If my chickens free range (in a fenced yard) all day, is there any reason I have to have a run? I'm altering my coop to have more coop and less run since they don't use the run except to eat, and I'm wondering what is stopping me from converting the entire run into coop. Will I regret it?
mine have just a coop and a full quarter acre of space to run around and it works well. It is nice to have a large coop for bad weather and such, they decide when to go out anyway and will go in the coop at night. Sounds like a good idea to me. just make sure there are things for them to get under in case of predators from the sky.
It's just nice to have a secure place to put them if the need arises. But if your coop is very large and well lit so that they could stay in there if the need arose to confine them then it should work. Mine free range in a fenced pasture all day but if for some reason I need to keep them penned they still have access to a nice run so it's no big deal. This situation occured a while back when we had a coyote problem and roaming the pasture just was not safe.
My setup is the same. Mine are allowed to free range when I'm home, but they also have a covered run. Its nice to have an outdoor area that is covered so they can have a dry place to go when it is raining or snowing. Mine won't walk through more than a few inches of snow, so during the winter they pretty much stay in the enclosed run. It is also good because if you go away for a couple days and your run is predator proof, you can leave the door open and not have to confine them the entire time.
I have a decent sized coop, a pen and then they free range most of the day. I like the fenced in pen so that on days that no one is home or we are away and have a chicken sitter, they don't go out to free range but aren't stuck in the coop all day.
