MKSHomestead
In the Brooder
- Feb 11, 2025
- 2
- 26
- 31
Hello BYC community! I just retired from the military and my family and I have just permanently settled in North Alabama. We are excited to start our new life which will consist of raising chickens. We have been doing a lot of research and area measurements and below is current plans. Now, there is a wealth of knowledge here, and we are only in the planning phase, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Flock: We are not planning on raising our flock for meat, at this time, so it will begin with 3 Easter Eggers, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 3 White Leghorns.
Coop/Run: Our vision is to build an East-facing structure on the ground with the front being 22’ long, 12’ deep, with an inside height of 7’. Looking at the front, it will have a doored access on the left side that is outside of the run. This door will open into a 6’x12’ area. This area will be storage for food, tools, etc., but will also have access to the nesting boxes. It will have a chicken wire wall, separating it from the coop, but will have a door leading into the coop. The coop itself will be 16’x12’. The connected run will be 7’ tall and 22’ wide at the coup and fanning out to 30’ wide at the front. The run will be 25’ deep and be encased on all side with 1/2” landscape mesh. The roof of the coop will extend 5’ over the run, with the rest being the landscape mesh. The coop will have barn style doors leading into the run. One door will also have an automatic chicken door. This way we can leave the barn doors open during the hot summers and close them in the winters. The run will be on grass and will have many chicken friendly plants and herbs.
We are still in the planning phase, so nothing is set in stone. All feedback is welcomed because we don’t know, what we don’t know and your experiences could help us from making some big mistakes.
Flock: We are not planning on raising our flock for meat, at this time, so it will begin with 3 Easter Eggers, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 3 White Leghorns.
Coop/Run: Our vision is to build an East-facing structure on the ground with the front being 22’ long, 12’ deep, with an inside height of 7’. Looking at the front, it will have a doored access on the left side that is outside of the run. This door will open into a 6’x12’ area. This area will be storage for food, tools, etc., but will also have access to the nesting boxes. It will have a chicken wire wall, separating it from the coop, but will have a door leading into the coop. The coop itself will be 16’x12’. The connected run will be 7’ tall and 22’ wide at the coup and fanning out to 30’ wide at the front. The run will be 25’ deep and be encased on all side with 1/2” landscape mesh. The roof of the coop will extend 5’ over the run, with the rest being the landscape mesh. The coop will have barn style doors leading into the run. One door will also have an automatic chicken door. This way we can leave the barn doors open during the hot summers and close them in the winters. The run will be on grass and will have many chicken friendly plants and herbs.
We are still in the planning phase, so nothing is set in stone. All feedback is welcomed because we don’t know, what we don’t know and your experiences could help us from making some big mistakes.
Glad you joined.
