I thought I'd have to get chickens before I had questions ... I'm reading BYC and Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. My husband has been building a coop and run for me (using repurposed lumber and hardware cloth), I guess about halfway done now. So some of the dimensions are set, but I was looking for some advice on finishing it off.
This is for a teeny backyard flock, just 3 or 4. The chicks I'm picking up are 6 or 8 weeks old, Delawares. The current run is framed out at 4x10, then he has about a foot or two extending off to be part of the coop. He wants to enclose part of the run too. It is moveable, I think the just-hardware-cloth "run" part will be 4x8 ft, the enclosed "coop" part will be about 3x4. Based on my book, that should be fine for 3 girls? It's snug, but they should be OK since I can move them around the yard, they'll get to roam around the yard a couple of times a week, and since the coop is attached to the run I can just leave the coop door open right?
It's hard to filter through the information to figure out what just a couple of chickens need with a moveable run vs a huge flock, vs a permanent structure.
Based on what I've said, what have I not thought of? I have a feeder and waterer, chick starter crumbles, and pine shavings for bedding. I'll have hinged door access to the run, the coop, and a nest box. Would a coop need to be enclosed on all 4 sides, or could it be open to the run (sort of like a box laid on its side). We have pretty mild winters, a few times it got into the 20's overnight this winter, but not really lots of snow and bad weather. There will be minimal threat from predators, but I do have enough hardware cloth to enclose the run and cover a window for ventilation.
This is for a teeny backyard flock, just 3 or 4. The chicks I'm picking up are 6 or 8 weeks old, Delawares. The current run is framed out at 4x10, then he has about a foot or two extending off to be part of the coop. He wants to enclose part of the run too. It is moveable, I think the just-hardware-cloth "run" part will be 4x8 ft, the enclosed "coop" part will be about 3x4. Based on my book, that should be fine for 3 girls? It's snug, but they should be OK since I can move them around the yard, they'll get to roam around the yard a couple of times a week, and since the coop is attached to the run I can just leave the coop door open right?
It's hard to filter through the information to figure out what just a couple of chickens need with a moveable run vs a huge flock, vs a permanent structure.
Based on what I've said, what have I not thought of? I have a feeder and waterer, chick starter crumbles, and pine shavings for bedding. I'll have hinged door access to the run, the coop, and a nest box. Would a coop need to be enclosed on all 4 sides, or could it be open to the run (sort of like a box laid on its side). We have pretty mild winters, a few times it got into the 20's overnight this winter, but not really lots of snow and bad weather. There will be minimal threat from predators, but I do have enough hardware cloth to enclose the run and cover a window for ventilation.
