Amazon Chicken Runs Yay or Nay?

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

Looking to expand my coop/run for my girls. Currently I have 3 hens in a small coop made from scraps. The run is probably 8-10 feet long by about 4 feet wide. Today I added 3 chicks, so will have a total of 6. So in a few months I want to have them in a bigger coop and run. I have a space about 10 feet wide and can go up to 40 or 50 feet long. The area is fully shaded in the summer.
I was thinking of building a new coop to fit them all and buying the chicken runs on Amazon, and do a little modification. But I'm concerned about the quality of the metal pole runs. Looking for people who use them and their opinion on them.
My first option is the Amazon chicken runs and lay down a sacrificial wood base to attach the run to. Was thinking of railroad ties or pressure-treated 4"x4"s. But unsure how safe those materials would be in the run. With that I could do a large area pretty inexpensive. I would add corrugated steel around the bottom section to protect from winds and predators.

My second option would be to put wood posts in the ground and use something like hardware cloth or chain link fencing. But that option would be a little harder to add a roof onto. On the plus side, the run would be under trees and I'm not sure the hawks could swoop down between them. I could run an electric fence around the bottom as well to keep critters at bay. But being full shade I'm not sure I could get a solar powered fence to operate there.

Seeking some opinions on an economical and secure way to build out this area. Also, with this square footage, how many could I have without having them crammed in there. I feel like 40x10 for 6-10 total is plenty of room for them to not feel "cooped" up.

 

[Evadig]

Was thinking of railroad ties or pressure-treated 4"x4"s. But unsure how safe those materials would be in the run.

I have no experience with other parts of your question, but just want to say my whole coop is made of pressure treated wood, and it doesn't seem to bother my hens .

 

[Sefirothe]

Your location would help. I’ve seen those metal pole runs collapse under not much snow in our fairly mild winters (climate change much?) here in northeastern Pennsylvania.

 

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

I have no experience with other parts of your question, but just want to say my whole coop is made of pressure treated wood, and it doesn't seem to bother my hens .

From what I understand so far is the pressure-treating method is different now than it was years ago. And apparently, it's much safer.

 

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

Your location would help. I’ve seen those metal pole runs collapse under not much snow in our fairly mild winters (climate change much?) here in northeastern Pennsylvania.

I'm in Central Tennessee. About an hour and a half west of Nashville. I'm told that it doesn't snow much here. Usually a dusting. But I've lived here 2 years now and the first year was a lot of snow. This past year we had one snow storm that dumped a small amount. But we've had a very warm winter this year.
Though we do get high winds, I tend not to get them as much. The way the property is positioned helps. It's on a hill, then another hill goes up the side. Almost terraced. But during tornado outbreaks I can get some mild wind. I'd say nothing crazy yet.

 

[aart]

buying the chicken runs on Amazon

You need to link the exact run you are looking at, if you want viable advice on them.

I'm in Central Tennessee

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[springvalley123]

I used to have the type of run you're talking about. It snapped together like vacuum cleaner attachments. The poles were about 1.25 inch outside diameter. The run was about 10c13.5 feet, cost about $350 (a few years ago, would be more with inflation). but I was into it easily $900 by the time I added no climb fencing for the top, a usable 12x12 tarp (because that's what it needed), and 4 ft, half inch hardware cloth, plus a no dig apron of 14 gage rabbit wire.

I had decent winds, it survived a 75 mph gust day with no damage. It had a good 4 inches of snow on it overnight, I easily swept it off in the morning. A sharp contrast to the dog kennel that I had tarps and only a 1 ft pitch to, which nearly collapsed under the rain load.

Inside it I built a roost using scrap lumber. I used shade cloth both for a wind break and for sun break.

I used my own bungees, black zip ties, as well. only the poles and metal fittings from the run were usable. The chicken wire and zip ties were not.

I recommend this, as long as it's reinforced. Oh, I bought about 10 of the heavy duty, foot long trampoline stakes and had to have someone pound them in with a heavy hammer into the caliche. If you don't have caliche and solid rock for soil, my experience won't mean much in terms of wind stability.

Best of luck!

 

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

I used to have the type of run you're talking about. It snapped together like vacuum cleaner attachments. The poles were about 1.25 inch outside diameter. The run was about 10c13.5 feet, cost about $350 (a few years ago, would be more with inflation). but I was into it easily $900 by the time I added no climb fencing for the top, a usable 12x12 tarp (because that's what it needed), and 4 ft, half inch hardware cloth, plus a no dig apron of 14 gage rabbit wire.

I had decent winds, it survived a 75 mph gust day with no damage. It had a good 4 inches of snow on it overnight, I easily swept it off in the morning. A sharp contrast to the dog kennel that I had tarps and only a 1 ft pitch to, which nearly collapsed under the rain load.

Inside it I built a roost using scrap lumber. I used shade cloth both for a wind break and for sun break.

I used my own bungees, black zip ties, as well. only the poles and metal fittings from the run were usable. The chicken wire and zip ties were not.

I recommend this, as long as it's reinforced. Oh, I bought about 10 of the heavy duty, foot long trampoline stakes and had to have someone pound them in with a heavy hammer into the caliche. If you don't have caliche and solid rock for soil, my experience won't mean much in terms of wind stability.

Best of luck!

I have pretty poor ground. Rocks and clay. That's why I was thinking of doing some heavy duty wood for the base. Then I could attach the run to that to keep it from blowing away. It also seems like replacement parts would be easy to come by if I needed them. I figured I'd have to add my own hardware cloth or other option to replace the standard netting.

 

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

You need to link the exact run you are looking at, if you want viable advice on them.


Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3775444

Thanks. Added my location. The runs I am looking at are these ones here. They are thin-gauged metal piping. I can see the netting is pretty cheap and I'd have to add my own. But wondering how sturdy they are in people's experience.
https://www.amazon.com/Lyromix-Meta...11869&sprefix=chicken+run,aps,119&sr=8-7&th=1

 

[springvalley123]

I have pretty poor ground. Rocks and clay. That's why I was thinking of doing some heavy duty wood for the base. Then I could attach the run to that to keep it from blowing away. It also seems like replacement parts would be easy to come by if I needed them. I figured I'd have to add my own hardware cloth or other option to replace the standard netting.

The rocks and clay sound good. If you have tornado-like winds, another option is to drive T-posts into the ground next to the vertical posts of the run, and use pipe clamps (metal) to attach the T-posts to the vertical posts of the run after the hardware cloth is up.