If you want your backyard chickens to be safe from predators when you aren’t around, you will need a run.
The free-range birds need pasture and roam around where predators (hawks, owls, eagles) wait for their move. So, runs help them find a safe place to forage and exercise.
You can clean their coop peacefully after transferring them to the run. And it’s healthy too for the flock.
Here are practical, DIY, and budget-friendly chicken run ideas for beginners.
1. DIY Hoop House Chicken Run
A hoop house chicken run looks like a greenhouse and works year-round.
It is made of lightweight metal that is bent into a semicircle, attached to a bottom frame, and finally covered with heavy-duty cattle panels and tarp or plastic. 
Make sure the house has enough ventilation with gaps in the greenhouse film at the top of both end walls. You can also add shade cloth for hot summers.
Also, you can add an electric heater, such as a carbon fiber heater, to make it warm in winter.
The hoop frame house is mobile, featuring small wheels, allowing you to place it wherever you want in the backyard.
2. A-Frame Chicken Run
It is a space-saving triangular design run.
You can build it in different sizes based on your flock size. For example: 6WX8LX5.5H for small, 6WX10LX5.5H medium, 8WX10LX7H, and mega.
You may not need much labor to build it with limited resources and repurposing furnitures. Start with making an A-frame with wood and add chicken wire (5 inches) or wire mesh or hardware cloth.
Add the nesting box at the backside of the run. You can also install wheels to make it movable.
3. Walk-In Chicken Run
This structure is tall enough for you to walk in and clean and collect eggs.
To build, you can use all-around heavy-duty steel, raccoon-proof mesh, and a unique anti-tunnel skirt.
After that, add a run cover which can save your chickens from chills in fall and winter, offer shade to them, and protect them from rain in the spring and summer.
This improves maintenance and airflow.
As the run is spacious, you can place some chicken roosts and toys to play around and reduce boredom.
4. Greenhouse + Chicken Run Combo
It is a dual-purpose homestead project, which can raise meat and grow vegetables at the same time.
This plan is ideal for a smaller or urban backyard. And it would be the perfect setup as long as the greenhouse side has southern exposure.
The combo provides warmth and saves space for beginners. Also, the veggie birds can have a cafeteria around them.
When building the structure, consider adding chicken coop boxes, a movable roost, lights for warmth, windows for ventilation, fluctuating temperature, a greenhouse, pavers, and a limestone floor.
Also, add tray stands for starting seeds for vegetables.
But what I feel is that you need to work hard to maintain a cool environment inside for chickens in the summer.
So, I recommend you raise chickens in winter and garden in spring and summer. Also, rotate the place to improve backyard soil health.
5. Rustic Wooden Fence Chicken Run
I had a fenced side yard where tortoises hung out. The fence was around 7 feet tall, with a 56-foot fence dividing it from the main backyard.
That time, I had several old cedar fence boards, which helped me a lot in building structures like this.
It offers a classic homestead look with wooden posts and wire. The repurposing makes it budget-friendly and durable.
You can also add climbing plants for shade.
6. Enclosed Run Under the Coop (Raised Coop Style)
This is a great space saver that offers a combined structure for chickens without the need for chickens to walk to the coop and run individually.
The design has a coop on stilts and the run beneath. It’s super affordable without investing in the roof (as the coop has already.)
You can make the run predator-proof with a wire mesh and a coop with a thick layer of walls (wood or pallet) and a slanting roof.
Ensure that you install multiple nests for each layer. The girls would be permanent tenants.
7. Chain-Link Dog Kennel Repurposed
Repurpose an old kennel as a chicken run.
Make sure it is a Heavy-duty type chain link. Add covers on the top of the structure to keep critters out and the chickens in.
The wire mesh on top is a great preference for hawk protection.
The run height should be at least 3 feet tall. Also, it needs a wire around the inside of the kennel attached with zip ties, which can keep predators or unwanted paws out and chicks in.
The predators, such as coons, coyotes, possums, weasels, owls, and mink, come out at night.
So, I suggest you lock your chickens up in the coop at night.
8. Large Open-Air Chicken Yard with Netting
If you want to give chickens more roaming space, you may need a large open-air chicken yard with proper, secured netting.
It is perfect for large flocks or large homesteads. For example, roughly 50’x30′ with a 7-foot fence so that they cannot jump over.
