When most people think of housing chickens, they immediately think of a chicken coop. And that’s with good reason, but the chicken coop is only part of the equation unless you are letting your birds free range.
If you want to give your flock maximum protection from predators while still letting them get sunshine and fresh air, they need a run. There are plenty of pre-made runs and assembly-required kits on the market, but they tend to be really expensive.
For most homesteaders, a better way to go is a DIY run that they design and build themselves. It’s easier than you might think, and you can save a bundle doing so. Below are over two dozen low-cost ideas that you can copy or use as the basis for your own…
Good Features You Should Consider
We’ll get right into our list, but real quick before we go, it will be helpful to go over what makes a good chicken run.
More than anything else, a run must provide adequate space for your birds to move around, peck, scratch, and get a little exercise. My personal rule of thumb and that of many experts is to allow at least 10 feet per adult chicken.
Besides the chickens themselves, make sure to account for the room needed for feeding stations, waterers, and dust baths because these can eat up real estate.
Of course, what makes a run a run is the fencing or enclosure. Using strong wire, be it welded, woven, or classic chicken wire, is certainly adequate for keeping birds in, but it must be securely attached to framing members to keep predators out.
If you’re dealing with large predators, definitely look into woven fencing or even chain links. Fencing should wrap around the top or have attachment points for netting to keep out birds of prey and climbing predators.
Assuming you don’t have it in a shady spot, your run should also have provisions for a tarp or some other way to provide shade for your birds.
And the time will invariably come that you need to clean inside, so an easy-access door or removable panel is a good idea to make your job easier.
Lastly, consider portability. The largest runs won’t be easy to move even with a couple of people, but one that is built intelligently and attached to a mobile coop can be relocated to give your flock new scenery and give your land time to regenerate.
There are other considerations, but those are the major ones. With those in mind, let’s get to our list.
Long Run
When in doubt, you would be wise to err on the side of giving your chickens more room and not less. It never fails that you’ll always have a few extra additions even after you promised your partner that you were finished!
This tall, walk-in attached run is easy to access, easy to clean, and has a nice, simple design that will fit anywhere.
Small Portable Run
If you’ve only got a few adult chickens or just need a temporary enclosure for them while you work on something more permanent, a small, low-profile run that attaches to an equally small coop will do the job.
Despite being tiny, this one has adequate room and also a skirt of hardware cloth that will deter digging predators – or at least buy you a little time to run them off.
Recycled Wood Run
You don’t have to run to the lumber yard and buy boards off the shelf to make a worthy run for your feathered friends. You can reclaim, repurpose, and reuse wood that you have on hand as long as you have a spirit of ingenuity and a little bit of time to work on a plan.
This couple made an impressively large one for not much money, and it wraps all the way around their elevated coop.
Cheap Square Run
Another simple but practical run hosted right here on this website. Even a large version like this could be made cheaply if you’ve already got the tools and some spare materials on hand.
If you have a good supply of wood and fasteners already, you might be able to make it for free! Notice how they included roosts, space for a dust bath, and other quality-of-life inclusions for the birds.
Large DIY Walk-In Run
Here’s another great example of a large, walk-in run that benefits from excellent craftsmanship. The extra-large swing-open door makes mucking out and refreshing the interior a breeze since you’ll have room for wheelbarrows or even a small lawn tractor.
This run could stand up to harsh weather and it will certainly keep out most predators. Note again the skirt of hardware cloth around the bottom that will discourage digging.
Compact and Cozy Run
Cute, compact, and cozy, this charming cottage-style run and coop makes the most of very limited square footage by elevating the coop to give chickens room to explore beneath.
Despite the abbreviated form factor, there is a door that will allow an adult to get inside easily enough for inspection or maintenance.
It’s unfinished in the pics, but you can paint it to match your coop or just give it a nice oil or stain finish for weather resistance.
Basic Stick-Built Run
Nothing fancy here, but it is more than adequate for housing chickens. This stick-built run is very spacious and solid enough to resist all but the most powerful and determined predators.
Notice how they used branches to prop up the rafters in the middle? If I were going to build this one, I would make it a little narrower or give it a peaked roof and some trusses for better support. Nonetheless, this is an easy design that any DIY-savvy guy or gal can handle.
