homestead.fyi / RUN-4

4-Bird Covered Run

A covered walk-in run for 4 hens, 10 x 4 ft, built on 4x4 posts set in the ground and wrapped in hardware cloth, with a metal roof, a hinged door and a skirt laid flat around the outside.

Draft plan, generated from the model. Not yet build-tested.

4Birds

10 x 4 ftFootprint

40 sq ftRun area

66 to 72 inClear height

30 x 66 inDoor

10 to 14 hrBuild time

$525.80Materials

Drawings All dimensions in inches

3D viewfinished

3D view, framingcloth and roof removed

Front elevationdoor at the left

Right elevationroof falls to the back

Plan viewposts and apron

Cut list: lumber Long-point lengths; angles noted

Qty	Stock	Length	Part	Cut
4	2x4	122	Purlin	flat, across the rafters
4	2x4	60 1/2	Rafter	both ends plumb cut 7.1°
2	2x4	59	Door stile
2	2x4	29	Door rail	laid flat
1	2x4	29	Door mid rail	laid flat
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 1 bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 1 mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 1 top rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 2 bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 2 mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	54 3/4	Back bay 2 top rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	41	Left bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	41	Left mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	41	Right bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	41	Right mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 2 bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 2 mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 2 top rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 3 bottom rail	against the posts, ground contact
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 3 mid rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	38	Front bay 3 top rail	against the posts
1	2x4 PT	30	Front bay 1 header	against the posts
4	4x4 PT	89 3/4	Front post
3	4x4 PT	84 1/4	Back post
6	roof	60 1/2	Roof panel	cut to length, lap one rib

Cut list: sheet goods

Part	Stock	Size	Note
Front bay 2 cloth low	cloth	40 x 0
Front bay 2 cloth high	cloth	40 x 0
Front bay 3 cloth low	cloth	40 x 0
Front bay 3 cloth high	cloth	40 x 0
Back bay 1 cloth low	cloth	56 3/4 x 0
Back bay 1 cloth high	cloth	56 3/4 x 0
Back bay 2 cloth low	cloth	56 3/4 x 0
Back bay 2 cloth high	cloth	56 3/4 x 0
Left cloth low	cloth	41 x 36
Left cloth high	cloth	41 x 35 1/2	trapezoid, follows the roof
Right cloth low	cloth	41 x 36
Right cloth high	cloth	41 x 35 1/2	trapezoid, follows the roof
Door mesh	cloth	28 x 0
Apron front	cloth	171 x 24
Apron back	cloth	171 x 24
Apron left	cloth	24 x 51
Apron right	cloth	24 x 51

Lumber cutting diagram Lengths chosen for the lowest cost; 1/8 in kerf, 1/2 in end trim

2x4 x 12 ft

Purlin 1 122

2x4 x 12 ft

Purlin 2 122

2x4 x 12 ft

Purlin 3 122

2x4 x 12 ft

Purlin 4 122

2x4 x 12 ft

Rafter 1 60 1/2Rafter 2 60 1/2

2x4 x 10 ft

Rafter 3 60 1/2Door rail 1 29Door rail 2 29

2x4 x 10 ft

Door stile 1 59Door stile 2 59

2x4 x 8 ft

Rafter 4 60 1/2Door mid rail 29

2x4 PT x 12 ft

Back bay 1 bottom rail 54 3/4Back bay 1 mid rail 54 3/4Front bay 1 header 30

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Back bay 1 top rail 54 3/4Front bay 2 bottom rail 38

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Back bay 2 bottom rail 54 3/4Front bay 2 mid rail 38

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Back bay 2 mid rail 54 3/4Front bay 2 top rail 38

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Back bay 2 top rail 54 3/4Front bay 3 bottom rail 38

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Left bottom rail 41Left mid rail 41

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Right bottom rail 41Right mid rail 41

