Chicken bald back

[Lara and Frey]

Hi all, I was just wondering if there is any reason any of you know why a large aluminium fruit cage can't be used as a walk in run. I have go the chicken bug after getting my 3 girls a week ago and as I hope to have an allotment soon I was wondering if a large fruit cage would do as a walk in run (with a bit of modification at the base to make it more secure against foxes etc.). I just wanted to know if anyone has done this themselves and found it good or knows of any reasons why it wouldn't be suitable. They're cheaper than a walk in run but look similar build wise so look a good option to a novice like myself. I plan to put the coop fully inside it if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance.

[good_egg]

I think it depends what you cover the fruit cage in... Fruit netting isn't fox proof obviously, but neither is chicken wire completely so most WIR use weldmesh which might be expensive/difficult to attach to a fruit cage... That said I'm sure when I was planning my WIR and trailing through the three threads on the eglus cubes and runs section of the forum someone did use a fruit cage - I would have a read through there if I was you...

[Lara and Frey]

Cheers, I'll give it a read.

[sarabb4]

How wierdWe are literally putting up a fruit age as a walk in run today! I have cube with a standard run, which will be inside the fruit age... I did quite a bit of research. For me, I know it is not in the slightest bit fox or vermin proof. However, it is much bigger than the cube run and much cheaper than any WIR I was able to find. It will work for me when I don't want them penned up but also feel uneasy about them free ranging... I think it will be enuff to prevent an opportunistic cat/fox attack in the day or when we're the other side of the garden, which is quite large.. Our garden is also hard to make escape-proof so I also wanted something to keep the chickens in as well as predators out..., the omlet netting does this to some extent, bit the fruit cage will have a roof! I'll prob post on here sometime about how it all works out! Horrods agricultural do a fruit cage which they also deem a chicken run.....

[Lara and Frey]

I hope the fruit cage works well for you. That's the company I'd looked at too. They do look fairly good as a WIR. Please let me know how you find it works for you. Like yourself I plan to have either a cube with run or 2 eglu classics in it for more security but the WIR to give them more space to roam without free ranging. As they will be on an allotment plot I don't want them escaping and eating someone else's veg (I'd prefer to keep them off mine too lol) but I also want them to have a bit more space. Fingers crossed you'll give your fruit cage a glowing review and I'll definitely be after one. I wish I had the money for an Omlet one but way over my budget. I know they're not vermin or predator proof but I'm sure I could adapt them to make them a bit safer and it will only really be for use when we are around getting on with jobs around the allotment which is about 3 mins walk from the house. Just have to keep my fingers crossed I end up top of the list of interested parties for the derelict plot otherwise I'll have another 5 or 6 years to wait for one so will be asking he local farmers if I can rent some land from them instead which may be the best option anyway as then I can gets some ducks as well and maybe a couple of goats. We'll see what happens with this plot round the corner

[Lavenders_Blue]

I don't wish to alarm anyone, but I can promise you that a fox would be able to chew through chicken wire (if that is what you are planning to use) in less time than you think. My chicken pen used to be fenced with chicken wire - it was built before we got the dog so the aim was to keep the chooks in, not predators out. Not long after we got the dog she ended up in the garden without us realising, I thought hubby had taken her back in the house, and he thought I had taken her back in. As it turned out she was in the garden by herself and in less than 60 seconds had chewed her way through the chicken wire, into the chicken pen and had killed my Dorothy

Suffice to say, next day we were out purchasing weld mesh and reinforcing the run. Please don't rely on anything less than weldmesh if you think you are at risk of a fox/dog attack.