How can I find my old pictures?

[JM]

I know many people have walk-in runs and are really enthusiastic about them. I'm wavering about getting one - before next winter, mainly so that the bottom of my garden doesn't get trashed again(!!) but although I've sort of sold the idea to my OH, he can't really see the real advantage over our current set-up.

 

What we have at the moment is a cube with standard run, plus another 1m extension - so the length from back of cube to run door is 3m (for 3 girls). It's located at the veggy/fruit end of the garden. We then have Omlet netting outside of that to give them a free ranging area.

 

We've moved the cube 4 times since we got them at the beginning of June, but we've moved the netted area reasonably often to avoid too much damage in one area, and to give them some variety and different shrubs/hedges to scratch under. However, during the wet autumn and winter, the whole area looks very sad, although the girls have done a brilliant job of clearing some overgrown areas!! We're waiting to see how the area at the bottom of the garden recovers in the spring.

 

We let the girls out in afternoons for 2 - 3 hours (weather and light depending), then if it's sunny at the weekend, I'll let them have the range of the entire garden. I don't think we will expand the flock (maybe to a maximum of 6 sometime in the future, most likely when these 3 begin to slow down on the egg laying).

 

So, what are the advantages of a walk-in run? How often, for how long, and over how much garden, do you let your chooks free range each day/week?

 

Sorry for such a long question !!

 

Jill

[BarbaraJ]

i have extended mine so i can leave them in there most of the time in the winter as its just too wet at the moment out there for them.

It's also as safe as i can make it for them where as in netting they are possibly vunerable to foxes.

[chelsea]

the walk in run was the best thing we've done since getting our eglu/cube.

 

I feel sooo much better (and less guilty ) as they love it in their run. Even this afternoon when I got home from work at 3pm I rushed to open their run door for an hour to stretch their legs and they still stayed in the run scratching around when the door was open!

 

Aside from the fact there is more room for them, there is more head height for us to get in and out. We dont waste so much aubiose/hemcore as it stays drier in the walk in run than it did in the eglu run as it has a proper roof.

 

I am fortunate enough to work part time so my girls free range 4 days out of 7, but when I go to work now I feel less guilty when I drive off to work.

 

We dont have foxes here, but if you do that is a major plus of the walk in run also.

[JM]

Thanks BarbaraJ and Chelsea. It does sound very tempting - especially the headroom for me!! (save on bad backs?...)

[the eggman cometh]

hi,

 

apart from the bits mentione above, it aslo makes cleaning them out so much easier. Our cube set up was the same as yours, (3 metres in total) but have put a walk in on the end of that now. Weve taken the end of the Omlet run so now instead of having hte "little door" to get in and change the wood chip. we now have a huge area.

[ruth1]

And when its raining your undercover when your cleaning out

 

My girls are in their run all the time at the moment to keep them safe( no foxes just ignorant people who let their dogs do what ever they like )

 

I also feel they are very secure as the cube is inside the run and the door is locked whenever we are not at home.

[chelsea]

 

I also feel they are very secure as the cube is inside the run and the door is locked whenever we are not at home.

 

Ditto, that's also another advantage, our run is also locked.

[Scottie]

We have a walk in run which our girls are confined to all the time. Having had 2 fatal visits from a stoat, ours are not let out into the garden anymore. They seem absolutely fine and quite happy.

 

Sheila

[JM]

Thanks everyone. Some planning to do now...