Very small yard! Anyone else make it work?

first are you allowed to have chickens in your location? I ask because you have such a small area there is NO WAY you can hide them from your neighbors . Have you considered bantams like seramas that won't need much room - in some areas the breeders keep them in indoor locations, etc.

 

I don't have a small yard right now, but since it is just my husband and I and we move state to state quite a bit, we decided to build a chicken tractor that I think would lend its self well to a small yard. Ours is an A frame that is 8 feet by 3 feet. The front 6 feet is the run part, and the back 2 feet is the coop part. We have little lawn mower wheels on the back, so I can easily move it around by my self. Right now I have 4 chickens in it because they actually free range all day, but if they were enclosed all the time, I would only have 2. When we had just the two original girls, (buff OrpingtonxRIR) we were getting about 13 eggs a week. That is one way to get more eggs out of less space-choose breeds that are heavy layers. I now have two other birds simply for their pretty eggs. I can't figure out how to upload pictures with this iPad, but if you wanted to PM me your e-mail I can send you pictures of our little set up.

 

3 suggestions:
a coop with rooftop garden box...that way you don't lose any garden sq ft. Plus they look awesome.

a coop over run setup...or maybe you can even do half coop/half garden over the run. That could be really cool.

Use the garage for the coop with an attached run

We used the front corner of ours to make a 12x5'(ish) coop, but you could definitely do less.

Or mix and match any of these to maximize the space.

We have silkies, we're having great luck with the eggs, which are in between a small and medium (2 eggs make a perfect size breakfast for us), and since they don't 'fly' like other chickens, you wouldn't really be stifling them by having spaces that don't allow them to stretch their wings. Plus, if they ended up being okay with the dogs or the dogs were in, you could let them free range in the yard without the fear that they'd get away. I suppose you could clip the wings of any other chicken, but doesn't seem quite as easy.

Here's our garage coop.

 

I thought this was a cute coop and run for a small space!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=20741

Gail

 

I live in Suburban Essex County, NJ. They measure property in feet here rather than acres! I have the Eglu GO coop with 3 Bantam hens (The Eggs are what the supermarket would call "medium" so plenty big enough!). The Eglu coops are pretty expensive but are perfect for my situation. It's easy to clean and assemble. It looks pretty cool, not unlike a small doghouse. It looks tidy so not to lead to neighbors complaining of an "eye sore" in your backyard. If you only plan on having 3 or 4 bantam sized hens it's definitely big enough. Its also very easy to clean which is important if you want to keep your neighbors happy... granted 3 hens don't make much of a stink.

Word of advice for suburbia... NO ROOSTERS! Your neighbors will hate you! ;-)

 

I think a small mobile coop, like a chicken tractor, is a good suggestion. If one spot doesn't work for you, it can be moved to another spot. You can move it regularly to give them fresh grass. You can always park it in one spot for the winter, where it will work when you have snow or need to plug in a heater for the water. The designs with a full run on the bottom and the coop on half of the top help save space.

 

My bantam rocks and Faverolles lay jsut as good if not better than my large fowl - jsut takes double the lil ones when using them in recipes or cooking!

 

0.11 acre equates to about 50x90. It is wise that you have already checked the city code. Assuming free range is out and no bears, I would suggest:

1. Elevate coop maximize the outdoor floor space of the run and build up.
2. 3 (+1) birds would be OK. Full size should be fine.
3. Use sand in the coop and clean up poop every day.
4. 3x4 coop and 4x8 run with minimum 6 ft wall (walk in) and perches should work nicely.
5. Make it pretty for the neighbors and inspector’s sake.
6. No rooster.

Good luck and enjoy.