Do you need to cover chicken run?

[farmmanjim]

I have lost an occasional hen to Hawks but haven't figured how to cover my run efficiently. My run is 46 ft wide and 80 ft long. If I add tin or a roof I'd need hundreds of support structures. If I use wire I'd still need tons of supports and then it would stay thick with leaves and no way to clean off something that large. They have and 8x12 house and a 12x12 roof section but Hawks are often faster. Just searching for ideas.

 

[emrya]

Worst case, you can buy pigeon/bird netting. It won't keep out a bunch of birds and if you get a hawk strike you will have to replace it, but it's lightweight and relatively cheap.