Need help figuring out sizes for first coop?

[X_and_Z]

If you keep their food in the run (reasonable since it seems that you are making it predator/rodent proof) they will use the run space as much as the free range space.

What you want from your setup sounds like what I have - I have a coop/run that sits in a "chicken yard." They use the run as much as the yard most days and much more when it is wet. They have 24/7 access to the coop/run and an auto chicken door to the yard. Here is the link where I posted pics.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...f-my-coop-and-chickens.1223893/#post-19609308

 

[blufangirl]

If you keep their food in the run (reasonable since it seems that you are making it predator/rodent proof) they will use the run space as much as the free range space.

What you want from your setup sounds like what I have - I have a coop/run that sits in a "chicken yard." They use the run as much as the yard most days and much more when it is wet. They have 24/7 access to the coop/run and an auto chicken door to the yard. Here is the link where I posted pics.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...f-my-coop-and-chickens.1223893/#post-19609308

That looks great very similar to what I have been thinking about. Thank you for the visual.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not one to believe that the magic numbers about space or really anything else about chickens are laws of nature. We are each unique in our goals, flock make-up, management techniques, climate, how hard we are willing to work, the list goes on and on. You can follow the link in my signature if you want to see some of the things that I think should be considered when thinking about space. That said I understand the need for guidelines. But consider guidelines as places you start before you consider all the other things. You may be able to decrease those guidelines some (though I generally recommend against that) or you may need ti increase them.

I don't keep ducks but a lot of people on here do. A lot of people recommend separate facilities because ducks need a lot of water and can make a mess with it. In your circumstances I'm not sure that is necessary if you set up an area outside where they can always get to it and the chickens can find dry areas. You may need to be flexible on that and be prepared to address it if it becomes a problem.

Are you planning on locking that run when they are out in the yard? If not, then making the run bigger does not take away from their room in the yard. It is still available.

I don't know how much room you have in that storage shed, but don't think of coop or run in isolation, especially if you build that run so it is predator proof and you can leave the door open all the time. Think of the two areas combined. That's the way the birds will use it.

I'm generally a proponent of giving them more room if you can. It gives you more flexibility. Consider the situation where you cannot let them range in the yard because some predator starts killing them. What do you do? If it were me I'd build the run large enough to start with that I could lock them in there until I dealt with the predator.

If you are concerned about heat, an I think you should be in South Carolina, the solution is not let them out in the run at night. The solution is to provide a lot of ventilation in that coop. That storage shed probably doesn't have much ventilation so you will probably cut a lot of holes in it.

I really like reusing buildings like that. Your general plan sounds really good. But you might need to tweak it a bit. South Carolina is a pretty easy climate to keep chickens as long as you provide sufficient ventilation at night.