Coup and yard plans

[wsmith]

Here are some pictures of my plan for our coup and yard layout. We have given ourselves until next spring to complete them. The yard will border the back fence, which will be 6 feet tall, wood slats. We are in an area that gets some pretty good winds off and on throughout the year, as we are very exposed and there are few trees. We are south of Colorado Springs, CO. Thoughts?

I have included some ideas from the forums, including a grass salad bar.... We figure that we will have anywhere from 15 - 30 chickens, depending on layers and freezer capacity...

Dominiques!

The yard fence will be 6 feet tall, with at least 3 ft tall wood on the bottom, and three ft wire fencing on the upper half. I can go larger or smaller, as space isn't an issue. We have 7 acres.

There are lots of coyotes around, and some hawks and owls as well. Probably put wire or mesh barrier on the top of the yard.

 

[wsmith]

Thoughts? Anybody?

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I'm sorry that I'm unable to read the small print, but it looks well thought out from what I can see

 

[wsmith]

Thanks. I tried to upload the images again, but they came out the same size. Wierd.
Lets try it again...

 

[2DogsCoop]

Looks great cant wait to see it finished!

 

[wsmith]

Thanks. We're working on the back fence now, and when that is done, we will start on the yard and coup.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Ah, now I can see it

You may want to consider increasing the size of your vent, but perhaps I'm not seeing all of it, or can't tell how large it is...
Here's a link to a member's "Big ol' Ventilation page": https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

It looks fabulous!! Super jealous

 

[wsmith]

Good idea and easy to do. Each of the end windows will have screens and be able to be opened up. I can make these larger. (think screened hole with plexiglass and a hinge....)

 

[RustyHen]

I really llike the ideas in your chicken yard the windbrake shade area, what will it be made of, shadecloth? I want to incorporate some of these ideas into our large run area. we will have two, one small for a security area, and another where they can have more freedom but not be totally free range.

 

[wsmith]

The wind either comes from the North (winter) the south (summer) or the west (spring and fall)
The large back fence will protect the chickens from the west wind. The lower 3 foot or the yard fence will be recycled fencing slats, 3 feet high. That will give OK protection from the north and south winds, but I had thought that the inner shade and wind protection would be 4 ft tall, giving them some extra protection. The central feeding area will be covered with a roof, giving them good shade during the day and shelter from the rain, if we ever get rain again. All combined we should be OK, I hope. The percentage of windy days (over say....20mph winds) is about 30% - 40% per year. And we are at 6000 ft, so the sun can be intense. We want to give the birds all the protection we reasonably can without going broke building..... we're using lots of recycled lumber for this project.

I can see it now... Hey look, there goes one of the chickens.............