Permanent Coop vs Tractor

Hello all,
I’m at a loss on what type of coop we should build our flock. We currently have 27 chicks where 1/4-1/2 might me cockerels that’s currently TBD. The breeds of chickens we have are California Tan (6), Rhode Island Red (9), Sapphire Gem (9) and Wyandotte (3). The Cali Tan and Wyandotte are all “pullets” but I understand some sexing isn’t 100%.

I personally want to build a coop that we can walk inside and have a storage area as I’ll be the main care taker and coop cleaner I want to have a simple set up with everything in one place. I want to place a run around this for times that we will be out of town so they will still have the ability to roam free outside the coop safely. This run will have hawk cover over the top and set for complete predator proofing otherwise I plan to free range our chickens.
We live on 40 deep wood acres. There are a ton of trees and under brush which we plan on renting some heavy equipment and hopefully eliminating some major underbrush but it wouldn’t be anything the chickens couldn’t walk through. Our area is heavy clay and rocks (central AR) and so our grass area at our house is pretty limited. I have a fenced off flower garden and the dogs have about a 1/2acre fenced.
My MIL keeps pushing that we need to make a tractor coop for our flock and saying we shouldn’t free range. She’s a long time backyard chicken owner and now lives on 10 acres of farm land with a lot of livestock. I appreciate her input but I can’t imagine 27 or even 15 chickens stuck in a tractor coop all day long when we have sooooo much land.
We understand there is risk with falcons and raccoons which we have plenty of. We also own large dogs. They do have a large 6ft tall wood fenced in area that we will be reinforcing with wire. Our lab is 10yr old and carefree and we plan to leave her out with the chickens and not pinned up after an introduction period (she did well on the in-laws farm and they have a flock of probably 50). I also plan to work with my 3yr old German Shepherd who has a large bark and is very gentle and not triggered by the chicks. I plan to work with her constantly once the chicks are out of the brooder.

With that long backstory what are your suggestions?

I spent 5yrs as a vet tech and I’m very knowledgeable on animal behavior and won’t be reckless with the dogs and the chickens. I’ll make sure 10000% before leaving the dogs “alone” with them and they are more of a wildlife deterrent. I’m also a stay at home mom and I’m literally here 24/7 and rarely leave the house 😩
I raised chickens in the Missouri Ozarks for years. Even with an outside dog. Coyotes, foxes and bobcats would pick off a straggler or two. During the day on a regular basis. I have never had a raccoon leap out of a tree to catch a chicken. I have had them break into the coop at night and kill almost every chicken l had. I found leaving my chickens up for most of the day cut down on predator attacks tremendously. I still let them out for a few hours every afternoon/evening. When I had large flocks of chickens. I found that carports made excellent coops. I had the metal run all the way to the ground. On three sides. I I had an enclosed feed/storage room. Plus a brooder room. I used welded wire to cover the open end. They gave the chickens
Hello all,
I’m at a loss on what type of coop we should build our flock. We currently have 27 chicks where 1/4-1/2 might me cockerels that’s currently TBD. The breeds of chickens we have are California Tan (6), Rhode Island Red (9), Sapphire Gem (9) and Wyandotte (3). The Cali Tan and Wyandotte are all “pullets” but I understand some sexing isn’t 100%.

I personally want to build a coop that we can walk inside and have a storage area as I’ll be the main care taker and coop cleaner I want to have a simple set up with everything in one place. I want to place a run around this for times that we will be out of town so they will still have the ability to roam free outside the coop safely. This run will have hawk cover over the top and set for complete predator proofing otherwise I plan to free range our chickens.
We live on 40 deep wood acres. There are a ton of trees and under brush which we plan on renting some heavy equipment and hopefully eliminating some major underbrush but it wouldn’t be anything the chickens couldn’t walk through. Our area is heavy clay and rocks (central AR) and so our grass area at our house is pretty limited. I have a fenced off flower garden and the dogs have about a 1/2acre fenced.
My MIL keeps pushing that we need to make a tractor coop for our flock and saying we shouldn’t free range. She’s a long time backyard chicken owner and now lives on 10 acres of farm land with a lot of livestock. I appreciate her input but I can’t imagine 27 or even 15 chickens stuck in a tractor coop all day long when we have sooooo much land.
We understand there is risk with falcons and raccoons which we have plenty of. We also own large dogs. They do have a large 6ft tall wood fenced in area that we will be reinforcing with wire. Our lab is 10yr old and carefree and we plan to leave her out with the chickens and not pinned up after an introduction period (she did well on the in-laws farm and they have a flock of probably 50). I also plan to work with my 3yr old German Shepherd who has a large bark and is very gentle and not triggered by the chicks. I plan to work with her constantly once the chicks are out of the brooder.

With that long backstory what are your suggestions?

I spent 5yrs as a vet tech and I’m very knowledgeable on animal behavior and won’t be reckless with the dogs and the chickens. I’ll make sure 10000% before leaving the dogs “alone” with them and they are more of a wildlife deterrent. I’m also a stay at home mom and I’m literally here 24/7 and rarely leave the house 😩
l raised chickens for years, in the remote Missouri Ozark hills. I found that carports made excellent chicken coops for that area. I had the metal ran to the ground on three sides. I had an enclosed feed/storage room. Plus a brooder room. They gave the chickens plenty of room mill around during the day. In a covered run. I let them out to free range for a few hours every afternoon/evening. Which really cut down on predator attacks. Due to how far they would spread out. I was losing chickens to coyotes, foxes and bobcats. On a regular basis, even with a full time outside dog. When they were allowed to free range all day. I have never had a raccoon skydive out of a tree after a chicken. I have had them find a weak spot in some of my other coops. Then wreak havoc on the poor chickens inside.
 
A pallet up on blocks is about as cheap a field shelter as you can get.

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Or something like my feeder/waterer shelter, which is built from random scrap:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/an-outdoor-shelter-for-the-feeder-and-waterer.76487/
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