Amazon Chicken Run
Sometimes it’s okay to go with an off-the-shelf option. Amazon’s chicken run kit is a lot cheaper than most models you’ll find at the livestock supply store, but more importantly, it also serves as a good set of components that crafty keepers can use to fashion a customized run or even extend an existing one.
Search around on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean!
Simple A-Frame Run
One of my very favorite designs, this simple A-frame type run goes together quickly and easily and can be built in an afternoon if you have the supplies on hand. It isn’t the easiest thing to get into when you need to clean it out, but it will save you a bundle on materials.
Note that the minimalist design is not particularly rugged, so think twice before using this if you live in an area with persistent predators. But if you don’t have many problems with critters that want to kill your chickens, this is a good choice for a small flock.
Simple Chicken Wire Run
Another simple low-cost design, this half-height coop can be made with any lumber you have lying around, and even something as cheap as pine furring strips will work just fine.
Although it’s more than tall enough to accommodate chickens, you’ll have to remove the roof to scrape out the interior or else crawl in there on your hands and knees. It’s all about trade-offs with chicken runs!
Reclaimed Materials Run
It is far from the prettiest, but this run is a wonderful example of what can be done with the absolute bare minimum of materials or a next-to-nothing budget.
Consisting of little more than a wrap of chicken wire, concrete edging stones, boards, and metal rods to hold the wire up, it will do the job to keep most chickens in, but next to nothing to keep predators out. Not bad as a temporary or supplementary enclosure, though.
Super-Simple Chicken Run
It’s always possible to make a coop even simpler! If you don’t believe me, just check out this one. A few 2x4s, a handful of nails and fasteners, and some chicken wire are all it takes.
It certainly isn’t the most attractive, but it’s definitely functional and could be made quickly if you were really pinched for time. Once again, getting inside to clean it out would be a major shortcoming if you didn’t want to disassemble the roof.
Cheap Low Run
A nice run made from welded wire fencing and attractively bordered with stones for a little bit of extra security, this run is more than tall enough for even the largest chickens and oversized so they can get plenty of exercise and space to themselves when needed.
Note how this is built in an L or dog-leg shape to wrap around the pre-existing, taller run and connect to the coop. This is a great example of building to suit as your flock grows and needs change.
Short Run for Raised Coop
Raised coops always require a slightly different approach for building a run, but this one does it right. It is tall enough to walk into and extends under the coop to give chickens some extra room to run around.
This design is simple and sensible, and if you want even more room for your flock, all you need to do is extend it later on. Another great choice if you plan on getting more chickens in the future.
Walk-in Craftsman Style Run
This stoutly and nicely built run harkens back to days gone by, but it is no less attractive or serviceable today.
More than tall enough for adults to walk into, this expansive coop has a sturdy, slanted roof to keep precipitation off of your birds and give them plenty of shade. The wire fencing is a definite upgrade from common chicken wire, too.
Planter Box Run
A cute and classy run for a tiny backyard coop housing a handful of chickens, this one is built around the ramp going to the trap door-style entry of the coop, and the roof has been designed to form the bottom of a raised planting box.
It’s the perfect place to grow flowers to add some spice to the look, or nesting box herbs you can use for your chickens.
DIY Chicken Tunnel
A chicken tunnel is a specialized kind of run. It’s good for making use of a long, linear space or allowing your chickens to move from one part of your property to another while undercover and protected.
Basically, this is just a miniaturized, low run. They’re easy to build and a great way to maximize a small or irregular space on your property.
Quonset-Style Covered Run
This simple tractor-style run is sturdy, provides plenty of shade for chickens, and is reasonably easy to move from place to place so your birds don’t exhaust your soil or make too big of a mess.
The domed shape provides plenty of room on the inside for a minimum of materials, and this one also minimizes the use of lumber. If you have some odds and ends lying around, you can probably whip this together yourself in a few hours.
Wraparound Run for Fenced Yard
This chicken run shows what can be done even in the smallest of spaces. This small, suburban backyard is fenced, and the run integrates with the fencing and surrounds the coop so the flock has tons of room to move around.
This tall, walk-in style run will be easy to clean and maintain while keeping the birds secure. If you’re willing to devote much of your yard to the raising of your chickens, this shows you what can be done.
Chainlink DIY Run
When it comes to securing chickens, nothing beats the strength and flexibility of chain link. Far stronger than chicken wire, welded wire, and even woven wire, this run is made by attaching chain link panels together using commonly available hardware.
