Newbie to the forum but getting ready to begin construction on the future expansion to our backyard. I have designed, drawn, erased, redesigned, redrawn, erased again, rethought, drawn... But I believe I have arrived at the final design, I am looking for some real life input on my ideas. Don't worry I'm tuff enough to take criticism and smart enough to adapt!
The coop will be 6' x7' with attached nesting boxes on the 7' width side(Plans and build pics coming soon). The coop will be adjacent to a 24' x 24' fenced area with the middle 16' x 16' being separately fenced for my garden. My thought was that the chickens would intercept any bugs that would try and get to my veggies. I am prepared to suffer some perimeter loses on the garden to the chickens. This basically creates a 4' run around the perimeter of my garden. When the garden is harvested it would be open for the chickens to use for additional run space. The garden will be planted in the fall and spring. I am planning on starting out with 6 chickens and maybe expanding to 10-12 at a later date.
Some concerns I still have:
1.) Is it OK to open the garden up to the chicks after the harvest has been taken?
2.) Planning on enclosing the area underneath the coop for the chicks when they are small until they are big enough to take over the permanent run. Is this enough area for a temporary run while they are still growing?
3.) We do have a few hawks that live around our area. Do I still have to worry about them when the chickens reach maturity or just when they are smaller?
4) I am planning on either Red Star or Rhode Island Reds. Any preferences?
Thanks for any help you can give. I know I'm just starting out and so far one question has lead to another but the forum has been a great asset. Thanks again.
The coop will be 6' x7' with attached nesting boxes on the 7' width side(Plans and build pics coming soon). The coop will be adjacent to a 24' x 24' fenced area with the middle 16' x 16' being separately fenced for my garden. My thought was that the chickens would intercept any bugs that would try and get to my veggies. I am prepared to suffer some perimeter loses on the garden to the chickens. This basically creates a 4' run around the perimeter of my garden. When the garden is harvested it would be open for the chickens to use for additional run space. The garden will be planted in the fall and spring. I am planning on starting out with 6 chickens and maybe expanding to 10-12 at a later date.
Some concerns I still have:
1.) Is it OK to open the garden up to the chicks after the harvest has been taken?
2.) Planning on enclosing the area underneath the coop for the chicks when they are small until they are big enough to take over the permanent run. Is this enough area for a temporary run while they are still growing?
3.) We do have a few hawks that live around our area. Do I still have to worry about them when the chickens reach maturity or just when they are smaller?
4) I am planning on either Red Star or Rhode Island Reds. Any preferences?
Thanks for any help you can give. I know I'm just starting out and so far one question has lead to another but the forum has been a great asset. Thanks again.
