Why You Should Build a Chicken House Run
A chicken house run, sometimes called a hen pen, is the protected outdoor area attached to the coop, where the chickens can roam safely while they forage, hunt for insects and get the fresh air they need. It also helps to keep your flowers, vegetables and other plants looking good rather than being hen-pecked!
Pens are intended to give poultry plenty of room to move about because birds that are overcrowded tend to stress themselves more easily and can stop laying. Hens need space, the more the better, although this will depend largely on the backyard.
The chicken pen should have plenty of green vegetation growing in it for the chickens to eat, otherwise they will need daily feeding. Remember that hens also need access to water, because they tend to sweat easily especially in summer. If their beaks are open and their wings splayed, they are thirsty.
Hens are placid animals that are easy targets for many types of predator, including raccoons, weasels, foxes, hawks, rats and neighborhood cats and dogs. It is your responsibility to provide proper shelter for your hens, so your chicken run must be designed to give them a safe environment in which to live happily and healthily.
There is nothing complicated about a hen pen, but it has to be built properly. For example, if the wire mesh is not buried sufficiently in the ground, rodents will be able to dig underneath and get access to the hen house. No fresh eggs for breakfast for you! This is where you should think about getting some tips and advice from experts knowledgeable in keeping and rearing chickens.
Look at the wire mesh on a regular basis, because it is quite common for foxes or dogs to gnaw away at the wire over time to make a big enough hole to get in. We positioned our coop and pen so that they could be seen from the kitchen table, a lesson learnt from sad experience.
You might want to think about installing some sort of drainage for the chicken pen as well. Hens can make their pen quite messy after a while, and rain will make things worse. Ideally the pen should be sited on slightly sloping ground, which will help keep the area reasonably dry. Some chicken keepers put tarpaulins or even permanent roofing over their pens but this can be an expensive option and is not really necessary if the pen is large enough.
Instead of a permanent pen you could think about making a chicken tractor or portable chicken coop, sometimes also known as a chicken ark. A chicken tractor is a simple structure which combines a coop or nesting box with an attached run. The tractor can be moved around to give the hens fresh weeds and bugs, and to preserve your backyard. It also gives your garden free fertilizer! However, because the tractor has to be mobile it can be quite small, perhaps 6 to 8 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide, so is suitable for only a few hens at a time. These portable chicken coops are very cheap and easy to make, however, so you could have several dotted around your backyard if you have lots of hens.
From experience it makes sense to get expert advice before making your chicken run, unless you are familiar with space, feeding, shelter and health requirements for keeping chickens. Putting up a chicken pen is very straightforward but, if you don’t know what you’re doing, it is so easy to underestimate what your chickens need to survive and prosper. They will pay you back with a regular supply of lovely free-range eggs.
By: Kieran Gracie
About the Author:
Pens are intended to give poultry plenty of room to move about because birds that are overcrowded tend to stress themselves more easily and can stop laying. Hens need space, the more the better, although this will depend largely on the backyard.
The chicken pen should have plenty of green vegetation growing in it for the chickens to eat, otherwise they will need daily feeding. Remember that hens also need access to water, because they tend to sweat easily especially in summer. If their beaks are open and their wings splayed, they are thirsty.
Hens are placid animals that are easy targets for many types of predator, including raccoons, weasels, foxes, hawks, rats and neighborhood cats and dogs. It is your responsibility to provide proper shelter for your hens, so your chicken run must be designed to give them a safe environment in which to live happily and healthily.
There is nothing complicated about a hen pen, but it has to be built properly. For example, if the wire mesh is not buried sufficiently in the ground, rodents will be able to dig underneath and get access to the hen house. No fresh eggs for breakfast for you! This is where you should think about getting some tips and advice from experts knowledgeable in keeping and rearing chickens.
Look at the wire mesh on a regular basis, because it is quite common for foxes or dogs to gnaw away at the wire over time to make a big enough hole to get in. We positioned our coop and pen so that they could be seen from the kitchen table, a lesson learnt from sad experience.
You might want to think about installing some sort of drainage for the chicken pen as well. Hens can make their pen quite messy after a while, and rain will make things worse. Ideally the pen should be sited on slightly sloping ground, which will help keep the area reasonably dry. Some chicken keepers put tarpaulins or even permanent roofing over their pens but this can be an expensive option and is not really necessary if the pen is large enough.
Instead of a permanent pen you could think about making a chicken tractor or portable chicken coop, sometimes also known as a chicken ark. A chicken tractor is a simple structure which combines a coop or nesting box with an attached run. The tractor can be moved around to give the hens fresh weeds and bugs, and to preserve your backyard. It also gives your garden free fertilizer! However, because the tractor has to be mobile it can be quite small, perhaps 6 to 8 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide, so is suitable for only a few hens at a time. These portable chicken coops are very cheap and easy to make, however, so you could have several dotted around your backyard if you have lots of hens.
From experience it makes sense to get expert advice before making your chicken run, unless you are familiar with space, feeding, shelter and health requirements for keeping chickens. Putting up a chicken pen is very straightforward but, if you don’t know what you’re doing, it is so easy to underestimate what your chickens need to survive and prosper. They will pay you back with a regular supply of lovely free-range eggs.
By: Kieran Gracie
About the Author:
Kieran Gracie is a professional engineer and DIY enthusiast. His website, buildthingsdirect.com,provides many ideas and interesting projects for beginners and experienced do-it-yourself people alike.
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