Not the cheapest way to go, but if you already have the fencing it is still an affordable option.
Large Rolling Run and Coop
Till the entire brand right on the ground, this design is basically the chicken tractor taken to its logical conclusion. It provides plenty of room for a large flock and can still be moved by a single-fit adult.
Note that the coop is integrated into the design, and again we see a wraparound, surface skirt of metal fencing to discourage digging predators. That is a must-have feature for any run that is resting on the surface of the ground!
Walk-in Run with Attached Feeder
This walk-in run design is simple, sturdy, and very quick to make if you know your way around a miter saw and nail gun, as this lady demonstrates.
Designed to work with her cute above-ground coop, it could work just as well with an on-ground coop. Once again, pay attention to how she has placed the wire fencing on the surface around the perimeter.
Run with “Apartment” Coop
This clever run design differs from all the others on our list in that the coop itself is built directly on top of the run, apartment, or condo style!
Like the runs we’ve seen that were designed to work with a raised coop, this one also maximizes the amount of ground space available to the birds, but they’ve got a bit of a climb up the ramp to get back into the coop when the sun goes down.
Nonetheless, this is an interesting design for a small yard.
Classic Run and Coop
You don’t always need to innovate. This classic and well-known coop and run design has been replicated over and over again with very little in the way of real variation.
It still works as well today as it has for all these years. This is an especially good project for a brand-new keeper because the walkthrough is so detailed.
Large Walk-In Run
A great project that turned an old shed into a jumbo walk-in coop with an attached walk-in run.
Note that this stick-built run design has a nice roof for shade and weather resistance. Another good project for someone who is already comfortable with basic framing techniques.
Extra Large Attached Run
If you’ve got a huge flock, or know you’re going to own one in the future, there’s no reason to stop with a little bitty run. If you’re going to protect a large flock at all times when they’re outdoors, they will need an extra-large run like this one.
I like how the builder cleverly put the windows of the coop inside the run itself so they are no longer a weak point for predators to climb in through, even if they are open for ventilation.
PVC Chicken Run
Wood is definitely the material of choice for most chicken runs, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.
PVC pipe is a cheap, ubiquitous, and ultra-weather-resistant material that can make a lightweight, portable run for supplementary housing or as a temporary enclosure for your chickens while you work on their existing run and coop.
This one goes together quick and easy, and can be put together in an afternoon.
Predator-Proof DIY Run
This tidy and sturdy DIY run was designed from the ground up to be absolutely predator-proof. I believe the builders have succeeded!
The super-thick metal fencing looks to have been taken from some type of industrial cage and will certainly keep out just about any animal short of a grown bear.
Surrounding cinder blocks and a moat of gravel and other stones will ably discourage digging.
Budget Attached Run
This design is made from materials that most homesteaders and farmers will already have lying around. With some fasteners and elbow grease, you can make a stout-covered run that is suitable for a large flock of chickens.
The only thing I’d really like to see is something for dig protection around the outside, because as it stands right now a skunk or coyote will get in there in a second.
Urban Run for Raised Coop
A simple, classy run for a raised backyard coop. There’s only enough room for a few chickens, but that’s all the owners have. I like how straightforward and elegant this design is, and it’s a good reminder to not overthink things.
Attached Chicken Tractor Run
This rustic chicken tractor incorporates a cute, cottage-style coop and rudimentary run in one portable package.
The $100 Run and Coop
It’s not particularly attractive, but it is cheap and very quick to build. Check out how this family built a sizable run and coop for just $100.
Easy Stick-Built Run
If you don’t have any experience with framing techniques, you don’t need to despair of having a DIY run to be proud of. This gentleman shows you just how easy it can be…
“Lean-To” Fence Run
Now we’re talking! This run is either a triumph of laziness or minimalist design, and I’m not sure which. But, it works!
Leaning chicken wire panels up against existing chain link fencing makes a cramped but workable run that can be set up in minutes.
Predator-Proof Walk-In Run
Another high-quality run designed and built from the very beginning to offer maximum protection against predators. If you live in an area with aggressive predators or just dense populations, check this one out:
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Tom has lived and worked on farms and homesteads from the Carolinas to Kentucky and beyond. He is passionate about helping people prepare for tough times by embracing lifestyles of self-sufficiency.