Run is up against my house

[Pandamoore28]

My chicken run is along the back and the side of my house. It’s probably about 20 wide along the back and then 30 feet along the side. I lost two chickens to my dog, one after I clipped its wings, when they flew over the fence. I’ve built up the fence but would like to put a roof or netting of some sort along the top. Has anyone ever attached something to the side/wall of their house to secure the run? I’m renting so don’t want to do too much construction but willing to do what it takes to keep my chickens safe.

Also, am I the only one who doesn’t really like bird netting because it tears and droops as the season goes on, making it so I would need to replace it every year? I live in Utah so we get all the seasons and all the weather. So, suggestions on something that won’t need to be replaced annually?

Thanks!
Andrea

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Former Utahn here. I used netting from Pinnon Hatch (https://pinnonhatch.com/). It’s netting and I agree with you that netting sucks-especially in that wet slushy snow Utah often gets. But we had ours for years with no signs of wear and it was STRONG. You would definitely not have to replace it. It will sag in heavy snow but it bounces right back and it never broke and caused an avalanche in my run. So that’s my two cents on that.
As for using your house as a part of the run that was illegal in Salt Lake County. Our coops had to be 25’ from any residential building. Which is rough when you live in the city on less than half an acre. Regardless of the legality I wouldn’t do this for two reasons: rats and chicken poop. They both stink and you don’t want them near your house. You might not get rats (our property came with them because of the neighbors’ gardens and chickens) but you will get chicken poop and I can’t think of a worse smell than wet chicken poop in a wet Utah spring. Even with good drainage and substrate it’s still more likely than not to happen if it rains for more than three hours.
Someone else might have some more useful advice for you.

 

[ChaosMom]

I would also try to imagine how the landlord would react…

 

[Pandamoore28]

I would also try to imagine how the landlord would react…

Yeah. It’s my sister’s house and she put the run and coop there decades ago. I’m just using it and trying to improve on it.

 

[ChaosMom]

Yeah. It’s my sister’s house and she put the run and coop there decades ago. I’m just using it and trying to improve on it.

Ok, that’s very different then.

I would think that Serious (= heavy-duty) netting, as mentioned by @BlindLemonChicken, would be what you want. Maybe attach it to something like electrical conduit (metal pipes) on the side of the netting that attaches to the house, in order to minimize the number of holes you’d have to drill into the siding and have a good clean attachment to the wall.

How tall is your fence? There’s bound to be some sag, and you do want to be able to walk underneath.

 

[Brenny]

My chicken run is along the back and the side of my house. It’s probably about 20 wide along the back and then 30 feet along the side. I lost two chickens to my dog, one after I clipped its wings, when they flew over the fence. I’ve built up the fence but would like to put a roof or netting of some sort along the top. Has anyone ever attached something to the side/wall of their house to secure the run? I’m renting so don’t want to do too much construction but willing to do what it takes to keep my chickens safe.

Also, am I the only one who doesn’t really like bird netting because it tears and droops as the season goes on, making it so I would need to replace it every year? I live in Utah so we get all the seasons and all the weather. So, suggestions on something that won’t need to be replaced annually?

Thanks!
Andrea

 

[stephmarie333]

We have our run against our barn because we converted a stall into a coop. My husband just used wood beams every so often and put hardware cloth all around includingathe top. We have all 4 seasons and it's held up for over 5 years now.

But I also want to comment about rats...make sure you have a plan for feed that keeps it locked up. I know someone who had a similar set up and ended up with a rat and mice problem in their house because the feed lured them in.

Then the county came and said they had to move it.

 

[Brenny]

I put up the outdoor sunshade material over my chicken coop last year. My backyard has very little shade, so was trying to make a cooler place for my chickens. They haven't flown out since, and the material may sag with a snow load, but it bounces back as it melts. I've also used a plastic snow shovel to lift the saggy parts and roll the snow off. Had an owl attempt to get into the run, and he got tangled up in the fabric before he got in. It's inexpensive, comes in different sizes, has grommets, but it's also easy to push a zip tie thru the loose woven fabric to place fasteners closer together. On Amazon.

 

[Pandamoore28]

Ok, that’s very different then.

I would think that Serious (= heavy-duty) netting, as mentioned by @BlindLemonChicken, would be what you want. Maybe attach it to something like electrical conduit (metal pipes) on the side of the netting that attaches to the house, in order to minimize the number of holes you’d have to drill into the siding and have a good clean attachment to the wall.

How tall is your fence? There’s bound to be some sag, and you do want to be able to walk underneath.

I like the idea of the conduit. I didn’t think about that. Thanks! The fence is currently about 8 feet tall as I added fencing to the existing fencing after the unfortunate loss of the chickens. I’m thinking of putting the netting at an angle higher at the house and down to help with the sag and snow.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I think I would just drive in a few t-posts close to the house to hold the netting up. Unless there are underground utilities in the area.