New chickens

[eking]

I am in the process of finishing up building my first chicken coop. I work full time and want the chickens to be able to roam in an area that is blocked off but a part of their run. Would an electric fence be a good idea for this? If so, do you have any suggestions on one to get?

 

[PapaBear4]

A bit more information about your setup would be helpful. My experience has been that hawks and dogs are the biggest daytime risk. An electric fence will do a good job keeping the dogs out, but not the hawks (unless it's a really small run). Electric fences can also be quite expensive. A completely fenced run with netting over the top is better in my opinion. An inner run / outer run is not a bad idea if nobody is going to be home during the day.
How many chickens are you planning for?
What are the known predators in your area?

 

[eking]

I have the coop with a run. I believe it is about 6 feet high and I think 6 1/2 feet long. I am placing a roof on the top of the coop along with the run that I have attached. I thought of just getting one of those poultry electric fences to do a small circle coming out of the back of the coop so they could have more room. We do have a few hawks, cats, some dogs and I saw a opossum last night. I am looking into getting 6 chickens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The coop is 6x6 or the run is 6x6? Or both together? 6x6 as a coop should work great for 6 birds, but you'll need to add about 60 sq ft minimum in run space, unless you're planning on free ranging most of the time.

Rough minimum is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, 10 sq ft in the run. You can fudge it a little but overcrowding can lead to all sorts of issues.

I don't have any experience with electric but another possible option is to get a chain link dog run. 10x10 is a standard size which would be fine for your flock. You'll need to reinforce it with hardware cloth and an apron but that's not very expensive to add on and it's something you can do on weekends.

 

[eking]

I need to re measure when I get home. I did want to add more space in the run so it might work out by doing that. Thank you! Also thank you for the dog run advice. That one seems a little more feasible to do.

 

[aart]

Mesh top on run needed for hawks, metal is best, even chicken wire can work.

Electric poultry netting, properly installed and maintained, can keep most thins out except the flying ones.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1117877/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing