Do I need a pen?

[wallace]

I'm new to chickens. I will probably go buy my first 4 chicks tonight to raise in our backyard in Tulsa. I'm still working out my coop design, and learning how expensive lumber can be.

Anyway - here's my question. Our backyard is probably about 40 feet by 100 feet. In the back we have about a 6 foot tall fence. On the sides we have about 4 foot tall chain link fences. I was thinking we'd put the chickens back in the corner, fenced in on one side by the wood fence and on the other by the chain link. Then we'd fence in the other two sides with chicken wire, and we could give the chickens a decent sized area to roam around.

But is the chain link going to be too low? And what about protecting from above? Do I pretty much have to confine them to a pen?

 

[nikkimay]

Both for keeping the girls in, and keeping predators out, i think you are going to want to cover the area that they are in... but you could certainly use that corner spot for starters. Perhaps one wall of the coop could take up the fourth side, then you would just need to fence in the front and top.

Good luck with the babies!