Solitary chicken - need advice

[Jules.]

We would like a walk-in covered pen for the girls, but neither hubby nor myself are handy with wood Unless there are any guides on here to maqking your own run?

It'll have to be a bought run for us, we'll have the eglu in it at first, then next year when we are a bit more flush we hope to get a cube (or may be this year if a reconditioned one comes up ) which will be on the ourside of the run.

Edited May 31, 2008 by Guest

[WitchHazel]

Hi Jules

 

I;m really lucky as my DH is very handy. He built our Run after looking at pics on here, and looking at the commercially available runs that I was considering buying.

 

I think the ones at FlyteSoFancy are fab. I think Regency Poultry also do some great looking runs too.

 

When you are comparing prices etc, make sure you are comparing like for like. The wire is most important. It needs to be Weldmesh, 16 or 19 guage (16 is better, but more expensive).

 

Good luck!

[bellekatz]

Hi Jules - we got ours from here -

http://www.grangepetcentre.co.uk/Aviary-flights-p-2-c-4.html

 

Ours was bigger than what they had but they make them any size. Hope this helps

 

Jayne

[Egluntyne]

Mine is a flytesofancy poultry protection pen and it is fab. I am so pleased with it.

[chelsea]

the flytesofancy one's are gorgeous.

 

Neither of us are woodwork/DIY people so we bought "pre made" aviary panels from the local garden centre - all we had to do is make a brick base and then plonk the panels on top of it (not sure if plonk is the technical word I should be using here ) and then we put on a perspex roof and "voila"!!

 

Best thing we ever did (for the saving on hemcore purchasing alone!)

[Jules.]

Thanks for the info chaps!

Now, I'm glad hubby is at work today as I would be driving him mad with what I am doing about this run lark. I have worked up that the cube run alone is costing me £250, & to be honest it's not really what I want now.

I thought it was what I wanted, but the fact that I can't walk into it is really putting me off it now. I still have time to change my order, & have been doing a bit more research on runs.

I really like the flyte so fancy ones, but am put off by the price, & the fact that the shortest width is 9 feet- this is a bit too wide for my garden as my garden isn't massive.

The grange pet centres ones are taking my fancy now, especially this one http://www.grangepetcentre.co.uk/C43-Arun-playcentre-p-252.html but in the 9 feet long version at £281-no photo of it on the website-, plus £35 p&p, which is £66 more than I would pay for the cube run, but gives me what I want. If I want it painted it will cost me an extra £40- that might be worth it in terms of both time & money. Only snag is there is a 4 week wait for delivery.

 

Here's some photos.

I marked out an area 6 feet wide by 10 feet long ( the inner string) & 9 feet by 9 feet which is the flyte so fancy run size.

Hope you get the gist- my back fence slopes at an angle of about 125 degrees, & so the run would be flat against the back fence, leaving a triangular gap on the right hand side. I will need to move the apple tree to get a run to fit.

 

garden in general

 

 

Where the eglu is that's where I hope the cube will go on the outside of the run

 

 

I have moved my netting now to protect my flowerbed, & so you can see where it came up to where the grass starts. The flyte so fancy pen would come right up to the grassy area, whereas the pen 6 feet wide 9 or in the case of the grange pen 4 feet 9 ) wide would not intrude as much on the garden.

[bronze]

Seriously think about making your own. Neither myself or dh are gret at these things. w're kind of turn your hand to anything but are not fab people and i think we've done a good job. Just got the perspex to go.

[ubereglu]

I'd go for building your own run. You don't necessarily have to go for a full walk in run but perhaps put up some netting with posts or maybe some mesh attached to wooden frames and hinged together to form something more moveable.

 

Perhaps you could even go for a gazebo like structure for you hens, where you have lower panels of netting, which are just a little bit too high for your hens to jump over and then have long poles coming up from the panels to attach a roof. This will look both attractive and you can make it to any size you want.

[Jules.]

Thanks Liz.

What I am after is a run that my hens will live in nearly all the time, apart from perhaps some free ranging in the evening when we are at home.

I think that if I carry on letting them free range as I have been then Mr Fox will get them sooner or later, & I couldn't bear that.

The expense of a run to me is worth it, as, like the cube, it's something I won't be buying again.

[abwsco]

Jules, can you not find a local handyman to do you one? You could buy the weldmesh online (I used hills of devon- cheapest I could find and really quick free delivery) then they would only have to make up panels and put them together. You can see mine in my sig link. I'm in Lancashire but not too sure where you are as my handyman will travel as well.

[Jules.]

I know an excellent joiner who did building work on our house earlier this year. He's not cheap , & I reckoned that with the cost of the weldmesh- £100 perhaps? & the wood & his time ( the most expensive bit) that I would get a ready made run......