Old Shed Coop and Run Suggestions Needed

[Foley Hill Chicken Finger]

Hello all! I am planning on building my first coop for my first backyard flock. I have a 10 ft x 10 ft old shed that was given to me that I am going to convert into a coop and move down the hill in my backyard about 50-60 feet. I was wondering if any of you would be willing to give me any feedback or suggestions for this coop and run? Due to limitations as to where I can place it, I will have to place it 10 feet off of my property line that borders the neighbor's woods. With that being said, common predators that I will be dealing with are raccoons, skunks, rat snakes, and red shouldered hawks.

In the first photo the red lines represent the shed/coop, the blue arrows represent the run area, and orange lines represent the property boundary.

1.) How many chickens should I keep in the shed/coop? I have read anywhere between 2-5 sq ft per chicken.

2.) How should I construct the run? I had initially planned on putting a door on both sides of the shed so I can alternate and move the run from side to side and also on the front to alternate the ground they have.

3.) What kind of protection can I put up behind the shed/coop to help protect against predators? I was thinking of fencing the back in, kind of like a backyard, and clearing all of the brush up to the property line.

4.) I would like to keep a heritage pure breed chicken, with my raising goals mainly being for egg production and breed conservation. I'd also like to show some in local fairs if I can. Some of the breeds that have initially caught my interest (in no particular order) are: Scots Dumpy, Dorking, Campine, New Hampshire, Black Java, and Dominque. Would any of these breeds do well or not so well in this setup?

I am hoping to have the coop and run completed by next spring, then I will look into getting chicks. Thank you in advance for the advice and input and sorry if my questions are newbish.

 

[DobieLover]

I have read anywhere between 2-5 sq ft per chicken.

You want to maximize space in the coop and never push the limits. The most recommended minimum square footage is 3.5 to 4 sq ft per bird in the coop. That should be increased significantly if you are not going to set up the run in such a way that they can get out into it during winters or long periods of inclement weather.
Gambrel roof sheds are notorious for being difficult to get very much needed ventilation into them. You can extend the rafters on the lowest section of the roof so that you can open up the space underneath the extension for ventilation. You can also install awnings on the gable ends and open up high large areas for ventilation. You will want to back all of the ventilation with 1/2" hardware cloth for security.

How should I construct the run?

You'll want to construct it so that it's tall enough for you to walk in, it has a solid, pitched roof and walls secured with 1/2" hardware cloth along with a 2 ft predator apron spread along the ground.
You'll want to scale it so that it offers about 15 sq ft per bird and put lots of branches, stumps, old wood chairs or stools, pallets leaning up against the wall so they have things to scratch around and perch on.
Unless you are going to fence off a significant portion of land, I wouldn't worry about rotating runs because they will quickly strip the space of any vegetation and it won't have time to regrow before they do it to the next section. So your best bet for them and yourself is to just build one very large run.

What kind of protection can I put up behind the shed/coop to help protect against predators?

If you're going to run power out to this coop I would install electrified poultry netting to create a very large pen around your coop/run setup. That is what I do and I have been extremely successful protecting my birds from both ground and aerial predators in this manner. There are many large shrubs and perennials that grow in their pen that provide aerial protection and nothing has ever gotten to them from the ground.

 

[Foley Hill Chicken Finger]

You want to maximize space in the coop and never push the limits. The most recommended minimum square footage is 3.5 to 4 sq ft per bird in the coop. That should be increased significantly if you are not going to set up the run in such a way that they can get out into it during winters or long periods of inclement weather.
Gambrel roof sheds are notorious for being difficult to get very much needed ventilation into them. You can extend the rafters on the lowest section of the roof so that you can open up the space underneath the extension for ventilation. You can also install awnings on the gable ends and open up high large areas for ventilation. You will want to back all of the ventilation with 1/2" hardware cloth for security.

You'll want to construct it so that it's tall enough for you to walk in, it has a solid, pitched roof and walls secured with 1/2" hardware cloth along with a 2 ft predator apron spread along the ground.
You'll want to scale it so that it offers about 15 sq ft per bird and put lots of branches, stumps, old wood chairs or stools, pallets leaning up against the wall so they have things to scratch around and perch on.
Unless you are going to fence off a significant portion of land, I wouldn't worry about rotating runs because they will quickly strip the space of any vegetation and it won't have time to regrow before they do it to the next section. So your best bet for them and yourself is to just build one very large run.

If you're going to run power out to this coop I would install electrified poultry netting to create a very large pen around your coop/run setup. That is what I do and I have been extremely successful protecting my birds from both ground and aerial predators in this manner. There are many large shrubs and perennials that grow in their pen that provide aerial protection and nothing has ever gotten to them from the ground.

Thank you for all of this information! It is very helpful!