OverEZ Walk-in Chicken Run Review

I recently wrote a review of the OverEZ large chicken coop (see that post here).  In that post, I talked about the walk-in chicken run that attaches to this coop.  I thought it would be great to write about a more in-depth review of the run, especially since I couldn’t find anything like this before Steven and I bought the run online.

The OverEZ walk-In 16 foot chicken run is designed to either attach to an OverEZ coop or can be used as a stand-alone run.  The run is made of pre-painted steel tubing with metal mesh walls and top, which provides a secure place for chickens to roam. The run is delivered as a kit that must be assembled.

Keep reading to find out why this run is great for our backyard chickens but gives us a headache.

Materials

The chicken run is made of steel tubing that has been painted a glossy black.  There are metal mesh panels for the walls and the top.  The walk-in door is made of the same metal mesh material and comes with hinges and a latch.  

Similar to the chicken coop, the run had to be delivered on flatbed trailer wrapped on a pallet.  We coordinated the delivery time with the delivery company to make sure one of us was a home to receive the chicken run. 

The run is made of solid materials and is very sturdy.  We have had several inches of snow and been through many thunderstorms without any issues.  A concern I had when we first ordered the run was how it would hold up in the West Texas winds, with gusts that rival hurricanes.  Fortunately, this run has been solid with no signs of blowing away.  It’s pretty heavy so it would take a good amount of force to move the structure.

Assembly

The ease of assembly of this run had room for improvement. The assembly of the chicken coop was similar to Ikea furniture, but we found the run to be more difficult.

First, there were multiple instructions included in the kit since this run is part of a series of runs that each have different features.  The walk-in run came with panels for the end (which is the side with the walk-in door) and the adapter end panel (which is the side that attaches to the coop).  It took a bit of time to sort through all the materials to determine which panels were side panels and which were roof panels since they weren’t obvious like the panels for the door and coop.  

Second, the assembly required three people – two to hold the pieces together and one to attach the clamps.  It was a bit awkward to assemble the run and we had confusion of telling the difference between the panels. The clamps sandwich between the panels and need to be screwed together.

It took us about 15 minutes to figure out which way the adapter end panel and inserts were assembled to attach to the coop. This is the part where the run attaches to the coop that keeps the chickens inside the run and keeps predators outside.  I’m still not sure if we assembled that part correctly but it seems to be working fine and no chickens have escaped. 

Compared to constructing the chicken coop, this was more difficult and took us about twice as long.

Security

Once the run is assembled and attached to the coop, there are very few ways for a predator to enter the run.  I know some people will want to dig a trench around the run and place hardware cloth or metal roofing material to prevent a predator from digging under the run.  This is a good idea but is not something that we did.  Our run is in our gated backyard so a stray dog would need to dig under two fences to get to our chickens and I think this is rather unlikely.

The top of the run is made of the same steel mesh as the walls, which prevents a flying predator from getting to your chickens. We have some feral cats in our neighborhood, and while I’m not sure if they would dare attack a full-size chicken, this run will prevent them from climbing over walls and into the run. 

Walk-in Door

Here’s where my headache enters this review…  

We bought this walk-in run since it was tall enough to allow easy access without having to duck into a 4 foot tall run.  The OverEZ walk-in chicken run measures 6’3” tall in the center; however, the door only measures 5’1″.  

There have been several times where Steven or I have hit our heads (hard) on the header above the door.  The black mesh panels are easy to see through so we will walk upright inside the run and then walk right into the metal mesh panel.  We might need to add caution tape or streamers to remind us to duck!

The walk-in door swings into the run but will not fully swing out. We noticed this when we were figuring out plans to extend their run into the yard. We had considered using this door for our extended run by swinging it out fully into the yard and found out this plan wouldn’t work.  This might not matter much to most people but was something that we noticed.

Space

There is plenty of space in this run for our 10 chickens.  In general, chickens should have between 8 to 10 square feet per chicken in a run and this run offers 97.5 square feet meaning that it can comfortably accommodate 10 chickens.

Inside the run, we have a small log for the chickens to climb on, a tree stump that serves as another roost (or sometimes dinner table), and the plastic tote that holds their fresh water.  We also have the feeder hanging on a rope from the top of the run.  With all these accessories, there is still plenty of room for the chickens during the day.

While this amount of space is great for chickens, we did expand the run by adding some fencing between the coop and garage and between the run and gate to allow our chickens more space to roam during the day.  As the weather was getting hotter, we determined the chickens needed more shade and more space to dust bathe than what they had in their run.  We added a tarp to the top of half of the run to provide some shade, but it wasn’t enough to shade the entire run during the whole day.  

Overall Verdict

Similar to the OverEZ chicken coop, the OverEZ chicken run is a bit pricey.  However, I think it’s a great deal for the money.  The kit includes everything you need to build the run.  You don’t need to worry about painting the run or getting it treated to withstand the elements.  The run is ready to go as soon as you get it assembled.  

Keeping my chickens in the run during the day has protected my lawn, garden, and flower beds from being destroyed by tiny dinosaurs.  At our last house, we let the chickens free range all day and within a couple of months there was no grass, my potted flowers had become dust bathtubs, and all the leaves on our bean plants that were within chicken jumping height had been eaten.  This run has saved our yard and gives me peace of mind knowing that my chickens are secure during the day when I’m not at home.