Coop inside or outside of dog kennel run?

[WYOwhy]

I have my coop build. I have my dog kennel run assembled. I have purchased the roofing material for the run but haven't put it on yet. And now I am wondering... should the coop itself sit outside of the run - with a little hole cut in the kennel that matches the pop door so they have access? Or should it sit inside the run? I have only 3 chickens. The coop is small. The run is 50 square feet. Opinions?
Thanks!

 

[pride&joy]

Can you post a pic of coop

 

[WYOwhy]

pride&joy :

Can you post a pic of coop

Yup. I'll snap one tonight when I get home and add it here. It's a little pre-fab coop... I'm single and only moderately handy.

 

[Intheswamp]

If you place the coop outside of the run then you have all of the area inside the run available to the chickens. You could also access the eggs and possibly feed/water the chickens without having to enter the run. But, you will have to secure the coop so that *nothing* can chew through the wood or gain entrance at the fence/pop-door junction.

If you place the coop inside the run then the coop will have the security of the run itself. If the coop stands up on four legs then underneath might be a good area to hang a feeder and it will be a shady/rainy-day area for them to go. Also, with the coop inside the run if per chance there is a chance that a chicken could escape out of the housekeeping entrance to the coop when you open it it would be better for the chicken to escape into the confines of the run rather than your yard. But, the four legs will take up space as will the ramp going into the coop.

Pros and cons on both ways.

Ed

 

[elmo]

It would certainly be easier to put the coop inside the run. If you put it outside, you'll have the hassle of cutting the opening in the chain link and attaching the coop to the side of the run somehow (that will always be a weak spot in your security, too).

If it was me, I'd put it inside the run: I like easy, and I like two layers of security.

 

[MaKettle]

We have our doghouse coop attached to a dog kennel...so the coop sits on the outside of the kennel. We cut a hole in the kennel & used hardware cloth to create a tiny little tunnel so that it is predator proof....the coop sits right up against the kennel & the chickens walk down the ramp into the run.

 

[sprawli]

Outside!

 

[bigoakhunter]

Outside to maximixe space in run. Just butt it up and cut a hole so door or ramp can go inside run.

 

[patandchickens]

If the coop is raised above the ground so the chickens can get underneath it, then no-brainer definitely put the coop INSIDE the chainlink.

If the coop is directly on the ground, then you have to think about the tradeoff of security versus lost run space. In most cases, though, it is really not difficult to build the coop PROPERLY predatorproof and attach it securely to the chainlink, in which case it would make most sense to put the coop outside.

Pat

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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