Started building the coop today!

[Miss Lydia]

5' high run is a minimum or you will be hating it quickly. I had a temp run it 3' high, it was an emergency set up until I could get the real one made. I dreaded going in for anything. Can't tell you how many times I put a hand or knee in goose poop. Thankfully the were young so it wasn't to messy.

 

[CrystalBDonuts]

 

[CrystalBDonuts]

They are sooooo much happier outside. It's a bit of a dirt pit right now because we had to level it out a bit but once the grass comes through it'll be great

 

[Miss Lydia]

That looks awesome!! Great job!!

 

[Duckworth]

They are sooooo much happier outside. It's a bit of a dirt pit right now because we had to level it out a bit but once the grass comes through it'll be great

That looks really nice. You will be glad for the height.

Good luck on the grass. When mine were in a pet gazebo on the grass (while I was building their run), they killed it off quickly just by pooping on it. They pooped faster than the soil could absorb or the grass could grow through. Dandelions and other hardy weeds would have had a better chance and been a tasty treat for my mini mowers.

 

[PirateGirl]

There's just the 2 of them. It's a 9 sq foot coop and I was thinking of doing the run 6'x10'. My only concern is if I close up the top of the run so nothing just jumps in, how will I get in to lock the door at night? I tried to talk my husband into doing a 5' high run so I can just hunch over and walk in, but he's not into it lol.

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I have an AFrame just like that for my duck run! I LOVE that I can stand up inside it. Also you were asking about closing the door without going in the run. With my chicken coop I essentially have a string on my door that leads to the outside, so I can just pull the door shut without going in the run, then latch it from the outside. If you add an apron to your run it looks like it will be quite secure and you may not need to lock them in their house at night (mine love to hang out in their run and party after dark).

 

[CrystalBDonuts]

I have an AFrame just like that for my duck run! I LOVE that I can stand up inside it. Also you were asking about closing the door without going in the run. With my chicken coop I essentially have a string on my door that leads to the outside, so I can just pull the door shut without going in the run, then latch it from the outside. If you add an apron to your run it looks like it will be quite secure and you may not need to lock them in their house at night (mine love to hang out in their run and party after dark).

Now that I ended up making it tall enough to walk through, I don't really need to close the door from the outside it's actually so easy to herd them into their little house and close the door.