Poorly chicken

[purplecatherine]

Hey everyone. I'm awaiting delivery of my new cube (without run) and wondered if anyone had any advice about having a roof on my walk-in run?

My run is (or will be by next week!) approx 10X5m with posts and fencing 2m high. My chooks will perminantly be in the run.

I live in the country and there are many chook keepers around here and non of them have roofs although they are all VERY free range i.e. seveal acres to roam in.

So the question is, to roof or not to roof?

[wiblick]

10m would probably be very expensive to roof in totally. But a section would give your chickens somewhere to go when it rains that still has legroom and a place to scratch about.

 

You might also appreciate a dry section in the 'care' area - even if it does just keep you dry while you deal with feed refills and checking for eggs etc.

 

& I think there's something about avian flu and roofing.

 

I'm roofing my 20ft run - that's about 6m, and it's costing me a couple of hundred.

[hillfamily]

depends if you are asking if it should have a mesh roof or a plastic roof

 

I would always put a mesh roof on as foxes can jump and climb great heights.........a plastic roof for protection from the rain, is up to you.......you could always cover the mesh with a clear tarp to give some protection from the elements

[wiblick]

Indeed Hillfamily, I automatically assumed a solid roof! A mesh roof probably is a good idea regardless.

[Guest]

I asked the same question as loads of neighbours do not have roofs on their runs but i know they do lose the birds to Mr Fox if they manage to get on the roof of the chick housing and hop over! but they are country folk and it is part and parcel of keeping etc

 

I am making an approx 15ft by 10ft run and am going to put onduline near the cube just so they have a dry area(I just happened to have some spare onduline panels fortunately) & at the moment i am def going to continue weld mesh over the roof just to stop chicks getting out and also fox getting in due to peace of mind. & rats if poss. I am out at work some days.

 

I may buy some tarpulin clear for the winter time i dont know how strong the tarpulins are that i am reading about but i know the tarpulins i have on my hay if the wind gets under it it will tear off the rings?? but something i am going to look at..

 

I did toy with keeping it open and running a ribbon of electric fencing round off a car battery around the top permimeter. Someone on here said they have a strand of electric fencing on the ground which i thought was a brill idea...

 

At the moment I dont really want to electrify a whole load of mesh fencing around its permiter but if i had left the roof open i may have put a wide ribbon of horse tape around somewhere????to zap fox if i was indoors or not out in the garden

 

When i read the threads about electric fencing (sorryu have started me off now....glad someone has woken me up) it is so easy to turn off!!! There is usually an on off switch or can take a terminal off..so easy! good luck indie

[Ain't Nobody Here]

A lot of Omleteers have bought glass clear tarpaulins - you can get really big ones which would cover a good bit of your run roof. Not sure how wind-proof the eyelets are though - I haven't put mine on yet so it's not been tested by our Scottish gales! (You could always use some bungee ropes on top of it.)

[Janty]

I would go for some sort of solid roof. Our 5mtr x 7mtr run is going to have a solid felted apexed roof for shelter but it will also come in handy if we ever have another Bernard Matthews induced 'bootiful' avian flu outbreak.

[Egluntyne]

Mine is 18' x 9' and has a roof. Daren't risk not having one here as the fox would have no difficulty scaling the sides.

[SAB]

I put weldmesh on the top of our run and then used garden wire to sew the edges to the tops of the sides of the run for added security. It is bendier than a top made of solid panels, but the run is approx 7m x 4m so this was cheaper option - what I tell visitors is that the bendiness is intentional to deter foxes/my cats from walking on .

[MaggieMcHen]

My 12' x 24' walk in has corrugated green 'felt', pitched roof. Keeps out the rain, snow, bird flu and foxes It has weld mesh under to support the corrugated panels as they were supposed to be layed on a wooden substructure and would have bent and bowed in the hot sun - don't say it, "What hot sun!"

[purplecatherine]

Thanks for all your info people. My problem is that there are three trees in the run and putting a roof around the trees poses a bit of a challange!