Giving the chicken run a little love

Our chicken run has been a blessing in that it provides a safe space for the birds to hang out where we can be confident they will not be attacked by hawks. This risk is especially prevalent in the springs, but I tend to leave the birds in their run in the mornings all year round, just because it seems like a lot of attacks come in the early mornings.

Our run was not designed to be goat-proof, however. You’d think those chubby donkeys would have been rougher on the fences than these sweet fluffy goats, but not at all. Whereas the donkeys pretty much ignored it, the goats LOVE to rub up against the fencing and the fence posts, and the structure was not built to withstand the daily attacks. Combined with the falling apples weighing down the overhead aviary net, the whole thing was in the brink of collapse.

We decided to do a smallish stopgap improvement, knowing we probably have a major reconstruction project coming up in a year or two. We removed the overhead netting and added horizontal boards between the posts. We re-secured a few metal cattle panels along the two sides that the goats seem to love the most. While in there we tidied things up a bit in anticipation of winter coming soon.

We have not yet replaced the overhead netting, but I bought a slightly wider gauge net (so hopefully we accidentally trap fewer small birds, yes, it happens) which we will replace this weekend. And it will be a lot easier to secure it now that we have those horizontal boards.

If we added up the costs of all of the buildings and project materials that have gone into chicken maintenance over the years, we could have a REALLY nice Hawaiian vacation. But luckily I just love those crazy birds more than the beach, so it’s all worth it.