2x4 PT x 8 ft

Front bay 3 mid rail 38Front bay 3 top rail 38

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Front post 1 89 3/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Front post 2 89 3/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Front post 3 89 3/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Front post 4 89 3/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Back post 1 84 1/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Back post 2 84 1/4

4x4 PT x 8 ft

Back post 3 84 1/4

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 1 60 1/2

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 2 60 1/2

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 3 60 1/2

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 4 60 1/2

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 5 60 1/2

roof x 8 ft

Roof panel 6 60 1/2

Shopping list $525.80 checked / $0.00 estimated

Item	Store	Qty	Each	Line	Note
2x4x12 stud, SPF	Home Depot	5	$7.12	$35.60	see lumber cutting diagram
2x4x10 stud, SPF	Home Depot	2	$5.46	$10.92	see lumber cutting diagram
2x4x8 stud, SPF	Home Depot	1	$4.15	$4.15	see lumber cutting diagram
2x4x12 ground-contact pressure-treated	Home Depot	1	$7.18	$7.18	see lumber cutting diagram
2x4x8 ground-contact pressure-treated	Home Depot	7	$4.68	$32.76	see lumber cutting diagram
4x4x8 ground-contact pressure-treated	Home Depot	7	$11.28	$78.96	see lumber cutting diagram
Corrugated galvanized roof panel, 8 ft (Gibraltar 31 ga; check width)	Home Depot	6	$19.98	$119.88	see lumber cutting diagram
Hardware cloth 1/2 in, 2 ft x 25 ft, 19-ga	Home Depot	3	$30.40	$91.20	uses about 859 in of the roll
Hardware cloth 1/2 in, 3 ft x 25 ft, 19-ga	Home Depot	1	$38.88	$38.88	uses about 164 in of the roll
Galvanized 6 in strap hinge, each (5-pack $32.99)	Home Depot	1	$6.60	$6.60	door
Galvanized staple safety hasp, 3-1/2 in	Home Depot	1	$6.78	$6.78	door
Exterior wood screws #9 x 2.5 in, 5 lb box	Home Depot	1	$29.97	$29.97
Roofing screws #10 x 1-1/2 in with neoprene washer, 200 ct	Home Depot	3	$17.98	$53.94
Poultry staples 3/4 in, 1 lb	Southern States	2	$4.49	$8.98
Total before tax				$525.80

Filled dot: price read from a store listing on Oct 20, 2026. Hollow dot: estimate. Prices come from the master price list, so they change when it changes.

Build steps

Mark the corners and the door post. Check square by measuring both diagonals, then dig 7 holes 18 in deep.
Cut the posts: the front posts 90 in and the back posts 84 in, and set them in gravel, tamped and plumb on both faces.
Staple the hardware cloth to the outside of the posts, starting at the ground, then screw the rails over it so every edge of the wire is held under a board.
Screw a rail to the outside of each side wall at the bottom and at 36 in, and do the same for the front and back.
Cut the 4 rafters with plumb cuts at 7.1° on both ends and set them on the post tops with the end rafters over the side walls, toe-screwed to the posts.
Lay 4 purlins flat across the rafters, then screw down the 6 metal panels, lapping one rib.
Staple the side cloth under the end rafters, trimmed to the slope of the roof.
Build the 30 x 66 in door from four 2x4s laid flat with a mid rail, staple cloth inside it, and hang it on strap hinges with a hasp.
Lay the hardware cloth apron flat on the ground around the outside, staple it to the bottom rails and cover it with soil or gravel.

Before you start

Sized for 4 hens at 10 sq ft each of run, on top of the coop floor. A run joins the coop at the pop door.
Hardware cloth, not chicken wire, on every opening. Raccoons reach through chicken wire and tear it.
The 24 in apron stops digging predators. Foxes and dogs dig at the wall, hit the wire and give up.
A building this size can lift in a storm. Setting the posts in gravel and tamping them hard keeps it down; add a bag of concrete to the corner holes where winds run high.
Check local rules before you build. Some places need a permit for a structure of this size.
Draft drawings generated from the model. Build one before selling this plan.