Run Recommendations please

[JanBlue]

We have a 12+ year old Eglu cube and run - not the walk in height. The run has served us well but with the avian flu restrictions we want a walk in run now.

The Cube itself is ok so we’ll keep that (although the arms the wheels are on have rusted and snapped). I’m not especially keen for another Omlet run, mainly due to cost.

There are loads online and I’m tempted by these Garden Life runs. I’d get extra tarps for winter/flockdown. Has anyone used these please? Or gut alternative suggestions?

We only have 3 chickens and 6 would be the maximum we’d go back up to in the future.

Hopeful bump fur the evening crowd

I have one very much like that, but about 8 metres long. They are excellent, but you need to be careful about corrosion (we live next to the sea and its a real problem here). If properly anchored, they withstand high winds, and we can move it around the field to give the chickens fresh ground (We use guy ropes, we don't bolt it onto concrete).

Get the biggest one you can, We also built some thingummys (sorry, lost the word!) of different heights,(Perches! That's the word!) and installed hooks for cabbages, to give them some entertainment.

If I could build an enclosure from timber and weldmesh, then that would be my preference, but these are a good alternative. I got mine on eBay, but it looks pretty similar to this one. Almost anything is better than Omlet IMO. Fortunately, I wasn't allowed one when I wanted to get an Eglu (Mr Bee thought the other farmers would laugh at him)so I got my nephew to build a very nice house on legs. Then I later built a few movable houses for the ducks, turkeys etc.

Thanks BigglyBee, we’re by the sea as well which is partly what has done for the Eglu (although a tree falling into it in a storm didn’t help either). The house is still sound though, just the run is a pita.

How long have you had yours and how bad us the corrosion? I’m thinking if it lasts me another 10 years it will owe me nothing!

I've had mine about 4 years, and it will probably do another 2 or 3. It's a bit shorter than it was, because there was a bad storm (95mph+) and it took flight, which bent some of it out of shape past all hope of repair. We just used the remaining bits to make a shorter one and it has been fine. Things just don't last as long here (Western Isles), because of the almost constant high winds and the salt air, it's something you get used to.

If you can, I would go for the upgraded mesh with the much smaller holes. Wild birds won’t be able to get in that way, and your birds will be safer. We don't have restrictions here at the moment, but we are still very aware of biosecurity.