South Florida Coop

[Ponte]

Just got three Buff Orpinton chicks.
Last had chickens many years ago, probably longer than most on this board have lived, so my knowledge is extremely limited.
I would like to have them free roam but family is concerned that the chickens will poop on our pool deck and back patio, is it a valid concern and should I keep them in a run ?
The area I would like to keep the in is approximately 60x 60, will a small 4 foot fence keep them from the pool and patio ?

South Florida can be very hot and we have torrential rains. Keeping the aforementioned weather concerns in mind, how large a coop should I build (excluding the nesting boxes) ?
Don’t see the following as an issue but want to ask, are any of our fruiting trees possibly toxic to the chickens. We have bananas, mangoes, avocado, lemons, guava, mamey, lychee, peaches, soursop, Cuban nispero, pomegranates, oranges, jabuticaba, longans, papaya.

Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Will the chickens poop on the patio if allowed to free roam? Yes, very likely.

Will a 4' fence keep them out? Depends on the chickens and the style of fence, but probably not... mine can clear 6'.

In your climate a very open style coop/run combo like this would work:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/attachments/cedarpet-ranch2_1-jpg.1726210/ and then maybe you can let them have some free time outside with supervision, just to make sure they don't jump your fence to the patio and pool. Because it's a combined space with a build like that I'd aim for maybe 15 sq ft per chicken, minimum - of course if you can give them more space than that it would be a bonus.

 

[Ponte]

Will the chickens poop on the patio if allowed to free roam? Yes, very likely.

Will a 4' fence keep them out? Depends on the chickens and the style of fence, but probably not... mine can clear 6'.

In your climate a very open style coop/run combo like this would work:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/attachments/cedarpet-ranch2_1-jpg.1726210/ and then maybe you can let them have some free time outside with supervision, just to make sure they don't jump your fence to the patio and pool. Because it's a combined space with a build like that I'd aim for maybe 15 sq ft per chicken, minimum - of course if you can give them more space than that it would be a bonus.

Great idea !
Where would the nesting boxes be placed ?

Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Great idea !
Where would the nesting boxes be placed ?

Somewhere in the covered rear portion. You could place them on the floor/near the floor under the roosts, and run a poop board over the top to protect the nest area. Or you can have them "external" and bump them out in either the back or on one side so you can access the nest boxes without having to go inside. Or you could even do free standing nest box, like a kitty litter box or a small dog house, placed in the covered area.

Just saw someone else's open concept coop here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/open-coop.1301338/ maybe there's some components from this one that appeal to you.