Chicken run shelter ideas!

[Ashleyboz]

We have a big well built coop and a few smaller pens built for turn out juveniles Inside of our main coop. Most poultry are a month old and up. We have a nice green pasture right beside our house and want to get them out there. The run is about 20’ x 100’ if not bigger. Some will be laying soon and some won’t. My husband has built some nice pens and smaller coops for my bantams and don’t want this project to be another big project for him. This run will be temporary (4 months since it gets cold here, ND) Has anyone built diy chicken shelters that didn’t break the bank? We have pallets laying around and maybe could use some big barrels we also have. We would like to make a few smaller shelters rather then one big one! Or does someone have suggestions? Some ideas would be much appreciated!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are these shelters just for day use to give them a place to go to get out of the sun or weather if they wish or are you planning on them sleeping there at night? Do you need to keep food dry in them? Are they for hawk protection? How many chicks are you talking about?

It would be a lot easier to come up with suggestions if I knew why you wanted shelters out there. I have an area of about 2,000 square feet. The only "shelter" they have out there are a few fruit and nut trees.

 

[Ashleyboz]

Are these shelters just for day use to give them a place to go to get out of the sun or weather if they wish or are you planning on them sleeping there at night? Do you need to keep food dry in them? Are they for hawk protection? How many chicks are you talking about?

It would be a lot easier to come up with suggestions if I knew why you wanted shelters out there. I have an area of about 2,000 square feet. The only "shelter" they have out there are a few fruit and nut trees.

Absolutely. We will be putting up heavy duty netting on top for hawks and owls. The panels will be reenforced so we don’t have to deal with coyotes and fox. They will be out there semi permanently. When snow starts flying or temps drop they will be going back to their building. I would absolutely love them to just be let out and then go where they want with the other older hens but they are little and we have predators around here. I don’t want them cooped up when we have outside fields they could enjoy. We will make sure they will have shade to resort to but I also wanted shelters. It might not even be necessary. I am breeding bantams and crosses and would like a little more security then our big hens get outside.

 

[21hens-incharge]

How about hoop coop tractors?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/top-10-hoop-coop-ideas.76490/

 

[Ridgerunner]

It sounds like you plan to leave them out there 24/7 for about 4 months. That means a dry place for food. If you consider that "run" to be totally predator proof you don't need to lock them up at night but I'd want that capability in case you find out you do need to securely lock them up. I assume that 20' x 100' run is for these bantams, not the other chickens. They are a month old now and you plan to leave them out there for four more months, so they may be old enough to start laying before you move them back. If you don't provide nests they will make their own if they need them. You can nest train them when you get them back to the main coop/run if they do start laying.

I'd go with one larger shelter, not several smaller ones. The purpose of the shelter is to provide a place to sleep, to keep the feed dry, and shade. They tend to want to sleep together. Maybe go on Craigslist and look for used building materials. Structural wood would be good but I'd be looking for used tin roofing or some kind of panels. They will probably have nail or screw holes in them so they may leak some but as long as you can keep the food dry and give the area great ventilation that probably won't matter. They could sleep in trees in your summer as far as the weather goes but keep the feed dry.

You'll need to manage the poop under the roosts to keep it from building up enough to stay wet. To me that area is your main concern. So position it in a location that water drains away from it, not to it. And try to give good ventilation.