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Chicken runs

By the Fluff & Feed team · Updated

A group of chickens in a fenced area

Plan on about 10 sq ft of outdoor run per hen, the figure the Cooperative Extension's Small and Backyard Poultry site recommends. An 8 by 8 ft run (64 sq ft) fits about 6 hens. Of the 11 runs here that list both a hen count and a floor size, 10 claim more hens than that floor supports.

How we count hens

The Cooperative Extension's Small and Backyard Poultry site says "a minimum of 3-4 square feet/hen indoor and 10 square feet/hen outdoor is recommended." University of Delaware Extension gives 8 to 10 sq ft per chicken in the run. We divide each run's floor area by 10 and round down. Where the maker lists only length and width, we multiply them, and the product notes say so.

Most run listings don't say they use hardware cloth. Utah State University Extension warns that chicken wire keeps hens in but not predators out, so plan to add hardware cloth along the bottom if the listing doesn't mention it.

Sources: Small and Backyard Poultry (Cooperative Extension), University of Delaware Extension, Utah State University Extension.

15 of 15 chicken runs match

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