Coop & Run questions, need some pro advice!

[serenityNH]

Hello!

I am making the plans to convert our shed into a coop and add a run to the side of it. I just have a couple of questions I am not sure on. Would the chicken pro's out there give my some advice and/or share their experiences? We are getting 10 chickens, Buff Orpingtons, Brahmas, Ameraucana's and Plymouth Rocks

Questions:

-The shed is all wood in side and we are adding insulation then plywood. I notice a lot of people paint the inside of their coops, is this needed or can I leave mine wood?

-The floor is all wood, is this okay or will it be too hard to clean?

-Is it okay to just use netting for the roof, half of the run will be shaded by trees so they will have a good amount of shade and sun.

- For the run, how do you cover it without the snow in the winter making it sag down? I don't have the means to do a metal or wood roof right now.

- Our run is going to be 10' x 50' The coop is next to our 6ft cedar stockade fence so we are going to use the fence as one side of the run and use hardware cloth or metal fencing for the other side. How will the wood fence be with the chickens, is their poop and pecking going to destroy it?

- The run is slightly down hill so hopefully that will help with drainage and there are some ground cover bushes to help with mud (don't know how those will hold up to chickens?), how hard will it be keep the run clean and not a poopy mess? I want to be sure my neighbors can't smell it!

I want my chickens to be free range in our yard as much as possible but as some smart people on here told me I should still have a great run for the chickens! I just want to do everything right and provide a nice life for our feathered babies and keep my neighbors satisfied at the same time

Thank you so much for any advice, I appreciate it immensely!!
Angie

 

[mgw]

I will try to answer some of your Questions.

1. It is OK to leave it wood on the inside, Painting just brightens it up and helps with the cleaning.
2.So far our floors are just wood. You can put down linolium scraps it would help with cleaning and your floor lasting longer!
3.Netting for the roof works fine, as long as you know what kind of predaters you might have lurking around.
4. So far we have had no luck with covering our runs with tarps. We are on the lookout for cheap or free roofing metal, if we can do at least 10' of the run it would really help give them at least some dry space in the winter.
5. I think that the fence will be fine, just make sure nothing will dig under it or there are no holes for them to get out of.
6.The downhill angle should help with drainage. Another thing you could do is if you have a rototiller you can till inside the run every once in a while.
I hope you find some or any of these ideas helpful! good luck with your project!