Run Build - Fence
A kind former chicken owner in my neighborhood was dismantling her setup and gave me her welded iron fencing panels for free. Looked like a great deal! The panels' holes are 2"x 2", so that worried me, but I decided to go for it anyway, as covering that much area with hardware cloth would've been too expensive. I covered about 18" along the bottom of the fence with 1/2" HC, bent it down and covered 18" along the ground as well, as an apron for digging predators. The coop has both an auto pop door and a manual pop door, so I'm hoping the chickens will be safe at night, and anything smaller than 2" won't risk it during the day... I'm in the city so, while we do have critters, it's not as bad as being out in the woods/country.
Here are the fence panels I inherited. I used their dimensions to plan out the spacing of the wooden posts and everything else in the run frame, so the run walls are in multiples of the dimensions of these panels. I ended up covering all the walls of the run with the fence panels and everything fit perfectly, even the angled diagonal wall, and only had to patch up with HC for the rectangular shapes under the roof.
I attached them to the wooden posts with galvanized pipe hanger tape - a genius invention I only discovered recently, and which I have since used for a whole bunch of other things!
As you can see in that photo, I drilled two 2x4's into the coop wall (they're drilled into the 2x4's of the wall frame for better security) to act as the run connection to the coop.
First couple of panels are up:
Making progress:
The diagonal wall. I'm very pleased with how the fence panels fit perfectly everywhere and I was able to cover the whole perimeter with them (they were an awkward size... 3.80 x 4.10 feet or something random like that).
Hardware cloth along the bottom of the wall and on the ground. I secured it to the fence panels with 14 ga. wire twists. I pinned the HC down with garden staples. I think I used something ridiculous like 200 staples for the apron, but better safe than sorry! They come in large packs anyway.
Under the door, too:
The chickens moved in before I was 100% finished with the run, and they enjoyed "helping" me through the fence
They crowded around me to check out what I was doing, and to try to peck at the spinning drill bit. These chicks grew up in my house with young children and there is no sound in the world that can startle or scare them! I can mow the lawn inches from them on the other side of the fence and they won't budge.
I spray-painted the HC black to make it "disappear". It looks SO much better now!! Here's a before-and-after shot to demonstrate the difference:
Just like with the coop, I wanted the run to be a good-looking structure, so I stained the wooden frame a dark brown color (with my favorite Behr Waterproofing Stain and Sealer, only not a solid color this time, but a semi-transparent brown so you can still see the nice wood grain). And I painted all the metal strips and brackets black (with RustOleum paint meant for metal) to make everything look extra nice!
And, since I'm already going extra, I also spray-painted all the exposed concrete brown, so it would blend better with the wood and the ground and would be less ugly:
Check out all those nice browns! ?
I also want to point out another little detail. In the above photo, there's a wooden board under the door. The door opens inward, and the purpose of that board is to make it easier for the door to open when the run litter starts to add up, or when the chickens have kicked a pile against the door. The board slides down on tracks and can be lifted up and removed, so that I can go into the run with the wheelbarrow. I've had to do that a few times already and I'm so glad I have the board there, and that it's removable.
Here's the diagonal wall, all done. It's hard to see because of all the vegetation, but everything fits perfectly, all gaps are covered with HC, and I'm very happy with it! Not as easy as having a simple rectangle, but it wasn't particularly hard either, and I'm glad that I (and the chickens) have the extra space now.
And the door. The black HC improves visibility so much! And looks so much nicer!
The door lock:
I put a hook and eye latch on the inside of the door, so it can be secured when I'm inside. The door is heavy and swings in to close itself if you forget to close it, but I wanted the extra security. When the door is fully open, it touches the fence on the other side and you can hook the hook of the latch onto the fence panels, to keep the door open - convenient when I need to go in with the wheelbarrow and need it to stay open, without bringing a bungie cord or something else to tie it with.
A final touch on the fence is that I put faux ivy all along the back wall of the fence, to give the run a nice backdrop:
And the fence is done! Check out the next section for the roof build.
Here are the fence panels I inherited. I used their dimensions to plan out the spacing of the wooden posts and everything else in the run frame, so the run walls are in multiples of the dimensions of these panels. I ended up covering all the walls of the run with the fence panels and everything fit perfectly, even the angled diagonal wall, and only had to patch up with HC for the rectangular shapes under the roof.
I attached them to the wooden posts with galvanized pipe hanger tape - a genius invention I only discovered recently, and which I have since used for a whole bunch of other things!
As you can see in that photo, I drilled two 2x4's into the coop wall (they're drilled into the 2x4's of the wall frame for better security) to act as the run connection to the coop.
First couple of panels are up:
Making progress:
The diagonal wall. I'm very pleased with how the fence panels fit perfectly everywhere and I was able to cover the whole perimeter with them (they were an awkward size... 3.80 x 4.10 feet or something random like that).
Hardware cloth along the bottom of the wall and on the ground. I secured it to the fence panels with 14 ga. wire twists. I pinned the HC down with garden staples. I think I used something ridiculous like 200 staples for the apron, but better safe than sorry! They come in large packs anyway.
Under the door, too:
The chickens moved in before I was 100% finished with the run, and they enjoyed "helping" me through the fence
They crowded around me to check out what I was doing, and to try to peck at the spinning drill bit. These chicks grew up in my house with young children and there is no sound in the world that can startle or scare them! I can mow the lawn inches from them on the other side of the fence and they won't budge.
I spray-painted the HC black to make it "disappear". It looks SO much better now!! Here's a before-and-after shot to demonstrate the difference:
Just like with the coop, I wanted the run to be a good-looking structure, so I stained the wooden frame a dark brown color (with my favorite Behr Waterproofing Stain and Sealer, only not a solid color this time, but a semi-transparent brown so you can still see the nice wood grain). And I painted all the metal strips and brackets black (with RustOleum paint meant for metal) to make everything look extra nice!
And, since I'm already going extra, I also spray-painted all the exposed concrete brown, so it would blend better with the wood and the ground and would be less ugly:
Check out all those nice browns! ?
I also want to point out another little detail. In the above photo, there's a wooden board under the door. The door opens inward, and the purpose of that board is to make it easier for the door to open when the run litter starts to add up, or when the chickens have kicked a pile against the door. The board slides down on tracks and can be lifted up and removed, so that I can go into the run with the wheelbarrow. I've had to do that a few times already and I'm so glad I have the board there, and that it's removable.
Here's the diagonal wall, all done. It's hard to see because of all the vegetation, but everything fits perfectly, all gaps are covered with HC, and I'm very happy with it! Not as easy as having a simple rectangle, but it wasn't particularly hard either, and I'm glad that I (and the chickens) have the extra space now.
And the door. The black HC improves visibility so much! And looks so much nicer!
The door lock:
I put a hook and eye latch on the inside of the door, so it can be secured when I'm inside. The door is heavy and swings in to close itself if you forget to close it, but I wanted the extra security. When the door is fully open, it touches the fence on the other side and you can hook the hook of the latch onto the fence panels, to keep the door open - convenient when I need to go in with the wheelbarrow and need it to stay open, without bringing a bungie cord or something else to tie it with.
A final touch on the fence is that I put faux ivy all along the back wall of the fence, to give the run a nice backdrop:
And the fence is done! Check out the next section for the roof build.
- Next page: Run Build - Roof
- Previous page: Run Build - Plans and Footings
