First, please correct me if I should have just added this to my previous thread. Different boards work different ways and I always want to be a good board citizen.
DH's question first. He really likes the idea of being able to feed, water, and get eggs from the outside of the pen. But he is worrying that hens will jump out of the nestbox and fly away when we open the lid. Will they do that? Will they try to get through an access hatch when its open?
Will chickens voluntarily go through a corridor a couple feet wide to get to a different run? If you think of the available area in my yard as the number pad on your keyboard with the metal garden shed in the middle at #5 the proposed coop and hardened, free-access run would be #2. #1 and #4 have to remain open for access to the lawnmower and garden tools. #3 is occupied by a sizeable shrub.
It might be possible for me to use the area of numbers 6, 9, 8, 7, and maybe even the page down key and divide it into 3-4 sections to grow mini-pastures that I could rotate. Would the chickens willingly walk a narrow corridor around the shed to get to 8, 7, and page down? Would they have to be herded?
How long would half a dozen hens take to turn about 100-120 square feet of vegetation into bare dirt anyway?
Obviously, putting the chicken coop at #5 would be best, but that metal shed is firmly anchored on a brick floor and is unlikely to go anywhere without more labor than DH is willing to spend on the project.
Finally, this property has some weedy, neglected areas where we've cleaned away dead trees and overgrown shrubs. If the vegetation includes ragweed, holly, live oak, honeysuckle, prickly pear cactus, pokeweed, lambs quarters, false dandelion, sassafras, and a heavy layer of pine straw is it a chicken buffet or a chicken last supper?
DH's question first. He really likes the idea of being able to feed, water, and get eggs from the outside of the pen. But he is worrying that hens will jump out of the nestbox and fly away when we open the lid. Will they do that? Will they try to get through an access hatch when its open?
Will chickens voluntarily go through a corridor a couple feet wide to get to a different run? If you think of the available area in my yard as the number pad on your keyboard with the metal garden shed in the middle at #5 the proposed coop and hardened, free-access run would be #2. #1 and #4 have to remain open for access to the lawnmower and garden tools. #3 is occupied by a sizeable shrub.
It might be possible for me to use the area of numbers 6, 9, 8, 7, and maybe even the page down key and divide it into 3-4 sections to grow mini-pastures that I could rotate. Would the chickens willingly walk a narrow corridor around the shed to get to 8, 7, and page down? Would they have to be herded?
How long would half a dozen hens take to turn about 100-120 square feet of vegetation into bare dirt anyway?
Obviously, putting the chicken coop at #5 would be best, but that metal shed is firmly anchored on a brick floor and is unlikely to go anywhere without more labor than DH is willing to spend on the project.
Finally, this property has some weedy, neglected areas where we've cleaned away dead trees and overgrown shrubs. If the vegetation includes ragweed, holly, live oak, honeysuckle, prickly pear cactus, pokeweed, lambs quarters, false dandelion, sassafras, and a heavy layer of pine straw is it a chicken buffet or a chicken last supper?
