Hello from Fort Collins, Colorado!

[BlueJaye]

Hey all! I am completely new to chickens! So new, in fact, that I don't even own any yet! My husband and I have 2 indoor cats (Bullet and Frisby - both rescues) and a 13-year old Rat Terrier named Dodger, who thinks he rules the place!

We are looking at getting 2-3 girls in April and building a coop of our own! We don't have tons of space, but our back yard is FULL of weeds, so we are thinking of letting them free-range but ONLY when we are there to supervise. I've been looking at HUNDREDS of coop/run designs online and don't know which way to go! We don't want anything too tall, but definitely want good protection from all types of predators!

Any help would be awesome, and I'd love to hear from some other Coloradoans!

 

[Kevin565]

. You'll find many other Colorado members in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!

Glad you joined us!!

 

[drumstick diva]

Search for the Colorado state thread - maybe someone will end up living near you.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. This link should help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/751620/hello-from-fort-collins-colorado

 

[TravisE]

hi and

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, BlueJaye, and

! Pleased you joined our community! Sounds like you are on the right track with the BYC research you have done! Good luck to you and have fun!

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Why don't you ask in the coops section for ideas? Here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

The coop I'm using isn't too tall, inside, but it's raised off the ground, which makes cleaning it much easier! You may want to keep that in mind. Also build a nice big coop, for when you add chicken later. Not "if", "when"

Predator-wise I'd recommend hardware cloth. It really helps slow down the beasties, especially raccoons!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck with your planning.