Run dimensions question.

[OhioPete]

Howdy all,

I'm going to be building a coop inside my garage. (I'm sure I'll have another thread about that later) but I had a question about the run dimensions. I plan on having a door through the side of the garage to the run. My plan is to use the current flower bed area that I have now for the run, it's dimensions are 3 foot wide x 23.5 feet long. Ideally the finished run length will be about 18 feet in length. I plan on making it about 5-1/2 to 6ft tall as well to allow me to get inside for whatever reason w/o having the crouch over much.
I plan to split and relocate the ornamental grass in the middle of the bed too either end. The door connecting the coop and run will be approximately the mid point from the window to the front of the garage.

Is this o.k for a run or not wide enough? As you can see by the picture I have a walkway leading to the back patio behind the garage so I limited by that.

Thanks

 

[teach1rusl]

Wow...well, it's not ideal, that's for sure. But it's outdoor space. I would definitely keep as few birds as possible; In a more squarish/rectangular space, birds can easily get out of one another's way. But that won't be nearly as easy in a really narrow run like you'll have. And if you ended up with a bully, it'd be easy for her to corner another bird. So while most suggest a minimum of 10 sq. ft. of run space per bird, I'd go higher than that...opting for 4 birds max. (if you're talking 18 ft. long). Cleaning/tending to the run won't be fun either...you might consider two people doors, one toward each end.

 

[beach livin']

i agree about it bing narrow. would it be possible to pull up the stones and redirect around the new enclosure?

 

[Hawkeye95]

In that kind of space, I'd go 3 or 4 chickens only. You'd be better off with just 3. It's too narrow to do any more than that.

 

[mamaKate]

Would you consider bantams? That would really suit your space.

 

[OhioPete]

I was looking to do 4 to 6 chickens in this space but ya'll are probably right, it is a bit narrow. I think I'll be able to bring it out a bit. If I remove a row of pavers next to the garage I'll gain a foot and a half bringing it out to 4' 6".

Original plan: 3ft x 18 ft works out to 54 sq ft.

Revised plan: 4-1/2 feet by 16 ft (stop right after the garage window) it works out to 72 sq. ft.

Sound better?