Doable?

[Farmer Ken]

Weekly cleaning like when you weed the garden should keep the smell under control.

And you should be able to clos your run in fairly easy.

 

[jbchoice1]

I would build your coop to the left of the porch, attached to the porch, and use under the porch as a covered run. A rooster and 3-4 hens will not need a ton of space. Just remember, though, if you build it small to accommodate a small # of birds, then you won't be able to let "chicken math" take over. You will be limited to a small # of birds....

I think if you build the coop under the porch, you are going to have issues with rain water seeping into it. It won't be fun... A little rain seeping into the run isn't as big of a deal.

Using the porch in some way will save you a ton of construction effort and time, so I think you should incorporate it somehow.

my opinion is exactly this.. just what I was thinking.. and have a door to open the run to the garden or yard to control the insects like you want...

 

[CESpeed]

Thank you all. I honestly wasn't sure but based on these responses, I'm gonna allow myself to get excited and make a trip to Lowes. :-D