Hello to you!
I am a very new chicken enthusiast, so new that I don't even have my chickens yet! They are due to arrive the end of May and I want to make sure everything is all set and ready to go by then.
I am turning my garden shed into a chicken coop, it's pretty good size and I think my soon to be 10 chickens should be very happy in there! My question is do I need to build a run for them or can they roam free unsupervised?
My backyard where their coop will be is fenced off (around a 1/4 acre area if I had to guess) and it has 6 foot privacy fence around 3/4 of it and the side facing the river is 4 foot coated chain link. My plan is that I wanted them to be free range in this backyard fenced area, I'm not sure if this is practical?
Do I need to keep them cooped up when I am not home or can they mosey around the yard while I am away without getting into to much trouble? I read a few places that once they are free range it's hard to start cooping them so I don't want to make that mistake.
I guess my biggest worry is them disturbing my neighbors by jumping the fence while I am not home. Luckily the 6ft fence is near my neighbors and the 4 foot fence will only lead them to the river. I do have gardens and perennial beds but they are already fenced off because of my dogs and hopefully the fencing will keep the chickens out to! I know having them free range there is a chance of predators but I am willing to risk it for them to be able to free range, our area honestly doesn't have many predators and doesn't seem to be too much of a problem here. Though I might find out different after getting chickens!
So how much trouble do chickens get into when left on their own?
I'd rather not build a run if I don't need to....
Any advice from the seasoned chicken owners out there?
Thank you!!
I am a very new chicken enthusiast, so new that I don't even have my chickens yet! They are due to arrive the end of May and I want to make sure everything is all set and ready to go by then.
I am turning my garden shed into a chicken coop, it's pretty good size and I think my soon to be 10 chickens should be very happy in there! My question is do I need to build a run for them or can they roam free unsupervised?
My backyard where their coop will be is fenced off (around a 1/4 acre area if I had to guess) and it has 6 foot privacy fence around 3/4 of it and the side facing the river is 4 foot coated chain link. My plan is that I wanted them to be free range in this backyard fenced area, I'm not sure if this is practical?
Do I need to keep them cooped up when I am not home or can they mosey around the yard while I am away without getting into to much trouble? I read a few places that once they are free range it's hard to start cooping them so I don't want to make that mistake.
I guess my biggest worry is them disturbing my neighbors by jumping the fence while I am not home. Luckily the 6ft fence is near my neighbors and the 4 foot fence will only lead them to the river. I do have gardens and perennial beds but they are already fenced off because of my dogs and hopefully the fencing will keep the chickens out to! I know having them free range there is a chance of predators but I am willing to risk it for them to be able to free range, our area honestly doesn't have many predators and doesn't seem to be too much of a problem here. Though I might find out different after getting chickens!
So how much trouble do chickens get into when left on their own?

Any advice from the seasoned chicken owners out there?
Thank you!!