In Need of Ideas

[ourlilfarm2015]

We recently moved onto an 8 acre farm. There is a chicken coop on it that needs some TLC (I will attach photos). I recently purchased two Cayuga ducklings from TSC and in the future would like some Wyandotte chickens. My hope is to build a run next to my coop so secure they can go in and out as they please so that if we are not home to lock them up I can still rest easy knowing they are safe. Needing ideas for safest fence ideas I have 1/4 inch hardware cloth in mind. I live in Northeast NE therefore mother nature gets a little whacky in every direction. Needing raccoon and hawk proof and bull snakes are also common here. Also dog proof as the training process to leave them alone has already begun I will still never completely trust them ha. My dogs are primarily indoors and not left for long periods unattended outside but the smallest is 50#. Also will need help deciding how large to go on the outside run I don't want ridiculously huge as the area surrounding it may be needed for horse pasture on a bad summer. TSC minimum order for chickens is 25! I don't think I need THAT many I want a small enough group that they are somewhat tame. Are there other trustworthy places to order that breed of chicken in smaller numbers? My apology for ten thousand questions

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Welcome! I am from Nebraska too, I used to go to Wayne for college.
Go with the hardware cloth. 6 ft up (though only the first 3 or 4 need to be hardware cloth, and bury the hardware cloth at least 6 inches to prevent digging into coop. To keep hawks at bay, I have heard the rather ingenious idea of stringing colored heavy-duty fishing line across the top. It does not need to be solid, just enough to prevent a bird of prey from diving.
As for size, there are many different opinions on how much square feet each chicken needs. Keep in mind that as you plan to let them range anyway they need less then if you were always going to keep them locked up. But the high estimate is 10 square feet per chicken, the low is 4 square feet.
To get less chickens you have several options. The first is do not order, just buy from TSC or Orshlens. They have chick's available now, you are limited on breeds but they will get different types throughout the season. I prefer Orshlens, but it is mostly preference. Another option is to go with a breeder. We have one very friendly lady on our state thread who is getting ready to hatch chick's any day now. Hers are more expensive and you might keep in mind that you could use the lower quality feed store chick's to learn from and once you are comfortable with chickens advance to the higher quality breeder chickens.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/172734/nebraskans-speak-up-nebraska-rocks/1170#post_16791288
Hope to see you there!