Run mesh

[shine388]

Hello, my OH has *almost* agreed to chickens now so I'm looking into the ins and outs of building a run.

The area it will cover is around 113 square foot for probably 4 hens.

After doing some calculations regarding how much square footage of mesh we'll need for everything (walls, gates, skirt around everything and under the run and coop) it's looking like 800 square feet

I've been researching various suppliers of the 1/4 mesh that most recommend but for what we need it's going to be quite expensive..

Just wondering if there is somewhere you experienced chicken keepers buy yours from in bulk (delivered) please? If not, would 1" by 1/2" be suitable?

Thank you in advance

[Scarlet]

Have you thought about using an electric fence?

[shine388]

I haven't as we have children and a cat

[Stan79]

Or Heras fencing (security fencing) off ebay?

We got some rectangular metal framed panels off a mate that were used by a well known supermarket chain when they built an extension as secure site storage (so similar to Heras fencing) and they work a treat, bolt together and was free!

Basically, there's a few ways to make a run without it costing a fortune. Mine is roofed with polycarbonate from work that was going in the bin!

[Scarlet]

I haven't as we have children and a cat

My twin boys were toddlers when we first had chickens. They were told it hurt if they touched it and we never had a problem with them or their friends - if you've got shoes on you don't get a shock. The current from a fence comes in pulses, animals seem to hear the "click" and don't go near it. Occasionally you may get a dog that's a bit daft and they don't go near it again but I've been dull enough to test it without shoes on a few times to check if it's working !! It's a good option, you can move it around and there's no worries about a fox attack.

[shine388]

Thank you so much for your help guys, I think I've settled on a solution so now I just need to work on OH a bit more 😁

[Scarlet]

What have you decided to do?

[alldigging]

Never mind the fence - how have you persuaded OH?
:-)

[shine388]

I've looked at so many run ideas and also how some local chickens are kept and have relaxed my initial ideas slightly..

I'm going to (when he finally gives a definite yes) buy a coop with a run attached then get him to build a huge run attached to thats, which will have a door to it from their main run, for added security.

The whole chicken area including where the coop will be will have PVC coated 1/2 inch mesh buried at around 1-1.5 feet deep. I read that that lasts longer than uncoated and I don't want to be redoing it.

I looked into so many types of fencing but still prefer the idea of some nice sturdy, thick pillars of wood that will be set into cement (although almost went for the building site temporary fencing.)

We'll have a mesh of around 1x2 inches buried down into the soil about 1-1.5 feet to meet with the underfloor mesh. This will have rubble against it underground around the entire perimetre (pushing against it from the inside of the run.)

Then we'll have a finer half inch mesh around the bottom of the walls up to about 3 feet high.

The roof is still undecided, either a full or half roof (need to ask OH for his recommendations.)

We'll also put a proper fence panel in at the back of the chicken coop area as there's currently only a chain link fence.

Then I'd like to either use more leftover rubble or the finer mesh to surround where the coop will be (the fences and side of the shed) underground up to about 2 or 3 feet to hopefully stop digging.

I also thought about putting a gate on the area where the coop is for added security, so it would be in its own little 'room', another door to the big run and maybe a roof over the coop area for me so I'm not getting too wet cleaning them out 😊

I really hope this makes sense, I'm living on a few hours of broken sleep 😆

[Stan79]

Wow! The foxes around you are going to need a tank to get in!!!

All we did was sink a treated wooden board similar to scaffolding boards around the perimeter to form a box and built the fence on top of that (with the metal framed mesh i was talking about). The house is then just plonked in the corner of the run. I would reccomend a full roof - as i think i said before, i've used second hand polycarbonate panels and fixed them to wooden 'beams' that run across the width of the run.

If your hubby is talented enough to build what you're proposing, can i suggest buying a secondhand coop and fettling it to your needs or building a coop from scratch. New coops are ridiculously expensive and i have seen quite a few made out of pretty poor quality wood... I bought a secondhand one off ebay initially and one year on have built my own, larger one.

I think:
a) your chooks will be very, very safe,
b) your husband is a saint for constructing that lot,
c) after a couple of weeks you won't use the inner cage that seperates the house from the run cos you'll be sick of going out and letting them into the run and then going back out in the evening to shut them in,
d) you'll buy an automatic door closer and have stress free chicken ownership as you realise they're pretty self sufficient as it happens!

[janzbro]

Hi, there are various ways to secure the run

1 as you say is burying some mesh into the floor,
2 the mesh can be folded at the bottom to run flat to the grass for about 1 foot which will prevent digging under
3 you can put paving stones, bricks, stones etc around the run to prevent digging

I wouldnt bother meshing the floor of the run itself if thats what you were thinking, it would be a of waste of money in my opinion, if you do the 1 or more of the above it will keep them out. Spend the money saved on an automatic pop door opener, various ones on internet, they are pricey but they are worth it in the long run.

The fence needs to be 5 to 6 feet high to stop foxes getting in and chicken flapping out if it open roofed, this also allows you in to clean etc and remain standing

Roof not esential but a covered part wil keep the ground less muddy and in winter will give some snow free gound to walk on and will allow you to leave pellet feeder outside without the food getting wet.

keep calm and enjoy your feathered friends.

[shine388]

Thanks guys I'm aiming for something with the brief "chicken sanctuary offering as much space as possible, loads to do, more space per chicken than the RSPCA states, with security measures on par with high security prison" 😁

We live literally on the edge of our town, our garden backs onto the farmer's fields and the chicken area will be against that back fence. We also have some bold foxes that don't mind coming out in daylight and sitting next to our neighbours' coop, hence why I seem a bit OCD about this. But I'd prefer to learn things now than make mistakes once we have our ladies.

As usual, this forum has been a wealth of knowledge, thank you to everybody for taking the time to help me!

[Scarlet]

Remember that keeping them in an enclosed area the ground will need to be changed every six months or so or you may well end up with sick chickens, back fill with wood chips and replace. Also, keep up a worming program.

[janzbro]

or you cover the run in pea shingle/ gravel and you can hose it off and disinfect when the chicken go to bed.