gallinas Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi All, My husband and I are thinking of building a WIR over the Easter break however we don't know where to start Has anyone built their own and able to offer advice? Alternatively can anyone recommend a good place to buy? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I have had 2 from here http://www.petpens4u.co.uk/prod_list.asp?catid=28&Name=Chicken/Poultry%20Housing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffeta Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I built one last week! Well, I say me but I had loads of help from my lovely hubby. We put down a slabbed base then made wood and mesh panels and screwed them all together. It was hard work and took us about a week from start to finish but it looks fab and will make life so much nicer for me and my girls. When I was in your position I posted for help and loads of lovely Omleteers gave me advice and encouragement. I think my thread was titled " Can a DIY novice build a WIR?" It had lots of useful photos and ideas. I think you should go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzieLloyd Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 We bought ours from Bay Animal Housing on eBay last year but it looks like they are no longer trading. Its a shame as the product was really good quality and value for money. You will definitely need three or four pairs of hands to help you assemble one and especially to more it into position. We built ours on a large flat surface before moving it into its final position. That way we were sure it was square and true without having to keep getting out the spirit level and set square! You really will be glad if you take the plunge and build one as it does make life much easier and gives the chickens much more space to play in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alet_chicken Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi, Bay Animal Housing is still trading. Their new name is petpens4u. I had a WIR from them in 2010, and can recommend them. This is my run (by which I mean the Cube and chickens are mine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hi, We are just about to start building one - ordered the panels from West Hagley Aviaries - http://www.westhagleyaviaries.co.uk/ And im just about to order the roof from http://www.cabp.co.uk/acatalog/pvc_roof_sheets.html as they seem very good value and wood chip from http://www.mjgiddings.co.uk/products.asp?recid=175 as they deliver for free 70L bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 We built ours from scratch, ok OH built it from scratch We looked at lots of posts on the forum and then planned it out carefully on paper, the site gets narrower so the end panels at one end are smaller and then we added a couple of extra panels with internal doors that can be closed to make two seperate runs for the introduction of new chooks. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaspersmum Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 We also made our own (ok OH made it I was in charge of refreshments and passing the screws) we had a look at Aviaries 4U and other suppliers and basically took the best ideas from all of them. Lots of clever things like access doors and partition walls to drool over. We think we ended up saving about half the cost of a pre-made one and it also perfectly fits the space we have. We also used a slabbed base - large 60x60 slabs from B&Q I think - they worked out the cheapest. Then we got wood and weldmesh (inch by half inch) from Wickes - again the cheapest we could find for good quality materials; I think they also deliver free/fairly cheaply depending on how much you buy. Don't use chicken wire for the run, this isn't strong enough to keep Mr Fox out. We built each of the panels to fit the width of the wire mesh to avoid lots of fiddly cutting and we made the height of each panel the same as the uncut lengths of wood; the only cutting you have to do then is the wood for the tops and bottoms of the panels. I think this made our run about 8ft tall by 8ft deep by 12 foot wide. We put a clear corrugated plastic roof on screwing it to the edges and the cross pieces we used to make the run more rigid. It's not a difficult job once you work out how to make the first panel - just a bit fiddly and time consuming; as the previous comment said - planning it all out on paper helps with working out materials and cutting all the pieces. Good luck and happy building!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzieLloyd Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hi, Bay Animal Housing is still trading. Their new name is petpens4u. I had a WIR from them in 2010, and can recommend them. This is my run (by which I mean the Cube and chickens are mine). Thats really good news as the run we bought from them is brill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gallinas Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Thanks for all your great feedback everyone! We have decided that we are going to take the challenge and build our own However I have no doubt that there will be alot of this along the way! Now just need recommendations on which materials to buy e.g. pressure treated wood vs normal wood etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Treated wood unless you want to spend each year painting it with preservative. The best wire is weldmesh cheapest from Hills of Devon. I would recommend a power drill and screwdriver, new blade for your saw, any wire cutters, pair of thick gloves and big box of self tapping screws. You can staple the wire to the wood but mine has it screwed on with wide head screws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsley Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I would recommend a power drill and screwdriver, new blade for your saw, any wire cutters, pair of thick gloves and big box of self tapping screws. You can staple the wire to the wood but mine has it screwed on with wide head screws And a swear box which will probably raise enough money for the next run and a huge bottle of wine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Our panels are being delivered on Monday - need to stock up on wine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
