Chicken Coop Run - 3 Must Do"s
So when installing a chicken run there may be some unknowns to you.
Sure it's commonsense for the most part, but here's three must do's to reduce maintenance and to protect your chickens from being snatched up from predators.
1.
Position the Chicken Coop Run to the Eastern Sky With a run that faces the eastern morning sun rise you benefit in a few ways.
Your run area will warm up early and all the dew left from overnight will be dried up within the hour.
Your chickens will be more inclined to come out from roosting to romp around in the warm morning sun.
And because the sun dried things up for you from morning to the afternoon your coop won't be a sloppy mess.
2.
Fence off the Top Too There's all type of predators that can attack from entering the chicken coop run from the top of the run.
Basic coop design does not call for a top placed on run but all it takes to protect your chickens from hawks, eagles, owls and pesky climbing raccoons is some chicken wire on the top; Your chickens will still get plenty of sun and be protected from threats from above.
3.
Straw and Rotation Method Usually a run will have a dirt floor; it's very common for the chicken waste and scratching to make a mess of the floor very early on, so a good tip to keep your maintenance work down is to every so often throw a layer of straw down.
Eventual the straw and chicken waste will begin to pile up at which point you need to remove it (it can be composted).
A good technique to cut down on the amount of cleaning is to either separate the run into two areas or have two distinct chicken runs.
This way while one is being used the other can be cleaned, left to grow vegetation and recuperate from previous use.
Hope I got you early enough for you to start implementing some of this advice.
Happy chickening!
Sure it's commonsense for the most part, but here's three must do's to reduce maintenance and to protect your chickens from being snatched up from predators.
1.
Position the Chicken Coop Run to the Eastern Sky With a run that faces the eastern morning sun rise you benefit in a few ways.
Your run area will warm up early and all the dew left from overnight will be dried up within the hour.
Your chickens will be more inclined to come out from roosting to romp around in the warm morning sun.
And because the sun dried things up for you from morning to the afternoon your coop won't be a sloppy mess.
2.
Fence off the Top Too There's all type of predators that can attack from entering the chicken coop run from the top of the run.
Basic coop design does not call for a top placed on run but all it takes to protect your chickens from hawks, eagles, owls and pesky climbing raccoons is some chicken wire on the top; Your chickens will still get plenty of sun and be protected from threats from above.
3.
Straw and Rotation Method Usually a run will have a dirt floor; it's very common for the chicken waste and scratching to make a mess of the floor very early on, so a good tip to keep your maintenance work down is to every so often throw a layer of straw down.
Eventual the straw and chicken waste will begin to pile up at which point you need to remove it (it can be composted).
A good technique to cut down on the amount of cleaning is to either separate the run into two areas or have two distinct chicken runs.
This way while one is being used the other can be cleaned, left to grow vegetation and recuperate from previous use.
Hope I got you early enough for you to start implementing some of this advice.
Happy chickening!