I've utilised an old wooden farm gate, an iron pedestrian date and a smaller wooden gate I have been saving for years and coupled them up with some stout posts.
I'll stain all the wooden parts black once the rain stops and Molly's old kennel, in the foreground, will be brought back into use as a roost box. It's what she would have wanted.
I'll make some sort of small roof structure at the shed end to protect the chickens from the rain and sun, leaving the nearest end open to the elements so they can sunbathe or shower depending on what takes their fancy.
We rang the people who are selling us the chickens and they confirmed the run is adequate in size for 4 birds though I still think it looks a little small. We are determined to give our new charges a good deal of freedom to roam around the garden when we are at home so this pen will really only be their sleeping, eating and nesting quarters.
They mentioned chickens are not basically escape artists so long as they are kept fairly well occupied so we may introduce a few distractions like exercise wheels, mirrors, bells and cuttle fish. The last thing we want is a bunch of bored chickens forming an escape committee and building a glider (sounds like a great story-line for a film).
They also mentioned the pen needs to be about 6 feet tall to avoid them flying out. As we don't want it to be that high, they are prepared to clip their wings and show us how to do it so they can't leave the ground. Well, I suppose they will still be able to jump a little bit if they want to but not actually take to the wing. We can't just thing of ourselves now; we have to think of their well-being too. Did I say chickens were easy to look after?
By the way, the small nest box on the wall will be left for the sparrows not the chickens!
Now, for something completely different. I saw this opposite our house today. I wondered if someone was having a practical joke...
Look closer...
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