Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[Burtie14]

Hi there everyone,

 

I’m a newbie to the site, and a bit of a fraud as I’m not actually a chook-owner yet. However, I soon hope to be. I’ve got a couple of quick questions on setting up a house and run – any advice will be gratefully received before I order some feathered friends.

 

Firstly, our garden is on a bit of a slope. Will this matter when placing our run? It’s not a massively steep slope, but it’s noticeable, I’d guess it’s about a 1:8 ratio. Would I be better off trying to build up the area, level it off, and then put the house and run on top of that?

 

Secondly, has anyone had any experience of building their own run? Because our garden is a slightly unusual shape, most of the standard runs wouldn’t make the most of the space. Any hints and tips on building my own, or is it better to bite the bullet and pay for a custom-built design?

 

Any advice will be much appreciated!

 

Burtie

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum, Burtie .

 

Don't feel a fraud, there are plenty of chicken keepers-to-be on here . You'll find loads of useful information in this section. You could start by looking at the first two Stickies in this section (which are huge but have loads of info and pictures ).

 

There's also a post by another member about sloping gardens just below yours .

 

Lots of us have individually designed runs to fit our various gardens. I used Aviaries4u, who will design it to your specification. You'll see mine in the link in my signature.

[Redwing]

Hi and welcome!

 

For run inspiration look in the Eglu, Cubes and Runs section, in the sticky threads two are on walk in runs (one is epic, make a cuppa before tackling that one) they are well worth a read

 

I built my own run, it wasnt hard as long as you get the materials and tools right

 

The slope shouldnt be a problem, someone suggested on a similar thread earlier that levelling out the bit that the house stands on would be a good idea though as long as the run is snug to the ground with either a skirt or hard surface surrounding it you should be fine

[Burtie14]

Thanks guys,

 

Wow. Certainly some inspirational stuff in there! I can see my afternoon at work isn't going to be hugely productive...

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

You're not a fraud Burtie. Just wisely thinking things through. Welcome.

[Staffordmum]

Welcome Burtie and good luck ...

 

Keep us posted - with pix too!

 

Kind rgds,

 

Pat & Steve