Labor Day Weekend is nearly upon us and our amazing weather is still here!  I really want a portable chicken run for my hens.  They have a pretty awesome coop with a pen that Randy built them but I would like to let them out in the yard to scratch and peck on nice days, I think it would be therapeutic for them!

It had been many years since I had chickens and I forgot what a mess they make of your yard.  All I knew was that I enjoyed sitting out under the shade in the back yard watching them forage away.  It wasn’t long before they had an area of the yard that had been invaded by moles looking like wild hogs had frolicked in it.  Randy is just as particular about his lawn as my dad is so I knew I had to act quickly or he would take charge.  I thought I had cleverly devised a plan to deter them–cover the area with chicken wire so they couldn’t carry out any more of their excavation projects.  It worked to keep Jake from digging under the chain link fence when we first moved there.  Two words….silly me.

Chickens do not give up their scratching antics easily.  They were successful at making their way around the edges of the wire until fresh dirt full of goodies was unearthed all over.  We had to make a decision fast if our yard was going to be salvaged.  It would  become a wasteland with a few pieces of bark and dried up Bermuda roots scattered around in a matter of days if we didn’t do something.  The chickens had to be locked up in their pen, including “Tiny” our little Banty speckled hen, she was very small but just as guilty at reeking havoc on the lawn.

That was last winter and the chickens are looking weary of being “cooped” up.  They sense immediately when I am opening the back door to come out towards the pen, they stop what they are doing and scramble over to the yard side of the fence anticipating what I might be bringing them.  They are hoping for something green since whenever I open the pen door they try to sneak past me to snatch a blade of grass.  Feeling sorry for them, I started pulling up whatever long grass (especially those with seeds attached) that Randy hasn’t mowed down and toss it in with their scratch grain and scraps.

A portable run can be moved wherever you don’t mind chicken scratching.  I hope this will also help with “Frankie’s” brooding urges, although I’m not sure anything helps that.  We are considering ridding ourselves of “Rocky” the rooster, although I don’t believe that has any affect on broodiness either.  Tiny was notorious for wanting to raise a little chick family (she passed away a few months ago) and became the pecking target of the big chickens when she would come out to eat or drink, even by Rocky, I haven’t cared much for him since.  I think they need a change of scenery, new dietary prospects and  their dispositions should improve and we can, once again, sit in our lawn chairs and watch them be content.

Here is an example of what I would like to purchase or make (I being me when buying, I being Randy when constructing.)