Do It Yourself

Chickens require a great sized enclosure to permit them to move around, peck at the ground and feed off the bugs and worms that they discover. These chicken runs, or pens, are generally enclosed having a high chicken wire fence or other tall face to discourage predators. Usually, they’re attached towards the coop to permit the chickens to come and go as they wish.

Regular doses of fresh air and sunshine are necessary for chickens to produce healthy eggs. They are not designed to live in the dark all the time, all cooped up. An outdoor enclosure allows the chickens to roam about. They get exercise as well as sun and air. Build the pen nice and solid with plenty of room to keep chickens safe and healthy. Make sure predators are kept at bay.

They’ll use the chicken pen for pecking worms, bugs and minerals out from the dirt. They also require a lot of dirt for bathing. You’ll see, should you maintain roosters, that the pen becomes an ideal stage for strutting close to and showing off or fighting an ornery rival.

The kind of chicken you select to raise will affect the style from the run. If your chickens are big, heavy varieties that aren’t most likely to fly away, a easy style may work, just some wooden posts and chicken wire. If your birds are a lot more most likely to fly more than even a tall fence, you’ll have to obtain a little a lot more complicated. Your pen may even require a wire roof or you may use bird netting to maintain your chickens from moving following door!

Appear into the laws inside your region regulating chicken raising. If you’re out within the country, you most likely will not encounter any difficulties. In a lot more urban areas, nevertheless, you will find frequently strict laws about how numerous chickens you are able to maintain and some municipalities outlaw house flocks all together! Much better to discover out what legal restrictions may affect your efforts prior to you go out and purchase a big flock of chickens.

Find a good spot. You are going to be building both a coop and a chicken pen, so make sure there is room for them. It is best to place the run right next to the coop. Chickens are up with the sun and go down at night. If they can move freely between coop and run, they can put themselves to bed at night.

Watch out for predators! They are eager to taste the succulent meat of your hand-raised chickens. All towns have stray cats and in the country, you also have to worry about foxes, raccoons and even large birds. Do not build your pen in an area known to have a lot of predators.

There you go! That’s all of the info needed to construct chicken runs which are secure and comfortable. Your hen chickens will thrive on the sun, air and space offered by a secure outdoor pen.