Peacocks

[mole]

ha ha i said i was going to be asking lots of silly questions!

 

so do you have to have a roof on a WIR? or are the hens ok if they have somewhere to go if it rains? they will be free ranging but need a place they can go when im not around

[Lewis]

I'd cover it

 

If its concrete, it will keep the bedding dry, if its earth it'll keep it dry too

 

Also gives the hens somewhere to shelter.

[Falkor]

My WIR is covered because I use Abiose horse bedding inside and this needs to be kept dry however the girls garden is NOT covered and it bare earth (used to be grass). Bare earth is ok in this weather but in the winter and rain is can get a big minging.

 

Garden Lime and Stalosan F is great for de-minging areas. Skimming off the top layer of soil is a good idea too.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I would say definitely, yes - rain, chicken poo and bedding and/or earth are not a good combination .

[mole]

hmmm that makes it a bit tricky but not impossible,

 

anyone good with problem sloving?!

[Falkor]

My girls never go back into the WIR when they are free ranging......most of them tend to find a bush to shelter under. Only Rum, my daft bitza likes to feel the rain on her face and stays out in all weathers until i scoop her up and return her to the run

 

A roof on a WIR makes clean out day SO much nicer too

[bronze]

I agree with yes

Its not the chickens that need to be kept dry its the bedding (auboise here too)

[Redwing]

I'm building (and have been for some time ) a large run in our field, its too big to roof so part of it will be roofed and part left uncovered, we will use woodchips as a run litter, these are not so bad if they get wet so maybe consider a part roofed run

 

You could consider a tarp roof but this will sag under weight of water

[Egluntyne]

I'd put a roof on it for the following reasons:

 

1. To stop predators getting in.

 

2. Too limit the spread of disease by wild birds.

 

3. To comply with DEFRA regs in the event of a Bird Flu scare.

 

4. To provide them with some shelter from the elements.

[Purplemaniacs]

We put a roof on ours, to keep the bedding dry, it has not rained here since we built it , I would think it needs a roof.

 

Chrissie

[Janty]

I was just going to mention bird flu. We had bird flu restrictions in place within months of us getting our girls in 2007. We had to keep them completely covered with no FR at all. A run without a roof would make life very difficult if bird flu was discovered in your area.