Chickens on the Patio - Am I Crazy?

[TinaG]

OK, so this may sound totally crazy, but I can't be the first. Small yard and looking for coop locations. We have a large covered patio (20 x 25), with a very solid tin covered roof, outside our living room. The surface is covered in unstained Saltillo tile, one side is the brick wall to the master bedroom, one side is a sliding door and 2 windows and brick to the living room, the other two sides are framed in with 2 x 4's and originally had screen wire covering them until my kiddos busted through them years ago playing toddler basketball. The ceiling height is 9 feet and it's got a north/east orientation.

How crazy would it be to put hardware cloth over the open sides, a thick layer of sand on the floor and some roosting bars and nest boxes for about 8 hens? It would be an open air coop but since most of the year in San Antonio is moderate to killer heat, only a few days would require any addition of clear plastic to cut the wind. I could add a cover and sides over the roosting bars for more wind break if necessary. The hens can also spend several hours roaming the yard and greenbelt behind the house in the late afternoon.

My big concern is any health hazards keeping chickens this close to living spaces, although we really never go out through this door or open the windows. Also sand getting in the house (though it can't be any worse than my husband's original idea when the kids were little - turn it into a giant sandbox for the kids).

I have been trying to come up with all kinds of coop configurations and it was my 12 yo who pointed out that we could make this the coop itself.

Thanks for the suggestions and consideration.

 

[devora]

My big concern is any health hazards keeping chickens this close to living spaces, although we really never go out through this door or open the windows. Also sand getting in the house

If you don't use the door, how would the sand get inside? If you do use the door then, yuck, wouldn't your house be a coop? (Maybe I'm misunderstanding the set up!)

Birds can be loud. Really loud.

Other than that, hey, it'll be a great conversation piece for dinner parties.

 

[itsren]

Is the patio becoming the coop? Or are you just setting a coop on the patio?

Our coop and run will be close to our patio (small yard, too). Probably about 10 feet away from it. I'm not sure I'd want it any closer to the house than that.

 

[cadeschicks]

I think it sounds cool to be able to watch your chickens from your living room.

 

[TinaG]

Well, the project started out as building a 4 x 8 Garden Ark coop on the patio under the patio cover. But that now seems like building a coop "inside a coop". It certainly would be cheaper to just buy sand and hardware wire, and it doesn't take much building skill to staple.

Our city has a 50 foot ordinance for backyard chickens but this patio is within 20 feet of one neighbor (she is positive about this though since she has at least 5 screaming Amazon parrots in the backyard- I'm not sure which one of us will be more in violation of city ordinances but I don't think either one of us can afford to rat each other out!)

This is really an unused patio so I don't plan on going in and out of the patio door. We have 2 other patios by the kitchen that we use for outside access.

I like the idea of such a large open space but guess I was mostly worried about the smell and dust migrating into the house, even though the doors and windows wouldn't be opened. Sand has a way of getting through the smallest cracks. But, if I keep the sand sprinkled with PDZ and DE, put bins under the roosting bars to catch and dump droppings, and keep it raked frequently, I wonder if that will be enough for smell and flies. And I have to try and limit the urge to get more chickens to fill such a big space. (That's the beauty of a smaller coop - there's a bit of self-limiting built into it)

Any disease problems that could be related to living so close to chickens? I know it's done worldwide but I'm a germ phobe Westerner.

But on the plus side- there'll always be something on Chicken TV.

 

[TinaG]

Mother Nature helped me out last night by dumping 2 1/2 inches of rain in a torrential downpour, allowing me to see how well the tin-roofed patio cover sheds water. The previous owners who built it sure did a great job. I have a few leaks, besides the wind-blown rain coming in through the 2 open sides, but about 75% of the floor was dry. Most rain events aren't going to be this fast and heavy, so I think it wouldn't be as noticeable. I now know I'm going to put clear Sun Tuf panels over the roosting bars to provide more shelter. 40 linear feet of open air is great in the summer, but they'll need to get out of the wind and any rain that gets blown under the patio. I think I'm also going to put some clear plexiglass panels in the open spaces in the couple of spots that seem to collect the most water.

I want to take my time and make this the best possible layout since I know it is a little unconventional. I now have a better idea about the materials I'm going to need. On the plus side, if this doesn't work out I haven't really built anything that I'm stuck with.

 

[crumptz]

Ok, am I the only person that would love a picture of the patio that you are talking about? Please, if you can, post a photo... thanks!

 

[mondotomhead]

Personally, if this was my option, I'd do it in a minute

.........and post a pic!

 

[phelpcd1]

If I didn't have 4 little muts running around, I would have loved to turn my patio into "chicken TV".......I am not using sand so can't speak on how well it absorbs urine, but that would be the only smell I'd be concerned about. As long as you are raking up the poops every day, that shouldn't be a huge deal. I can attest to having flies around now tho - i'm thinking of hanging some of that fly paper up...might consider that also.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

Sounds awesome!!! I have a massive covered deck as well, and we have parrots (though FIVE AMAZONS is MADNESS!!!!!) and I have always wanted to turn a part of my deck into a screened in area for THEM for years. So I dont think keeping chickens in a similar area would be bad. And I dont think chickens are Loud in comparison to FIVE AMAZONS!!! LOL So you should be fine there, LOL I dont think disease is a concern, providing you change your shoes before entering the house, and you keep the area clean and tidy. I dont find my chickens have a strong odor.