Building a new run

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Castara

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Hi All ,
I'm a confused newbie, :-)07 trying to work out if its possible to get 3 bantams in my london garden
I'm trying to decide where to build a Run and coop .The best place I can find is a 6ftx6ft area in a south facing corner , with the back being a brick wall of an out building, Its under a big cherry tree and visable from the house But its a paved area! and I'm not sure If I should remove this and replace with earth or just put a good layer of dirt and mayby bark chips down on top of the paving slabs?? I could build a raised area (with railway sleepers)and infill with soil but drainage occurs to me as a problem???
Any thoughts would be great fully received
Thanks Conor :)
 
I have used sleepers as a base for my chicken house/run and infilled them with wood chip.

The wood chips are sold as bedding for horse stables and are clean whitewood chips( not sure if we are allowed to give brand names but it's called easibed) They can be raked over and topped up as a regular maintenance and every 6 months dug out and placed in the compost heap.

Not sure about using bark as it may carry fungus spores, but perhaps somebody more knowledgeable can put you right about that.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.There is a post about all types of the materials to put on the run,feel free to browse,very informative.I would leave the slabs as beter protections against foxes digging.
 
As this is quite a small run, it would stay a lot drier if you could roof it, perhaps with clear corrugated sheets. This would keep the birds more comfortable and keep the floor litter dry, so that drainage wouldn't be a problem. If it was kept dry underfoot, and you poo picked daily, it would be fine for 2-3 small bantams, especially if you chose a coop on legs which allowed them to get in underneath it, so you weren't wasting any run space. The slabs will be fine if covered with plenty of bedding, so the surface stays warm on their feet especially in winter when the slabs freeze, but I wouldn't advise adding earth underneath the chippings or whatever you chose, as it will just get scratched up into the chippings and make a mess of them. If you can make a nice dry area, instal a dustbath in one corner instead, and then they can still scratch around in the chippings as well. It sounds a lovely sheltered area, what lucky chickens!
 
Good advice from Marigold. A cover reduces them gettting wet and cold and stopping laying as a result. We have a couple of runs on slabs which overhang the run area. Great for stopping rats getting in and eating food scraps which is a big problem here. The little ones climb up the wire and even get through holes in the top, the big ones dig tunnels into the run. Slabs are then covered with Aubiose -shredded plant stems. The whole lot is swept up every month and put in our Council Compost collection bin.
 
Agree with Marigold and Chrismahon. A roof will make big difference and help keep the run dry. It makes poo picking easy and if done every day the litter will last for ages and there is little or no smell to annoy any neighbours. Would also suggest it will help if the first 18"-24" round the base of the run was made of wood to prevent draughts which they hate. I have 6 Wyandotte bantam hens. They do not like the wind very much and will only stay out on the allotment for a short time if it is raining. Good luck you will soon be hooked!! :lol:
 
Wow , Thanks for all the feed back . Are all chicken people so friendly ? :D Its nice too know I dont have to dig up the paving slabs . I work as a gardener so digging ain't my idea of a leisure activity :roll: .
So Ill make a base from railway sleepers infill with Aubiose/woodchip .I'm thinking of building the run from premade 3 x 6 'Aviary panels' , £10 each on Bird trader http://www.birdtrader.co.uk/aviary_panels_for_sale/advert/220109
My plans keep getting bigger :-)05 , I think I could make the run 6 ft x 9 ft x 6ft high , but the premade coops may not fit quite like I want . ie. nest box on the wrong side etc , so I may have to build a custom one to fit exactly , although I do like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260673962738?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_8510wt_1135 The slide out floor looks good and the whole side opens for cleanig the walls etc but it could be a little bigger , and the run aint worth keeping I think . The corrugated plastic roof idea sounds good If the run is dry I may spend alot of time with them, could be a little home from home :lol:
once again thanks for the advice , I hope you don't mind but Ill be back for more ;)
 
Hi Conor,As you mention diy I have attached some pics of my setup. The whole thing is made from recycled material. The clip on pvc panels keep out driving rain and snow and are all removed on dry sunny days. The run is 2.4m square x 2m high. The only thing I would do differently if starting again would be to have a door opening to clean put the coop rather than a lift up roof.But all in all it works quite well. As the unit is on the allotment I have fitted a automatic pop hole opener and timer. My 6 bantam hens get to free range 2-3 hrs a day. Thought this might give you some ideas for your project. ;)
 

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Impressed with your setup Bantiekeeper. Lots of height for them to fly about as well -and you can stand up in it, which is a big problem with all of ours at just 4 feet high. Oh my bad back!
 
