To cover the run...or not.

[NothingButKaka]

Hi everyone! So we are currently finishing up our chicken coop and in the process of converting the old playhouse into the chicken coop we added a large 20x11 foot run onto it. We live in a mostly wooded area so my thought process was to cover 1/3 of the run incase it rains. I decided to cover the part of the run farther away from the chicken coop because I was thinking along the lines of sunlight - the area farthest away from the coop has more trees and less likely to allow sunlight in. Now after the run is secured and protected I now see that probably wasn't the smartest because my poor chickens would have to run outside into the rain or snow across the run to get to the covered part. I would hate to undo all my hard work and I honestly love how it is turning out! I love that the covered part is away from the house despite everyone else disagreeing.

I guess my question is...should I cover the whole run? I read they LOVE sunlight and I would hate to take that away from them. What about the clear plastic roofing material? I currently used the metal roofing sheets for the covered part. Would the clear allow sunlight in or just end up getting covered in leaves and dirty?

I don't know about free range just yet, like I mentioned we live in a wooded area mostly and that means more predators. I also will have over 20 chickens (and 2 ducks) when it is all said and done and I don't know if they all will abide and stay in my yard?

Picture for reference! Also be nice, I think we did very well - it also is not 100% complete yet!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hi everyone! So we are currently finishing up our chicken coop and in the process of converting the old playhouse into the chicken coop we added a large 20x11 foot run onto it. We live in a mostly wooded area so my thought process was to cover 1/3 of the run incase it rains. I decided to cover the part of the run farther away from the chicken coop because I was thinking along the lines of sunlight - the area farthest away from the coop has more trees and less likely to allow sunlight in. Now after the run is secured and protected I now see that probably wasn't the smartest because my poor chickens would have to run outside into the rain or snow across the run to get to the covered part. I would hate to undo all my hard work and I honestly love how it is turning out! I love that the covered part is away from the house despite everyone else disagreeing.

I guess my question is...should I cover the whole run? I read they LOVE sunlight and I would hate to take that away from them. What about the clear plastic roofing material? I currently used the metal roofing sheets for the covered part. Would the clear allow sunlight in or just end up getting covered in leaves and dirty?

I don't know about free range just yet, like I mentioned we live in a wooded area mostly and that means more predators. I also will have over 20 chickens (and 2 ducks) when it is all said and done and I don't know if they all will abide and stay in my yard?

Picture for reference! Also be nice, I think we did very well - it also is not 100% complete yet!

Welcome to BYC!
I would say 99% of folks on BYC are nice, so not sure what you’re worried about!
Most responses will be helpful, some people are a little curt in their replies and as tone is difficult to convey in a post, can be easily misread.
Anyway it looks like you have a nice set up for your birds. If it were me I would cover the run completely and make it as predator proof as possible. This can be expensive though.
Clear plastic over some of it would let in quite a bit of sunlight. They should also be able to get sunlight from the sides of the run.
Hopefully others will chime in and give you some good advice!

 

[My Bagurks]

First of all, the coop looks great. They’ll be very happy. What direction the coop and all face can help you decide.
My coop is facing south and I’m in Alabama. It has SOME cover from trees so the evening sun doesn’t hit the coop directly. But they got sun the rest of the day. I noticed they were getting overheated so I added shade cloth on the section outside their coop. I have since replaced it with a tarp to block it completely. Mainly to cover the feeders and I made a maternity ward just outside the coop. But I digress.

I would give them some cover right next to the coop but leave a section for sun. I put a few roofing panels on the far side of the run and my chickens frequently brave storms and such to go to that end and sit on the perches.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

You absolutely don't have to cover the run, but maybe in the future. I love the look of clearish tarps, it allows lots of sunlight and looks very nice on the inside.

 

[NothingButKaka]

Welcome to BYC!
I would say 99% of folks on BYC are nice, so not sure what you’re worried about!
Most responses will be helpful, some people are a little curt in their replies and as tone is difficult to convey in a post, can be easily misread.
Anyway it looks like you have a nice set up for your birds. If it were me I would cover the run completely and make it as predator proof as possible. This can be expensive though.
Clear plastic over some of it would let in quite a bit of sunlight. They should also be able to get sunlight from the sides of the run.
Hopefully others will chime in and give you some good advice!

Thank you! I just remember (so silly) on the show Orange is the New Black where they had chickens and the chickens stopped laying eggs because the whole run was covered and they wanted sunlight. I just want my chickens to be happy! The top of the run - probably hard to see is 100% covered in hardware cloth / chicken wire and they are hand braided together with metal wire along with stapled and zip tied (metal and plastic) to secure to the wood.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Sounds good!
I have my entire runs also covered in hardware cloth and I use clear/white plastic tarps, high-quality heavy duty ones, to give them protection from the elements. Does seem to work well.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Mine is covered with tarps. My birds need shade in the summer and protection from snow in the winter. They also have access to a yard surrounded by electric netting and covered with heavy duty aviary netting, do they get plenty of sun. But you are 100% right that they do love sun!

If they are going to be penned year-round, you might consider covering part of it to give them some room to roam in inclement weather. It's up to you.

It looks fantastic! Nice work!

 

[aart]

or snow

Snow would be factor, depending on how much you get where you live.
Could be very good to have a covered run in winter, since your coop doesn't look big enough to house 22 birds and the extra space would be good.
You may need to be able to remove some snow if the framing sin't strung enough to hold the load.

Welcome to BYC! @NothingButKaka
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[NothingButKaka]

Snow would be factor, depending on how much you get where you live.
Could be very good to have a covered run in winter, since your coop doesn't look big enough to house 22 birds and the extra space would be good.
You may need to be able to remove some snow if the framing sin't strung enough to hold the load.

Welcome to BYC! @NothingButKaka
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3064361

Thank you! I live in Pennsylvania where the winters can be either extremely cold, wet and snowy or mild so it all depends. The coop has an upper floor primarily where the roosting will be and the lower floor where the nesting boxes are. We will see what happens, lol.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Thank you! I live in Pennsylvania where the winters can be either extremely cold, wet and snowy or mild so it all depends. The coop has an upper floor primarily where the roosting will be and the lower floor where the nesting boxes are. We will see what happens, lol.

The way you have the run set up now will make it fairly easy to add a metal roof. I’d highly recommend covering the whole thing because if you have crappy weather during the winter, your girls will need someplace to go other than the coop. I agree with aart, that coop looks awfully small for the number of birds you want. You’ll probably want to wrap your run with clear plastic sheeting too. Check out my coop for other roofing options. Maybe do a hoop roof on the far end that you can remove during the summer.