Chicken Run
The run (the outside part of the coop) has been finished for a couple weeks. We have been taking the chickens out every morning and bringing them in at night to sleep since the coop wasn’t ready for them. They are so cute in the morning because they LOVE going outside…they run around and fly and flap their wings at each other; chickens may not be brilliant but they DO play! At night, as soon as they see the box we use to carry them inside, they start running in circles to avoid capture. Sort of like my 4 year old nephew at his bedtime but with less screaming.
To build the run we used a 10×10 chain link dog kennel which we then wrapped in chicken wire. Raccoons can easily reach through chain link to grab chickens (this might sound like something the chickens would be smart enough to avoid…like RUN!…but they sleep huddled up right next to the fence).
We extended the chicken wire 12 inches off the fence onto the ground to prevent burrowing animals (rats!) from digging their way in then we covered the wire with gravel. Another option is to bury the wire 12-14 inches.
The corner of the yard where the chickens live is already damp; it gets some runoff from the gardens which are above it and it is also in a shady spot. Shade is good in that it will help keep the chickens cool but it also keeps the ground from drying quickly. Chickens hate being damp. They can handle cold but not damp. So, they got a plastic roof (the plastic sheets were free = salvaged from somewhere).
We will keep the ground (mud) covered with fresh straw, probably changing it once a week in the summer. AND use this roof (and the shed/coop roof) to catch more rainwater for irrigation.
Love the run! We’ve been letting ours free range during the day. They get so excited when they see me coming to let them out. It’s so funny how they get excited about things.
Hey, I am wondering how you train chickens to come in at night if you let them free range? ALso, our neighborhood is known to have coyotes and racoons: should we just keep them in their run for safety reasons?
Heidi, interesting you should ask about training them to come in…we just finished chasing ours into the coop for the night. And I mean chasing…I follow them around the run, trying to herd them in the right direction and sometimes have to scoop them up and give them a little shove while Josh opens the door for each and then closes it behind them so they can’t run back out. So much drama! They are young and have only been outside full time for two days so the coop freaks them out…although this afternoon I found them hanging out inside for no apparent reason so I’m sure they are getting used to it. I think just repetition and we give them yogurt and greens to eat at night once they go inside for positive reinforcement
Our neighbor has older chickens and they just naturally go inside at night so I think they get used to it.
Our chickens don’t free range yet though because of coyotes and raccoons (we also have both). Once we get our fence built they will have the yard and gardens to run around in. A coyote ate a neighbors chicken in broad daylight so it is definitely a concern.
Someone (see comment) just asked a good question. Did you have to train your chickens to come in at night or do they do that on their own?
Well, we moved our chicks from the cardboard box brooder to a movable coop that was in the garage. Then we would move it outside on warm days and they were just in there eating grass. We’d move it once a day or so if they needed more grass. Then we started letting them out and they’d just stay in the garden by us. I put them in the coop anytime we were going to go back in the house or leave or something.
Now they are free ranging and they just know to go back in the coop. It’s their home and they know and they put themselves in at night. We do have raccoons and coyotes and hawks and all kinds of things, but so far so good. I hope that nothing happens, but if it does, either we will build a big run or we will just have a big flock and accept that there will be some losses. I’m not sure about that. I can’t imagine something happening to the chickens! I would be very upset, that’s for sure.
Thanks for your reply…and I feel the same way — if anything happens to our chickens I will be so upset. I haven’t named them (officially) and am trying not to get too attached but still. We predator-proofed the coop and run so well that we call it the “henitentiary”. Ha, get it? yeah, I know we aren’t funny. I probably shouldn’t even share that
That is funny! Henitentiary.
Our coop is pretty predator-proof, too. The only way anything could get in is through digging, and then they’d have to get the ramp/door open. I’ve noticed raccoon prints on the outside of the coop, so they know the chickens are there.
I haven’t been much worried about raccoons or coyotes during the day, but I probably should be more worried since I did see a raccoon on the back porch one day during a big rainstorm. The cats were freaked out, which was weird because I’ve seen them all sitting on the porch chairs while a raccoon was eating their food and they were NOT worried at all. Maybe if the raccoons come at night it’s OK, but during the day it’s not OK? Who knows.
Those tricky raccoons! Hopefully, all of the chicken runs are predator proof, but we just discovered their little paws are quite adept. After our return from vacation, we see that the regular raccoon who visits us discovered how to get inside the Rubbermaid trunk outside our basement door. All of the birdseed, which was enclosed in it inside a Rubbermaid tub had been consumed. Hopefully, the bellyache will teach this little robber a lesson!
Hey thanks for the feedback. I am building a coop today for our chickens- 5 weeks is too long for card board boxes. We have bought some crickets for random treats and they cheep like babies looking for more when they finish them off. Chickens are fun! PS, how early can I tell if i have a rooster amongst my pullets?
Awesome that you got your coop built! We’ve given ours crickets too…just random crickets that we find in the yard, along with cabbage worms & other bug-type things. Makes our chickens quite happy!
To answer your question it seems there isn’t an easy way to tell about roosters when they are babies…some people can “sex” chicks but even that is imprecise. We’ve had a question about one of ours actually…one of the americaunas is bigger and has a longer, more curved tail than the others. So we’re waiting to see if she/he ever starts crowing…so far, nothing. According to this backyardchickens.com forum roosters will start crowing anytime between 5 days and 20 weeks. We’re keeping our fingers crossed! We ordered only female, not a straight run, so there shouldn’t be a rooster in our flock but we’ll see