Overhead netting must stop hawks, and for that, chicken wire can be a good option.
When building the run under the tree, make sure the structure protects the chickens from falling branches. Also, watch out for predators that climb the tree.
The structure easily catches tree leaves, so you need to bounce it over the edge.
When it gets slack, you need to staple it taut again.
Besides, you need to protect your flock from ground predators such as rodents and snakes.
9. Portable PVC Chicken Run
PVC chicken run is lightweight and has a flexible design.
You can try different types of run shapes and designs, from a square to a rectangular frame. PVC bends and can be disassembled very easily.
Make sure the pipe clips are inside.
Also, use chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. Attach all the chicken wires to the PVC with zip ties.
The PVC is lightweight, so you need to use plant hooks or whatever to keep it from flying away in the strong wind. Also, you must protect PVC from getting brittle due to cold.
10. Chicken Run with Automatic Door
This is for busy homesteaders who want to save time.
It improves safety with auto-locks at night.
Many complain that the doors are stuck due to icing in the winter. So, you need to get a run with a roof with enough rake to shield my door.
Anyway, a run with an automatic door functions with an app setting. You can set the time for the door to open and close in the morning and at night.
Make sure you have a charged battery or install solar-powered doors.
11. Predator-Proof Concrete Floor Run
It is ideal for areas with rats, snakes, or digging predators.
If your farm or homestead has lots of ground-diggers or predators, rocks or thick gravel around the perimeter may help.
You can also solidate 2 inches of concrete for a floor. It makes it easier for the keeper to clean the run. To make it more secure, you can attach 12″ of wide hardware cloth around the perimeter.
When the predators start digging a trench at the edge, they definitely hit hardware cloth and can’t go further.
Cover the floor with bedding, such as straw or wood shavings, for added comfort.
12. Chicken Run with Shade Trees or Bushes
This idea is ideal for natural shade and bug control.
The natural vegetation and canopy for the chicken run encourage a permaculture approach. An apple tree is also an ideal option as chickens like the windfalls, and it also provides bugs for the chickens to eat.
Mulberry, Crabapple, and Honey Locust are great for the canopy layer.
You can also plant Eastern Red Cedar, Willows, Siberian Pea Shrub, Elderberry, Dogwood/Cornelian Cherry, and Serviceberry.
13. Chicken Run with Dust Bath Area
Dust baths are great for chickens to clean themselves with their wings and avoid bugs, including mites.
It is also a hangout place for chickens and makes the flock happy and healthy within the enclosure.
You can make a chicken dust bath with sand, wood ash, or dry dirt. There are several dust bath ideas that you can try at your own place.
Place the dust bath containers in dry corners of the run.
14. Elevated Chicken Run on Sloped Land
If your backyard is on a steep hill, you can still build a chicken run with traditional walls, allowing the bottom plate to follow the contours of the ground.
Slice all the studs across the top and position a large stake into the soil to anchor it in place and prevent it from sliding down the hill.
Alternatively, you can line the bottom with some large rocks or bricks to hold your new soil from running down the hill when it rains.
Additionally, consider incorporating native plants that can thrive in the space under the rocks, utilizing their root systems to stabilize the area.
Use rocks to create a border around the run, and fill the floor with good dirt that chickens can scratch.
Also, a small amount of sand and pea gravel is a good idea to help reduce the muddy pit during rain. Chickens also need some small pebbles for grit in their craw.
Logs also work, but you need to replace them in a few years.
This way, you can build a chicken run that can prevent flooding and mud issues.
15. Chicken Run with Compost Pile Inside
What about reducing waste and making compost in the chicken run?
You can add compost piles inside the chicken run, which not only reduces waste but also provides enrichment.
Chickens eat scraps, earthworms, and bugs from the pile, and they themselves poop on the pile, which will turn into compost. So it’s a win-win situation.
But make sure you provide them with well-aerated compost and avoid avocado and unsafe scraps.
The flock will flatten a heap of organic material within hours and distribute it around the area. But the run structure prevents the compost pile from spoiling beyond the enclosure.
This will make it easier for the gardener to amend the soil.
Final Thoughts
Chicken runs provide bright, warm, and dry space for your chickens with protection from predators, including sky creatures and ground breakers.
It is also suitable for a rich soil amendment for your backyard garden.
You can choose any of the chicken run ideas and raise your chickens outdoors.
Leave a Reply