I currently have what was supposed to be a temporary raised 4x4 coop with an additional makeshift 4x4 partially enclosed roosting space/coop underneath on an attached 8x10 run. I have 8 hens. 4 sleep up and 4 sleep down. I also have 9 more viable eggs in the incubator, so I need to expand quick.
My existing chickens only roost and lay eggs in the coop. I live in zone 7, and most of the year is above freezing except for the occasional 1 week period where it stays below 30. My initial plans were to let them free range more often, but we have a lot of brazen and hungry foxes and hawks around so I have found out.
I like the raised coop set up, it is easy to clean, easy to access, and most importantly, cheap and easy to build.
So do I bite the bullet and just build a big 8 x 10 walk-in coop that I feel would take me forever to build, but maybe a bit easier to clean/manage?
Or make a few more 4x4 or 4x8 roosting houses and just go all out on a 24/7 predator proof run?
Any problems having a chicken "village" on one run? I feel like this way it may be easier to do a paddock system for the run for when the chicks are eventually introduced to the existing hens.
Thanks for any insight/suggestions!
My existing chickens only roost and lay eggs in the coop. I live in zone 7, and most of the year is above freezing except for the occasional 1 week period where it stays below 30. My initial plans were to let them free range more often, but we have a lot of brazen and hungry foxes and hawks around so I have found out.
I like the raised coop set up, it is easy to clean, easy to access, and most importantly, cheap and easy to build.
So do I bite the bullet and just build a big 8 x 10 walk-in coop that I feel would take me forever to build, but maybe a bit easier to clean/manage?
Or make a few more 4x4 or 4x8 roosting houses and just go all out on a 24/7 predator proof run?
Any problems having a chicken "village" on one run? I feel like this way it may be easier to do a paddock system for the run for when the chicks are eventually introduced to the existing hens.
Thanks for any insight/suggestions!