Another "Is my coop big enough?" Post!

[CitrusMan]

I think by your math you’re fine for 10 birds. Liked your video; you seem like you are in touch with your chickens and care about them.
If you have the space why not just make that temporary side yard a little wider and just cover the top, then you can have +++ chix...
I have a coop/run combo thats about 320sq ft, started out with half that but just kept adding on to it. I call it my own winchester mansion...

I'm going to cover it this weekend with 2" chicken wire. I ran out of time last weekend. Still not sure if I'm going to let them out there all day while we're at work though! Maybe we'll work up to it. The previous "run yard" that I had was similar to this one, and I left them out all day long. As long as it's covered, I'm not too worried about many daytime predators. We definitely have raccoons heavy but they don't come around until night time and all of the girls are in by then.

 

[Welshies]

I'm going to cover it this weekend with 2" chicken wire. I ran out of time last weekend. Still not sure if I'm going to let them out there all day while we're at work though! Maybe we'll work up to it. The previous "run yard" that I had was similar to this one, and I left them out all day long. As long as it's covered, I'm not too worried about many daytime predators. We definitely have raccoons heavy but they don't come around until night time and all of the girls are in by then.

No no no. Chicken wire is not predator proof especially for coons.

 

[CitrusMan]

No no no. Chicken wire is not predator proof especially for coons.

Oh, no, the yard is not predator proof, the wire is to keep them from jumping out and over the 4' fence and to deter hawks.
The coop is completely enclosed with double half inch hardware cloth and all of the doors are double locked with a clasp and a hook and latch.
The run is completely enclosed and 1/2 inch hardware cloth with the two foot skirt all the way around and the door to the coop as a clasp and lock.
The 30'X4' yard is not predator-proof, it is more of a mock free-range area where they are still contained and somewhat protected during the day. At night, they go back in the little door from the yard into the run, then from the run into the coop. I close and lock all of the doors before sundown.

 

[Welshies]

Oh, no, the yard is not predator proof, the wire is to keep them from jumping out and over the 4' fence and to deter hawks.
The coop is completely enclosed with double half inch hardware cloth and all of the doors are double locked with a clasp and a hook and latch.
The run is completely enclosed and 1/2 inch hardware cloth with the two foot skirt all the way around and the door to the coop as a clasp and lock.
The 30'X4' yard is not predator-proof, it is more of a mock free-range area where they are still contained and somewhat protected during the day. At night, they go back in the little door from the yard into the run, then from the run into the coop. I close and lock all of the doors before sundown.

Ohhhh! Sorry!
I'm really forward on the whole "chicken wire is not predator proof" thing, so i'm sorry if I came off as rude! I just hate to see folks lose their birds

 

[CitrusMan]

Ohhhh! Sorry!
I'm really forward on the whole "chicken wire is not predator proof" thing, so i'm sorry if I came off as rude! I just hate to see folks lose their birds

Oh, no, you absolutely did not come across as rude! Lol. Thank you for being concerned. I'm a freak about "over doing" it. In the small coop (it's in the video), I used chicken wire AND hardware cloth for the run.

The only bird we ever lost to a predator (racoon) was our Speckled Sussex, Dottie. She is the one that I'm holding in my profile pic. It happened because of a misunderstanding that I thought my girlfriend locked the coop and she thought that I had...

 

[CitrusMan]

Oh, no, you absolutely did not come across as rude! Lol. Thank you for being concerned. I'm a freak about "over doing" it. In the small coop (it's in the video), I used chicken wire AND hardware cloth for the run.

The only bird we ever lost to a predator (racoon) was our Speckled Sussex, Dottie. She is the one that I'm holding in my profile pic. It happened because of a misunderstanding that I thought my girlfriend locked the coop and she thought that I had...

From then on out, I'm sure that it's me who locks the girls up at night so there is no misunderstandings. It was horrible finding poor Dottie's little lifeless body... The racoon bit her head off.

 

[Welshies]

From then on out, I'm sure that it's me who locks the girls up at night so there is no misunderstandings. It was horrible finding poor Dottie's little lifeless body... The racoon bit her head off.

I know how horrible that is. Here my main predator is the cold. I've lost 4 chicks to it, and now a fox is finding my coops interesting. It's never ending, but I'll never stop trying nor will I ever get used to death. I want my flock to be safe, so I know how you feel.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I love all the fun details of your chicken coop. You put a lot of thought and care into the design. Really charming setup, and they look very happy. The square footage recommendations per chicken honestly seem to vary depending on the layout and how the space is being used. This is one of the best uses of space I've seen.

As for the hawk question and the width of the long run, first that's really clever giving them an enclosed run and then having this additional space for them!

A few weeks ago, I witnessed a hawk swoop down like a bullet and try to grab one of my hens that was out of the chicken run foraging. The fencing for the run extends off the sides. She was a foot from the side of the chicken coop, which extends out maybe twelve feet to the corner of the run, and on her other side was a five foot tall toyon shrub, leaving a narrow channel of maybe two feet between the coop and the shrub.

The hawk had a clear shot and yet seemed unsure of herself and only made it to about two or three feet above Hortense. When I ran out, the hawk swooped up into a tree next to the run. It happened so fast it's possible I startled the hawk, but my immediate impression was that she wasn't navigating that narrow space very well. She would have had to land to attack my hen.

 

[CitrusMan]

Only if they regularly go up there to hang out. When I had large poop boards my sq footage was destroyed. Mine would neither walk under or go up. They only went up when going to roost.
My roosts were 2' off the floor and there was 18" under the droppings boards. No reason they could not go under. They just never did.

Hard to see in this pic, but the girls use the perches and upper levels quite a bit. They do it using the buddy system, as you can see.

 

[Peter.J]

Bummer about the Speckled Sussex! I picked up 4 of those a month ago from a guy on craigslist and they are the only hens laying right now; real nice birds too, they just hang out by me if i’m Sitting out there...
Couldn’t really tell but almost looks like a log on some chain in there?
I put a couple swings in my run and they actually like them.