Roofing for Run

[jackieb]

We have ordered everything for the new run but now need to consider roofing materials. We are looking at corrugated plastic and we know we will have to provide some shade inside the run on sunny days, although the run is under some huge leylandi trees. We know you can get some ridge fillers for where the plastic in fixed to the wooden frame but this all adds to the cost, is there any real possibility of rats or mice getting in under the corrugated or can someone offer some solution to stop this if possible.

Hope you know what I mean as I'm not very good at explaining!

[madmum]

Hi there jackieb The trouble with plastic roofing is not only can beasties get in under it but it can act a little like a greenhouse in the summer,my mother -in-law has a car port type structure with this as a roof and it does seem to be quite a suntrap,

[itsmeonhen]

How about some very cheap netting if your bothered about pigeons etc getting in? I personally havent bothered about any roof and have as yet to find a problem.

[jackieb]

OK, I think we've decided on chicken wire over the top with plastic corrugated sheeting fixed over that. We don't think heat will be a problem as it will have 4 open sides on the run and we will provide areas of shade within the run as well for hot sunny days (if we ever get any)!

We want a roof on to stop me getting a soaking everytime it rains and I need to poo pick or when I clean the house out each morning. It will also mean I can use auboise or hemcore on the floor of the run.

Unless anyone here knows differently of course!

[plopcar]

I am going for the same on my run roof as it is fine in the summer but I don't want to get drenched every time I go to clean in the winter. My run is very sheltered with lots of overhanging trees so I'm more worried it's going to be dark and dingy in there. With a solid room I would get no sunlight at all in there plus it is a lot more expensive. My roof is going to be 8ft decending to 6ft so I'm not too worried about the gaps.

[wendy]

I have a tarpulin that I pull over in the bad weather, all the time in the winter, and pull back in the nice weather.
Plastic can get very warm in the hot weather even with shade inside the run. Unless it is trees on the outside that stop the diect sunlight
Wendy

Wendy

[FCWG]

The roof of my run is the made up the same way as the walls - weldmesh on a wooden frame. For cover, we've got a couple of plastic tarpaulin type things about the size of the back of a pick-up which fit just nicely over the top of the run. Picked them up from a boot sale for a pound a piece which makes them the cheapest part of the palace so far As Mrs Me has said several times, these will be preeeety expensive eggs...

[foghornleghorn2]

We used the corrugated bitumen sheets, like these.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Bitumen-Corruga ... nvt/240059

[Popalops]

Rats and mice will get in no matter what you do, a mouse cam squeeze through a gap of just a quarter of an inch, I have watched a mouse run under the door to my hen house without even slowing down, the gap is barely enough to shut the door without scraping. A rat can chew through concrete.

Tony

[k66yla]

I've got a gazebo over the run to stop me getting wet and on the occasional time its sunny the girls have some shade. Where I live it gets quite windy but the gazebo has stood up to it well and I stay dry

[LynneP]

We used clear vinyl with the corrugated fillers to predator proof and it's working well. The little plastic filler come in a huge box and end up being about a pound in your money, two feet long. They work really well and you can use as many of the special screws/washers as you wish.

You can also buy opaque panels to offer shade. Since we are on a north-west corner we made everything clear, because we have shade all day, and a platform outside the pop door to offer more shade.

Details here (please scroll)-

http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/vie ... ynnePs_Run"