on foxes and watch the film of the fox squeezing under the fence that’s just a few inches off the ground! If you are going to keep your chickens in a run for most of the time then as a rule of thumb you should allow around 1 square meter of run space for each bird. Whether you keep your chickens exclusively in a coop or offer them a run, they will need access to dry soil to dust bathe in. Although most predators hunt by night, there are daytime threats to a backyard flock, including dogs, foxes, hawks, and eagles. Premium Feather Member. Keep in mind that ... It’s a good idea to keep water in the run instead of the coop because ducks will quickly wreck the bedding with access to water in their coop. Building a chicken run is really straight forward if you have some basic DIY skills and follow some of the guidance I have given above. Turn this into a ‘shopping list’ by working out how long your wood needs to be and what sort of thickness you will need. Hiding treats in this network of hidey-holes will encourage them to forage and hunt within the provided spaces--just check them regularly for eggs, since some hens will find them to be an irresistible temptation for a nesting site.Periodically move the objects around to create new spaces for exploring and keep things interesting. Much to the same tune of the chicken maze, you should break up the visual space of your coop and run. Foxes will dig under a chicken run. Please read the Bylaw (Section 32) before constructing or locating a chicken coop/run. Start by keeping chicken feed in a hanging feeder inside their coop. A roof of chicken wire over the chicken run will prevent chickens escaping. As I've mentioned before, breaking up the visual space helps stimulate your chickens' thought process, but by adding things like empty barrels, shelves. If you have problems with foxes during the daytime (or your chickens are not securely locked up in their house at night) then you will need to consider putting your run onto bricks so that Mr. Fox can’t dig underneath. If installed correctly, electric fences are very good at keeping foxes out but on occasions, I’ve seen a run with a fox unable to get out! If your chickens don’t free-range then they most likely have a run or a chicken yard of some sort. Why I Recommend Wood Chips for a Muddy Chicken Run. Secure the top of the chicken run with aviary netting or deer netting. 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