Opinions wanted for coop/run size

[Jeremy128]

Any advice, opinions, thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I am new to keeping chickens. I have 6 one week old chickens that are doing great. I am beginning to plan my coop. I plan on building my coop from pallets as well as the frame work forth drum enclosure.
My coop is looking like it will be 6'8 x 8'0. It will be a walk in type with full enclosed, insulated, with ventilation along the top of two opposing walls.
The run will be approximately 6'8 x 12'. The perimeter walls I the run will also be tall enough to walk into. I will either use chain link or construction mesh to keep predators out. This will also cover the top of the run.
I live in a heavily wooded area where there are several coyotes, fox, raccoons, dogs, hawks, owls and more. So I additionally plan to either bury approximately 1' of the fence, or fold it outward from the run and cover it with heavy rocks.
My property is on a hill side with a level area next to the house. Due to this, in heavy rains, the yard can get very soggy and have standing water. So, I want to dig about 6" below grade and fill with rock. Then cover with dirt/sand mixture to keep the ground in the run from getting too muddy.

Does this sound like an adequate coop/run for 6 birds? I do plan on adding to my flock, but not more than 10 chickens....

Feedback please.....
And thank you in advance!

 

[teach1rusl]

It sounds as if you have security covered. If the housing has window openings cut out, be sure to add hardware cloth over those as "screens." Window openings have definite advantages...letting winter sun in (cover "screens" with plexiglass or clear vinyl over winter time) helps warm up the coop in winter, plus allows as much light as possible for the egg laying cycle. Plus if your area gets hot summers, they keep the coop from becoming and oven. So if you can manage window openings, do so.
And I'd make sure that any of the ventilation openings are not on the prevailing (winter) wind side. Unless your birds will be free ranging a few hours each day, if you think you might end up with 10 birds, you might want your run a little larger...most suggest 10 sq. ft of run space per bird (although that doesn't sound like much to me). For six birds it sounds fine. Your coop housing sounds roomy though.
Good luck and happy building!

 

[Jeremy128]

Thanks for the advice! I do plan on installing actual windows. I don't know the exact size. Whatever I can find "on the cheap" will do. I'll probably get them off of Craigslist or something.
I will most likely have ventilation on the top of the back wall which is about 5 feet away from a steep hill. The stron winds usually come from that direction. As a result, they tend to blow over our house due to the wind deflecting from the hilltop.

 

[blucoondawg]

even if you have actual windows you will still need to cover the openings either inside or out with some sort of hardware cloth unless you are keeping the windows closed all the time, predators will come through the screens if you don't do this. I picked up some vinyl windows at Menards for 30 bucks each, they were 120 regular price, one is a glider the other is a single hung. They are brand new marked down for whatever reason.

 

[aart]

........
I will most likely have ventilation on the top of the back wall which is about 5 feet away from a steep hill. The strong winds usually come from that direction..........

Then I think you want to top ventilation openings on the front wall.

 

[Trefoil]

If you put your coop on 2' legs, it will give your chickens an additional 6 x 8 protected run for very little fencing. Coop wise it sounds like you;re good for 6 chickens. I'm always amazed that people want to compute the space needed for chickens using factory farm specs. One thing to be aware of is how high your roosts are. The higher the roosts the more space they need to come down from them safely. If you cover some of your run with a tarp it will give them a dry place when it rains and will also give them a mud free place.

 

[Jeremy128]

Oops!!! It was a bit late last night when I typed that. Yes. Opposing side side of wind.

 

[Jeremy128]

Thank you all for the advice! I have a question for you all. I will be starting to dig out the dirt for the coop/run today. I want to fill it with rock for drainage then put dirt over the rock. How deep, and how much rock?

 

[blucoondawg]

I would say it depends on your soil unless you are going to install some sort of drain tile to take the water away, otherwise if you are just relying on natural drainage you will probably need to dig down until you find a good soil for drainage like sand or gravel, if you dig 8 inches and are in clay all you are essentially doing is making a 8" deep holding tank which will eventually fill up if you have enough rain or snow melt.

 

[PandoraChick]

Sounds like you have a good plan, but I would just say go bigger then you think you need
We built an 8X10 last year thinking 15 was our limit...but as we have found chickens are addicting and we are now building a second one for the 20 in the brooder.
I am not sure about your climate year round, but we are in the midwest and have hot summers and cold winters. We made venting that extends the entire length of the coop on both of the long sides, high up and just under the roof line. We angled the roof and installed gutters so the rain would fall off correctly for this and not get into the coop. We installed hard mesh wire on the outside over these long "vents". In the winter time, we have heavy duty foam attached to plywood inserts that we "seal up" these main vents with from the inside..they fit in like a glove. In the inside of the coop we used heavy-duty plastic to cover the inserts so they were not tempted to peck at the foam. We also have a "traditional type" vent in the roof so there is still ventilation in the winter, just much more in the summer. Once it gets warm enough, we will take the vent covers off until next winter. They love having those extra "window/vents" in the summer time..They often perch up on the ledges during those hot summer nights.

Good luck!