Help me decide on location

[echlfan]

I am planning on keeping 5 EEs & 1 blk astralorp. I need to figure out space requirements. I am a tad confused. So I need help. I may need to decrease the number of chickens, trying to decide. Here are my options:

Option 1-Flexible size coop & run. 13x23 All grass. Further from the house. 4 feet high fence on that side with a dog, so would not be as tall.

Option 2-Larger coop & smaller run. 14x16 size 3/4 on cement slab patio. Closer to the house. Taller fence on that side.

Option 3-If I were only able to use my garage how much floor space? What if I made it multi-level would that decrease the size of actual floor space needed?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
When you say 'only able to use my garage', you mean they would live totally indoors, or do you mean the coop would be in the garage but the run would extend outside, perhaps along the garage wall?

I'm not sure that one plan jumps out as being vastly preferable to the others, to my eye... they all have their advantages and disadvantages, it's just sort of a matter of what you prefer.

Option 1: The run will not stay grassy, you know, and you will have to put more money/material/time into building the run so that it is really dogproof. Which without either running an electric wire or putting a strong 'lid' or roof on the run (the latter being impractical for a 14' wide run) can be kind of difficult, depending on the dog. OTOH it's a nice size area, and the existing fence could be incorporated into the run fencing which might lessen work/expense, and if it is not *too* far from the house it might be better than having them right literally at the back door where sanitation becomes a bigger issue.

Option 2: Cement slab is good for the coop (although, disclaimer: I don't know whether it makes it hard for the coop to cool down at night in very hot climates) but not so great for the run; OTOH if you put sand or gravel over top of it in the run, and have the rest of the run not on slab, that's not too bad IMHO. Taller fence is safer for chickens but most areas still have predators that can get over taller fences, and the area is still too wide to realistically put a strong 'lid' or roof on.

Option 3: if you mean keeping them totally inside the garage, I wouldn't suggest it (unless *possibly* you can arrange for one whole wall of the 'run' part of their indoor pen to be walled with strong wire mesh so they get some of the outdoor experience), especially not in a hot climate. OTOH if you mean the coop inside the garage and the run along the wall outside it, or something like that, it may be a good option IF the garage does not get too hot during the day. (And remember, chickens are fairly dusty, so you wouldn't want to do it in a garage that had stuff you didn't want fine greasy dust all over)

It sounds like any of the options would work if you *had* to do it that way, so, just comes down to choice. Nice to have choices available

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[echlfan]

Thanks!!!