Hi Chris, The fact the coop roof lifts up and I have to do the cleaning from the top gives me a dodgy back sometimes! But at least I can still touch my toes. :D The coop is only bolted together and can be taken to bits by removing 6 bolts. ;)
 
Castara said:
My plans keep getting bigger :-)05 , I do like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260673962738?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_8510wt_1135 The slide out floor looks good and the whole side opens for cleanig the walls etc but it could be a little bigger , and the run aint worth keeping I think . The corrugated plastic roof idea sounds good If the run is dry I may spend alot of time with them, could be a little home from home :lol: )
Click to expand...

I'd be very wary of buying a cheap coop and run off ebay from a seller who doesn't provide any specification of the materials and methods used in its construction. Many people have found that coops like this one leak and fall to bits before the first winter is out. With the skills you have, you might do better to make your own coop, and instal a proper walk-in run (2metres high) Maybe take the design ideas you like from this one, perhaps use some recycled materials to keep the cost down, and finish up with something that fits your space and is properly made.
 
Marigold I think your spot on and actually thinking about it they ain't cheap really. Also the recycling part has to be part of the project , In fact I just spotted a large piece of marine ply in a skip down the road ;) and my girls are already planning what to piant on it , I hope chickens don't mind pictures of a tropical beach on the front of their coop :lol: Im going for a bigger run I've got a 6ft x 9ft space , and I,m going to put the coop on legs so they can get underneath , I cant quite make 2 meters high (only six foot) but thats got to better than those little runs on e-bay , although the word 'RUN perhaps should be looked at by the office of fair trading :roll: The coop itself will be 1m 80 x 1m , plus the nesting boxes. Should I sacrifice some of the run for more coop space? Im going to have one whole side removable for cleaning and I'm going to cover the whole run in clear corrugated sheet to keep the rain off as you suggested and some 30 cm gravel boards round the bottom to keep the draught out as bantiekeeper suggested , I've got some railway sleepers for round the base this should give me about 30 cm depth for the bedding .
And once again Many many thanks for the advice, you have already saved me money and my future chickens a cramped life courtesy of e-bay . :D
 
As for what coop space you need, I've just measured inside my coop, and I've got two roosting bars each 24 ins long, which each hold up to 3 full-size hens (2 if they were very large breeds) so would probably take up to 4 bantams each, (but plan for the bigger ones....) The bars are set back 12 ins from the pophole at the front - you need to allow 'landing space' if you have ramp access, then enough room for them to take off and hop up on to the perch. There's 12 ins between the two perches, and only 6 ins between the back perch and the removeable back door. For the perches you need 2X2 planed wood, and then bevel poff the edges to make them a bit rounded. It's good if you can plan the nestboxes to be at a lower level than the perches, because then they're less likely to want to sleep and poo in them at night. Ventilation is very important, . especially in winter when the poiphole is probably closed at night. You need an airflow especially around the top of the walls, because it gets quite moist and humid inside if not ventilated and this can lead to coop condensation as well as respiratory disease. The body of my coop is W25ins by L33ins, plus a generous 6ins roof overlap front and back, and 2 nestboxes at the side. This is ample for my 4 girls, ie 2 hybrids, a largish Sussex and a Legbar, so the measurements you give would be more than generous and could maybe even be reduced OK. Mine is a Green Frog Medium Chiken Lodge, if you want to look at http://rarebreedpoultry.webs.com/ecofriendlyhouses.htm for design ideas. What you're plannoing sounds spot on - lucky chooks! I love the idea of the decorated plywood. As an ex-primary school teacher, the habit of searching for free craft materials is very deeply ingrained in me, and I too just can't pass a skip without looking inside, it's amazing what people throw away.
 
Thanks marigold , Fantastic I love dimensions :D , You said there was only 6 inches between the roost and the back wall , is this because they like to have a wall to their backs? Also should I make the space between the roosts a little smaller as I'm going for Wyandotte bantams, just worried about the gap , or is that being silly :-)07
 
Great to hear you are going for wyandottes. I have 6 and they are an absolute delight. They are however prone to going broody. One of mine is a buff laced and she has never been broody. I also had a silver laced, which I lost in the early days, and she never went broody either. Perhaps it is something peculier to the laced variety. That said I have had over 500 eggs this year so far.But they are great fun and I recommend them. I have one of each colour, Partridge, White, Columbian, Buff, Black and Buff laced. :-)17
 
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