Poorly chicken

[ails]

Just wanted to ask about the set up other people have for their walk in runs?

 

After the girls devoured the contents of hubbies vegetable patch in the summer, we ordered some panels off ebay months ago and put together a good 9x6 run in the corner of our garden.

 

Its sheltered by our shed along one side, one side is completely closed in with solid wood panels leaving 2 open mesh sides.

The roof is covered in mesh panels with clear corrugated panels ontop.

Until the snow set in, the girls have mainly been enjoying free range of the garden until the growing season starts again but now that the snow is here they are in the run full time.

 

At the moment the floor is just compacted earth which is getting a bit damp and yucky.

 

I was going to put down some concrete slabs, possibly with an unslabbed area in the middle for them to dig in, then put a layer of aubiose on top but I fear the rain/snow will just drift in from the 2 open sides and make it a damp mush or will it?

 

What do other people with WIR's do? From the pictures I have seen other people have open mesh sides so how do you keep a dry floor all year round ?

 

Any suggestions anyone ?????????

[Space Chick]

We have clear tarpaulin blinds that can be rolled down during inclement weather. I don't think the blinds have been up much

[chick wiggle]

I, and a lot of people have clear tarpaulin to cover the sides of the run when its really wet. Dont make the mistake I did though by leaving the tarp down all the time to protect them as this just makes condensation drip off the roof defeating the object of keeping the floor dry Now I tie the tarp back unless its going to be very windy and rainy.

i got mine from here... http://www.tarpaflex.co.uk

 

This is how it looks on mine at the moment, this is two tarps overlapping at the front where the pophole is,.

Hope this helps

[Tutti Frutti]

Its sheltered by our shed along one side, one side is completely closed in with solid wood panels leaving 2 open mesh sides.

 

Ours is only open to the front. It's tucked in a corner with 2 sides along the fence and one by the shed. We've ended up putting shower curtains along all 3 sheltered sides, as the rain was running off the roof, curling under and pouring in Should've fitted guttering!

 

We've now also pegged clear PVC along the front to protect the girls from the snow - it keeps them lovely and snug in there. It's pegged so we can open it up to let fresh air in. You need ventilation otherwise, just as Chick Wiggly said, condensation forms on the roof and drips down!

 

We've also put a giant tarp over the roof to prevent any more leaks (it cracked under the weight of the last snowfalls before Xmas aagh!).

 

I was going to put down some concrete slabs, possibly with an unslabbed area in the middle for them to dig in, then put a layer of aubiose on top

 

Nice idea but your Aubiose will be filthy within 5 minutes! I'd put membrane down to stop weeds growing up and the dirt coming up to contaminate the bedding. Just make sure that any joins in the membrane are covered by slabs or the girls will find the join and dig it up regardless (voice of experience here :lol). In fact, over time, we've almost filled in the middle gap and now, for the dustbath, we've got an Ikea storage tub (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90027811)

 

I fear the rain/snow will just drift in from the 2 open sides and make it a damp mush or will it?

I think you're right and that's why our girls are protected on all sides now. We only covered the front a couple of weeks ago because I was worried about my partly bald hens (rescues) who were shivering in the Xmas cold snap!

[FiggyPudding]

there is always such great advice on here !

 

As advised on here I bought 4 x ikea shower curtains, I think they are 79p each ? Anway, I had pegged up 2, but this morning was out nailing the four up. The front is covered & the sides are half covered. The back is open. It appears the snow was coming in the front. I'm hoping it will do the job, even if just a temporary one.

 

I think the wooden panels is a great idea for our north side.

 

I'm dreading the snow melt because the roof on the WIR is useless, it's oduline but,due to having 2 rows of the stuff, the water pours in. I am trying to replace it with PVC...

 

For the blinds, where do you buy them & how do you fix them up (& down) ?

[chick wiggle]

The clear tarps have proper eyelets on all sides so we just screwed in some hooks along the top of the run to hook them onto and weight them down with a brick, then when the weathers a bit warmer they are easily hooked back up out of the way.

[atsw]

The clear tarps have proper eyelets on all sides so we just screwed in some hooks along the top of the run to hook them onto and weight them down with a brick, then when the weathers a bit warmer they are easily hooked back up out of the way.

Snap

 

 

Andrew