Build a Chicken Run as a Safety Environment for the Flock

Most appropriate setup for breeding chickens is chicken coop that is surrounded by a chicken run. The benefits of providing the poultry with organized space to live in are many, including:

–    Controlled conditions in the surroundings

–    Safeness and security and

–    Minimization of risks.

Controlled Conditions in the Surroundings

Weather conditions are an important factor in farming but they cannot be controlled. Instead of counting on the weather forecast accuracy, you better think to protect your chickens from the heavy weather or some sudden happenings, such are summer storms. Extreme heat or cold wind represents no harm for your flock if it has gathered in the coop. An elevated coop demands wooden floor while the regular one can use the simple ground as a floor. The second one is not a recommended solution. The soil absorbs moisture, and there is a great chance for your chickens to have wet and cold legs what may cause some common cold. Although you cannot prevent rain, you can prevent possible negative effects.

As opposed to weather conditions, hygienic conditions also play an important role in the healthy growth of your chickens and they are controllable. The chicken run is a confined space where the poultry spends most of the day. It has to be maintained on the regular basis. If you would allow your birds to run freely all over the courtyard, maintaining would be almost impossible to conduct without investing extremely lot of time and effort. To clean the droppings, change water, or arrange the straw, you will need only an hour even if the coop is large in size. Excellent hygienic conditions will prevent spreading of microorganisms and possible disease. You can count on the stable eggs production if your chickens grow protected in the clear environment.

Safeness and Security

The main purpose of the chicken run is to provide safeness to your birds. It is not some modern trend you should follow for wrong reasons. It is a bare necessity included in the contemporary standards of growing the poultry. If time is money, you can save both of them with an initial decision to build a chicken run. First of all, you will provide the birds with the confined space they can enjoy the most time of the day, whether they intend to run freely or just to take a nap in the shadow. Such conditions are highly humane, and the improvised bird cages where the chickens live compressed to each other are a past. Moreover, a wider space at your disposal will enable you to move around, feed the flock, and maintain the facility. Usually, the chickens have been gathered at dusk and closed in the coop. Secure confined space of the chicken run extends the time in which they can get around. Since they can reach coop at any time, they can find easily a shelter from the sun or wind or they can simply sleep therein during the day.

Chicken coop netting is utmost important for the quality of the chicken housing. Open air is usually surrounded by the chicken wire while the top is covered with hardware cloth over the chicken wire ceiling. If there is no possibility to install a coop under large trees, hardware cloth may serve as a shade cloth too. By the age of six weeks, chickens need some permanent place to live in. Different timbering has been used for that purpose, mostly cedar or redwood. Pressure treated timbering is harmful to chickens. It contains heavy metals that affect the birds’ health. Modern farmers consider the building of simple settings a weekend project. Before you begin, think of the adequate size and location, and collect all necessary information. Chicken coop netting is essential for the survival of the flock. It will confine the space they are allowed to get around after leaving the coop. The place where they will move freely during the day is not the place where they are going to sleep and lay eggs. The enclosed space of the coop should be connected to the chicken run. As the later is exposed to predators, predator proof chicken run is the only solution that provides your flock with an additional security.

Interior and Exterior of the Chicken House

Interior and exterior of an appropriate chicken house demand equal attention. The interior should be equipped with the water device and the feeder. They should remain at birds’ disposal at any time.  Nest boxes must be soft, clean and comfortable. Most chickens lay eggs in the morning. By keeping them in the coop, you prevent laying eggs in some other places. It is recommended to place nest boxes off the ground. The habit of sleeping and nesting in upper areas is what chickens inherited from their predecessors. The ground should be covered with the thick layer of a straw that serves to absorb droppings and moisture. Keep in mind the importance of the ventilation. A circulation off the fresh air prevents the collecting of microorganisms and it is important precondition of the healthy environment. Chicken coop netting also applies to windows, since they might be the entrance for predators as well.

The exterior of the coop is a chicken run intended for the daily activities of the poultry. The run should be organized on the spacious surface that guarantees enough room for chickens. Most of their daily activities are taking place here. By proper installation in accordance with the standards, heavy weather conditions or the predators will not do any harm to the flock. It will run freely or take a rest in the shadow while you spare time and effort to constantly keep an eye on them.