Managing the Chicken Run

At first, I was bummed about keeping our chickens confined to a static run. Aren't the only happy chickens free-range chickens? The Matron of Husbandry has a compelling argument against that notion, and I've been revisiting some of her writing on chicken husbandry.

Confined chickens require more active management - bringing green things to them since they are not out on pasture and dealing with more manure in a concentrated space. But the later is also an advantage, as all that confined manure will eventually make it to the garden rather than being scattered randomly about the yard.