Chicken Runs

The Chicken Run

Most runs are measured with a formula of 4 to 6 square ft. per chicken. A run that would have 12 chickens would be a minimum of 48 square ft. The space allows them to have enough room to be active and move freely. Additional perches and walks for climbing to let them have other activities to keep busy while in the chicken run would be good for the chicken's health and highly recommended.

Chicken runs that are mobile and light weight can be an advantage because they can be moved on a regular schedule to allow the ground you are using for the chickens to feed from to re-grow and allow the chickens to get fresh grass and insects when rotated regularly. They also are great for the activity portion of raising chickens, but they don't allow for any weather protection or roosting privacy for laying eggs.

My First Chicken Run

With a little help from my dad...

When I was just a young boy I had a fascination with what seemed like the hundreds of animals that my dad kept in our back yard.

In reality it wasn't many, twenty rabbits (prize winning dutch), about sixty budgies, three tortoises, five guinea pigs, and a dozen or so chickens.

Now keeping the chickens was a bit weird, as my dad managed a poultry farm with over twenty thousand of them, maybe a bit like bring some work home with you!

But one day why riding my bike around the yard I accidentally ran into the chicken pen, with predictable results, it fell apart...

Luckily for me my dad had a sense of humour sometimes, and that day was one of those days. My punishment was to help him build a new chicken house, some punishment for a boy who just loved messing about with bits of wood.

After a few days we had knocked together the chicken's new home, just a shame that we didn't have access to some of the great plans that are available now as it wasn't a pretty site.