Roof Alternatives Chicken Run

Lisa steele a 5th generation chicken keeper and master gardener and author of the popular books fresh eggs daily.

Roof alternatives chicken run.

In our last house we did not have a covered chicken run and it worked great for the awhile. Having a roof on your chicken run is one of the best ways of protecting them. Take out your nesting boxes feeders waterers everything. Step number one is to conduct a thorough deep clean of your chicken coop.

Raising happy healthy chickens naturally and gardening with chickens lives with her husband on a small hobby farm in maine where she raises a mixed flock of chickens and ducks grows herbs and enjoys cooking using fresh vegetables from her garden and fresh eggs from her coop. New age pet ecoflex fontana chicken barn 183 09 orig. I ve been meditating on the ideal roof for a chicken coop. Also if you live in the suburbs it should be gorgeous enough to keep your uptight neighbors from deciding continue reading the ideal roof for a chicken coop.

Stone coated metal roofing or stone coated steel roofing has a deep architectural profile and can mimic the look of asphalt shingles wood shakes or clay tiles this premium roofing material comes with warranties up to 50 years and is rated highly for resistance to winds hail and fire. If you put a roof over the chicken run it will ensure that conditions inside are dry and clean which should keep sickness at bay. But if you re making out a shopping list for your chicken coop these items will probably be on it. Others have said their roofs have been damaged by hail the hail actually broke straight through the roof in some cases actually ripping it apart.

For a large walk in coop s structural floor joists and or roof rafters you may need to upgrade to 2x6s or 2x8s. It ought to have the following properties. The skeleton of the coop is most often made up of 2x4s or 2x3s. Chickens don t roost on top.

Chicken keepers who have used plastic panels for their chicken coop roof with no plywood base have said that the wind can rip them off. Do a rigorous cleaning. You can choose to forego a roof or covering on a chicken run but you are taking chances and risks. Kick your chickens out so you don t have to worry about roosters trying to kick you out of their domain.

Research has shown that hens who can forage outdoors produce eggs that are higher in omega 3 fatty acids vitamin e and beta carotene than hens who spend most of their time indoors.