1. How tall should the side fences be on the chicken yard? Is seven feet sufficient? 2. What is the best material to spread on the coop floor? 3. How much space do I need in my chicken house and run? 4. Can a 6x8 garden shed be used as a chicken coop? What is a nesting box? Are they necessary? 5. Will painting the interior of the coop cause any health risk to the hens? 6. Could deer netting be used to fence my chickens in during the day? Will it be effective for keeping them out of the garden? 1. How tall should the side fences be on the chicken yard? Is seven feet sufficient? top Six feet is a common level for poultry fencing. Seven feet would be sufficient in most cases. There have been cases of chickens flying out even at that level, however. Chickens can be kept contained in their pens as well as protected from overhead predators by covering the pens with some form of netting. A common, lightweight, and easy to use netting is deer netting available in most large home improvement stores as well as hardware stores. submitted by Kathie , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 2. What is the best material to spread on the coop floor? top Pine shavings (or similar)work very well. Straw is also ok, but has spaces inside which can harbor mites and other pests. submitted by CM , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 3. How much space do I need in my chicken house and run? top Inside a minimum of 2 square feet of floor space. Outside, a minimum of 10 square feet in the run per bird (some say 4 sq. ft., but that's only 2x2, and I personally think that's restrictive). submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 4. Can a 6x8 garden shed be used as a chicken coop? What is a nesting box? Are they necessary? top A standard garden shed can be converted nicely into a coop..you want to provide about 4 square feet per bird, so the size will shelter about 12-14 birds easily. You want to ensure that it is draft free and secure from predators, and has adequate ventilation. Heat and insulation needs vary based on location and climate. An example of nesting box design can be found here: http://www.backyardchickens.com/coops/nestingbox.html submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 5. Will painting the interior of the coop cause any health risk to the hens? top If the paint is non toxic, and well dried, with good ventilation, it should cause no harm to the hens. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 6. Could deer netting be used to fence my chickens in during the day? Will it be effective for keeping them out of the garden? top The deer netting will keep the chickens in.. Another way to address this concern is to put the deer netting around the garden. This way you can use permanent support such as t-posts or wooden fence posts to support it. submitted by kathy , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009

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