We've been lucky so far. The only uninvited visitor to the run to date has been Sarah the donkey:
and the only unwelcome critter found outside (on top of) the run has been Coral the chicken when she somehow managed to escape:
But with fall and winter not far off, I knew that we needed to get our permanent run in place and soon. Thanks to my friend Angie and her husband, Eric, at Children of the Corn, we were at last able to finalize plans for our permanent chicken run. Angie and Eric posted wonderful instructions for me, on the turkey run they recently built. Jim and I then adapted these to be on a smaller scale for my twelve chickens.
Since Jim had this week off work and his two, grown sons were coming for a visit, NOW was my moment to POUNCE. With just a bit of effort, I was able to pull this small team together to get the chicken run started.
Both Brian and Peter, Jim's sons, were happy to help(that's Avalon, Brian's fiance, standing with them):
The chickens were fascinated with all the activity. This kept them from noticing that their temporary outside run is now only about 1/5 of its original size:
The hardest part was digging the holes for the posts. The site for the run, we've come to find, has at least a foot of densely packed gravel followed by a foot of the hardest clay soil imaginable. We had hoped to dig 3 feet down, but decided 2 feet was just gonna hafta (technical term) be good enough! (Please note the flip-flop farm footwear and the fact that Peter is inadvertently burying his dad's foot with gravel):
Slowly but surely, all the posts were placed:
And the horizontal support beams screwed in:
The structure is now ready for wire and a door. The 3 feet below the middle horizontal support beams will be secured in 1/2 inch hardware cloth. The 4 feet above that and the roof will be done in chicken wire:
The final run will be 7 wide by 16 feet deep. I can't wait!:
Looks good! Your chickens will have a very deluxe outdoor exercise run to go with their very well built hen house. Do you get much snow in the winter?
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Your coop came out adorable! And about the flip flops, they're "proper coop attire" according to my 12 year old. What I want to know is how do they keep them on their feet? Last time I grabbed a pair to run down to the coop my feet were all over the place!
ReplyDeletePerfect! I like your sneaky labor recruitment practices ... Isn't your son's birthday coming up? You should have him invite a bunch of friends over and then start handing out the rolls of chicken wire and staple guns. You'll have that pen finished in no time!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have such a great work crew, flip flops and all. I had to do mine myself thats why it looks like doo doo.
ReplyDeleteIt will be perfect! I heard about your roller coaster weather last night on the news, it and Faye were the top weather stories.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see how this turns out. I SO want to have fresh eggs but haven't figured out how to keep chickens safe out here. Send those post-hole diggers my way when they're done!
ReplyDeleteYay! Glad you guys are getting it going, the chooks will be very happy, and you'll feel better too! So did the boys enjoy the work, or are they currently cancelling all other plans to come for a stay?! :)
ReplyDeleteSo when y'all are done, you are invited to my house to make a similar structure.:) It looks great!
ReplyDeleteLooking good!
ReplyDeleteThat looks really great. I bet the girls are gonna love it in there. Nice move on recruiting the visitors.....way to make them earn their keep around the farm!
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe in putting visitors to work! But I always feed them well afterward. Your chickens will love their new run. Good job!
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks pretty palatial. Excellent maneuvering to get all that manly man energy working for you. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWell building a chicken run beats what we used to have to do at my brother-in-law's. Whenever we had a family gathering he would take advantage of all the manpower and castarate the calves.
ReplyDeleteYour chickens will love it and Sarah won't be able to visit.
That is going to be great once it's all finished!!
ReplyDeleteThat will be so cool when it is done. One year I grew sunflowers around the outside of my chicken yard. It looked so great. This year I grew gladiolas. I think I liked the sunflowers best. I have a friend who has a run big enough that she grows three apple trees in a row in the center. But she doesn't have a roof over the top of hers. I don't know how she keeps predators from coming in but it looks really cool.
ReplyDeleteIt really looks nice Danni! Gotta get some farm shoes for that feller tho!!
ReplyDeleteWhen you getting your guineas??? That will be the start of a whole new love affair!
I can see Jim shaking his head right now!!!
I'm volunteering to work, and Bill, Teagan, Rob, Alana, and anyone else I can kidnap on the road leading to the chicken run which NEEDS to be finished. First we'd have to cut a door way into the chicken coop, then take a break. When that's done, we'll frame the door way, attach an easy entry/exit door and take a break. Then the run will be firmly secured with materials necessary, then it's break time. After that we'll have the grand entry parade of the chickens and invite all the neighbors. Aromas from the farm kitchen tell us it's Schnitzel time. Come and get it!
ReplyDeleteThe chicken run is looking so nice. I know the chickens will really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI bet the boys enjoyed working on it with you and their Dad.
Good job.
Have a great rest of the weekend, Danni.
Pam
Fantastic work! Those are great posts, and it looks like a ton of work went into that run already. The lovely feathered ladies should be very happy there (provided the goats don't hop inside first!).
ReplyDeleteNICE, THAT FARM MOM IS PRETTY CLEVER ISN'T SHE!
ReplyDelete