Help Me Make a Chicken AND Dog AND Kid-Friendly space!

[BrahmaMama5]

I'm 9 months pregnant, have 5 brahma chickens that are nearly 2 months old, a 1 year old Texas Heeler, and my sweet boys are 4 and 5 years old. We are moving to a new house and the ONLY thing keeping us from being there now is indecision about how to bring our animals! We are on a lake and have absolutely no yard. But we have a fairly large, weird area between our house and the neighbor's. It is ours, so we are trying to figure out how to kind of turn it into a fenced in area that will work for our chickens, dog and children!

There is a walkway & a slab there already. We'd like to use that for a patio space & maybe for s'mores & whatnot down the road. The chickens would be in the bottom part under the slab and to the right of the walkway. The coop would be really secure & the run area would really be there. Ideally, they'd be able to roam over all of it sometimes too. Our dog sometimes would be in the rest of it so he can run off energy. He would be inside when we are, but he loves being outside, so we'd ideally be able to let him roam there when we are gone. We don't work traditional jobs, so it wouldn't even be an all day thing. He has playtime in the same space with the chickens now too and, while he sometimes get excited, he's never been aggressive to them. I don't think it would be a problem having them close, although I'll definitely keep an eye out! I'm hoping the dog keeps predators away from the chickens, like all the snakes that hang out by the water.

1) What type of fencing is even an option for the whole perimeter?? I'd like to use hardware cloth around the chickens area too, but need something for the whole thing to keep everyone contained!

2) Is it OK to have the dog and chickens so close together? Or should I do some kind of fencing on both sides of the walkway to separate them a little more?

3) I'd planned to have a roof on the whole run, but there is a lot of shade with the 2 trees the chickens would have. Would it be OK to just have a partial roof closer the coop? The coop would be by the slab & tree and the run everywhere else on the bottom. Is a covered run fully necessary?

Thank you in advance! I really appreciate any and all feedback. I just want it to be done right the first time, and quickly to get us all here before the baby!

 

[nuthatched]

I use tenax deer fencing (not netting) it comes in higher widths.
If that whole island is yours, I'd section off a 50 squarefeet ish off for your girls, maybe closer to the narrow end and let your pups and kids have the rest.

 

[BrahmaMama5]

I use tenax deer fencing (not netting) it comes in higher widths.
If that whole island is yours, I'd section off a 50 squarefeet ish off for your girls, maybe closer to the narrow end and let your pups and kids have the rest.

That's super helpful! It is all ours, and technically the neighbor's whole driveway too The builder of this house owned 12 others in the neighborhood, so he built his strangely. Anyway, I hadn't thought about putting them up there, but that would be helpful! Thank you!

 

[DLA]

I'm 9 months pregnant, have 5 brahma chickens that are nearly 2 months old, a 1 year old Texas Heeler, and my sweet boys are 4 and 5 years old. We are moving to a new house and the ONLY thing keeping us from being there now is indecision about how to bring our animals! We are on a lake and have absolutely no yard. But we have a fairly large, weird area between our house and the neighbor's. It is ours, so we are trying to figure out how to kind of turn it into a fenced in area that will work for our chickens, dog and children!

There is a walkway & a slab there already. We'd like to use that for a patio space & maybe for s'mores & whatnot down the road. The chickens would be in the bottom part under the slab and to the right of the walkway. The coop would be really secure & the run area would really be there. Ideally, they'd be able to roam over all of it sometimes too. Our dog sometimes would be in the rest of it so he can run off energy. He would be inside when we are, but he loves being outside, so we'd ideally be able to let him roam there when we are gone. We don't work traditional jobs, so it wouldn't even be an all day thing. He has playtime in the same space with the chickens now too and, while he sometimes get excited, he's never been aggressive to them. I don't think it would be a problem having them close, although I'll definitely keep an eye out! I'm hoping the dog keeps predators away from the chickens, like all the snakes that hang out by the water.

1) What type of fencing is even an option for the whole perimeter?? I'd like to use hardware cloth around the chickens area too, but need something for the whole thing to keep everyone contained!

2) Is it OK to have the dog and chickens so close together? Or should I do some kind of fencing on both sides of the walkway to separate them a little more?

3) I'd planned to have a roof on the whole run, but there is a lot of shade with the 2 trees the chickens would have. Would it be OK to just have a partial roof closer the coop? The coop would be by the slab & tree and the run everywhere else on the bottom. Is a covered run fully necessary?

Thank you in advance! I really appreciate any and all feedback. I just want it to be done right the first time, and quickly to get us all here before the baby!

2. depends on the dog. some dogs make great chicken protectors, some just want to chase them.
3. if you want to do deep litter method then I think a fully covered run works better for that. if not then as long as they have some shade and a place to get out of wind/rain you wouldn't have to.