- Apr 27, 2010
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I just found out today that my next door neighbors very much do NOT like my idea of having chickens. While they are not going to stop me (I have 4 few day old chicks in the garage) I do want to try to accommodate them as much as possible. The spot I was intending for the chickens is kind of in the front yard (we have an oddly shaped lot, so it is not so clear cut). It is not next to them and I like the spot because it is far from everybody's bedrooms and the neighbors to that side are all excited about us having chickens (and especially the chickens eating bugs for some reason). I was going to make the coop nice looking like many of the ones posted here and have plants grow in front of the run. I will put sand in the run so it wont get all muddy and dirty, and I think it would look real nice. However, they seem to feel that chickens should be in the back yard and even claim that it is a city law (which I am almost certain it is not). Because of our strange lot we can actually "convert" that area to back yard (or more accurately the side yard) by extending the 6' wooden fence out. I don't think it would look as good to be honest, but if that is what it takes to make them happy (we actually really like these neighbors).
I dislike putting up the wood fence is because it cuts down the breeze that we typically get in the evening. We have real hot summers (90+ regularly, 100+ not unusual), but most nights are nice and cool because we get a sea breeze in the evening. A wooden fence will cut that breeze leaving the coop roasting hot for the girls. I was wondering if a solution to the hot summer problem could be to make the run as safe as I can (think of it as a coop with a dirt floor and a hardware cloth roof) and leave it up to the girls if they should go inside or sleep outside. This would be a good solution for us also because we are away every year for about a month, so this would make it much simpler for the sitters.
1) Will a regular wooden fence offer decent protection against predators if I cover the lower part with hardware cloth and extend it to form an apron or should I wire the whole thing? If wire, does it need to be hardware cloth or can I go with a less $$$ option? (I am aware that a dirt floor can never be *really* safe)
2) Will chickens change where they sleep based on comfort levels or are they so much creatures of habit that they would either roast inside during summer or freeze outside during winter based on what they got accustomed to?
3) Other reasons that this is a bad idea....
I dislike putting up the wood fence is because it cuts down the breeze that we typically get in the evening. We have real hot summers (90+ regularly, 100+ not unusual), but most nights are nice and cool because we get a sea breeze in the evening. A wooden fence will cut that breeze leaving the coop roasting hot for the girls. I was wondering if a solution to the hot summer problem could be to make the run as safe as I can (think of it as a coop with a dirt floor and a hardware cloth roof) and leave it up to the girls if they should go inside or sleep outside. This would be a good solution for us also because we are away every year for about a month, so this would make it much simpler for the sitters.
1) Will a regular wooden fence offer decent protection against predators if I cover the lower part with hardware cloth and extend it to form an apron or should I wire the whole thing? If wire, does it need to be hardware cloth or can I go with a less $$$ option? (I am aware that a dirt floor can never be *really* safe)
2) Will chickens change where they sleep based on comfort levels or are they so much creatures of habit that they would either roast inside during summer or freeze outside during winter based on what they got accustomed to?
3) Other reasons that this is a bad idea....
