Welcome....we are in Oregon too(just outside of Portland).
The reality is, there is no such thing as giving too much space to your birds, so while their requirements are in excess of the typically quoted minimum space per bird, they're actually not excessive. You are unlikely to find a prefabricated setup that is going to provide that sort of space, but you can combined a prefabricated setup with say panels for dog kennels that can be your skeleton and then be made Predator resistant fairly easily. For example if the panels are chain link you'll want to use something with smaller holes such as hardware cloth because most of the common chicken predators can easily get through, under or over the panels.
Now, all of that said, I will say having visited more than a few folks in the Metro who are keeping chickens none of them had only three chickens and none of them had 20 square feet per chicken within their enclosed setups..... so up to you and your husband to decide which side of the line you are most comfortable being on and how risk adverse you are to potentially running slightly Askew of the requirements
The reality is, there is no such thing as giving too much space to your birds, so while their requirements are in excess of the typically quoted minimum space per bird, they're actually not excessive. You are unlikely to find a prefabricated setup that is going to provide that sort of space, but you can combined a prefabricated setup with say panels for dog kennels that can be your skeleton and then be made Predator resistant fairly easily. For example if the panels are chain link you'll want to use something with smaller holes such as hardware cloth because most of the common chicken predators can easily get through, under or over the panels.
Now, all of that said, I will say having visited more than a few folks in the Metro who are keeping chickens none of them had only three chickens and none of them had 20 square feet per chicken within their enclosed setups..... so up to you and your husband to decide which side of the line you are most comfortable being on and how risk adverse you are to potentially running slightly Askew of the requirements
and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
