I am unsure how to proceed and was hoping to get some advice from experienced keepers of different coops.
I currently have seven Buff Orpingtons and am hatching another 7 eggs. I'm hoping to end up with between 6-8 hens and rooster by this fall. I have a large shed that is seeing minimal use. As a coop, I think it would work great. However, it is sitting on a larger fenced cement slab on the back of my property. At one point, 5 years ago before I moved in, somebody also spread mothballs around. I could clean them all out, but will this be an issue? It's my understanding that cement is bad for a chicken run because they can't scratch. Is this correct? My shed is about 50 yards across the yard from my large vegetable garden, which is where I had planned on placing a chicken coop so I could toss them produce and bugs. I had planned on a dirt floor coop there.
How do chickens do with dual structures? Could I make a smaller coop or less secure protective structure with nesting boxes for the garden area and then put them in the shed at night? They can't spend a lot of time going back and forth between, and would need to follow me across the yard quickly in the morning and at night. Or...should I just forget about the shed and build a coop on the edge of the garden?
I currently have seven Buff Orpingtons and am hatching another 7 eggs. I'm hoping to end up with between 6-8 hens and rooster by this fall. I have a large shed that is seeing minimal use. As a coop, I think it would work great. However, it is sitting on a larger fenced cement slab on the back of my property. At one point, 5 years ago before I moved in, somebody also spread mothballs around. I could clean them all out, but will this be an issue? It's my understanding that cement is bad for a chicken run because they can't scratch. Is this correct? My shed is about 50 yards across the yard from my large vegetable garden, which is where I had planned on placing a chicken coop so I could toss them produce and bugs. I had planned on a dirt floor coop there.
How do chickens do with dual structures? Could I make a smaller coop or less secure protective structure with nesting boxes for the garden area and then put them in the shed at night? They can't spend a lot of time going back and forth between, and would need to follow me across the yard quickly in the morning and at night. Or...should I just forget about the shed and build a coop on the edge of the garden?
