Am I the only one who thinks chicken runs don't need to be giant?

I see everyone online building these massive 20x30 runs with fancy roofs and all that. Meanwhile I keep 6 hens in a 6x8 run in my backyard in Austin and they do fine. Last month it rained for 4 days straight and my run got muddy but I just tossed down a bag of pine shavings. Took me 10 minutes and the mud was gone. People act like chickens need acres of space but my girls free range for 2 hours a day anyway. The run is just for sleeping and laying. Has anyone else scaled down their run and found it works better?

2 comments

2 Comments

xenar146d ago

People act like chickens need acres of space" yeah because half the folks online are trying to keep 30 hens in a run that's basically a postage stamp and call it "minimalist." My setup is actually bigger than yours, 8x10 for 4 birds, but the real trick nobody talks about is how small runs force you to be better about rotation. I've got a cheap piece of fencing I use to split my run down the middle every few months, lets the grass recover on one side while they tear up the other. It's way less work than constantly cleaning out a giant muddy mess. Plus in hot climates like Austin or here in California, a smaller run means easier to shade and keep cool with a single tarp. Big runs just turn into a giant weedy chore that you ignore until it's a jungle.

the_robert5d ago

I've got 3 birds in a 6x8 run and they act like I'm running a maximum security prison while the neighbor's free range flock has a five star resort. All that rotation planning goes out the window when one of my girls figures out how to open the divider and leads a jailbreak to the dirt patch I was trying to save.