Run, Chicken, Run
(Page 2 of 3)
May/June 1983
by Clyde E. Witt
CONSTRUCTION
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To make a single section of run (using the same dimensions we did), first cut each of a pair of 2 X 4's to equal the width of your chicken wire. Then use the cutters to snip off a full-width, 78"Iong strip of poultry netting ... align one 48" end of the mesh along the broad side of a 2 X 4 (as shown in the photo) ... staple the wiring in place, inserting the fasteners in a more or less random pattern over the entire width of the lumber ... and then attach the opposite 48" end of the mesh to the other 2 X 4 in the same fashion.
Now, you're ready to assemble the run extension. First, decide where on the existing fence you want to fasten the addition. Then snip a flap-centered on that spot-in the wire from the ground up. Make the hole about 12 to 18 inches square, but leave the top intact to serve as a "hinge" for the cutout flap.
Next, simply position the two 2 X 4's on their narrow edges, parallel to each other on either side of the door and perpendicular to the opening, as far apart as the tunnel is to be wide. Then, using twist ties, fasten the new wire to the existing fence so that the netting forms an arc above the exit. (At its highest point, the "roof" should be about 24 inches from the ground.)
Once you've married the ends of the extension fencing around the opening in the coop "wall", check the positions of the boards again to be sure they're precisely parallel and the proper distance apart . .. and then pound a pair of stakes—one on each side of the lumber-a few inches in from each end of both boards (you'll use, four pairs of stakes in all). These spikes will hold the 2 X 4's firmly in place.
Finally, "sculpt" the cage into a Quonset hut shape by carefully pulling, pushing, and otherwise encouraging the mesh to take on an arclike configuration, from one end of the tunnel to the other.
If you want to install more sections to lengthen the enclosure, simply butt each "new" pair of boards up against the "old", fasten the wire ends together, and stake the additional 2 X 4's in place.
You can make as many of these sections you like (if you use 48" mesh and position the boards 4 feet apart, each one will provide approximately 16 square feet of space), but you'll eventually need to close off your run extension with an endpiece. To do so, simply staple a 26"-Iong swatch of poultry netting to a single 2 X 4 (again, the length of the lumber should match the width of the wire). Position the end board perpendicular to, and tight against, the two open 2 X 4's, pound in a stake or two to hold the crosspiece fast, and attach the 26" length of nettting across the hole. Fasten the wire together at the top of the tunnel first, and then fit and twist-tie the mesh around the curve of the arc.
