Who has a tiny backyard? Or none?

[winstonsgrrrl]

Just wondered if anyone is in the same boat as I am. I have a teeny, tiny city lot with a small strip of yard along each side of the house. Anyone else have space issues? Can you post pics of your coop/run setup?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I certainly dont want to speak for her but I know little Seattle yards and this person seems like she has that but has indeed mastered having a few chickens https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11883
She is on alot in the Washingonians thread - where do you live..... I have an acre but there are 5000sq ft lots all around me and I'm impressed with what some people have been able to do with that little space. Our ordinances show that you can have 3 hens in a small lot. Gor for it!!!

 

[winstonsgrrrl]

Thanks for the link, it looks like our setup will be very similar. I live in Ohio and our lot is 5200 sq. ft. with a good-sized house and a detached garage. We're looking to move in the future so we can have more space.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I think the first place to go if you're considering getting a few hens is to your city ordinances.... They are all different and some are wierd but they might have verbiage like you can have more than 3 if they are housed "not seperately" from your residence - like if attached to that garage maybe.... There is even a subject thread on here (BYC) about laws and ordinances. It's just important with limited space incase you get lame neighbors with lame issues and they challenge you having them. But after that, its ALL FUN! And I think if you're good about clean up and resourceful (like composting the poo or just toss it under some lucky bushes) you can have a nice little set up. I'll admit that I love having an acre and the girls love free range but I can really see how it would work with way less space, especially with just a few girls. And just a few is plenty for one little family to enjoy eggs and take that off the grocery store bill!!

 

[Rusty's Ranch]

Our lot is about 5,000 sq ft. In Anaheim, we can have 3 chickens, but they have to be kept at least 50 ft away from the neighbors. We placed our coop and run out along the back fence in a corner of the veggie garden. The girls have gotten soooo loud, that somedays I wonder if the 50 ft is far enough

We ended up letting them free range during the day just to keep the noise down (alas, there goes my yard).

So far, no complaints - but be warned ... chickens can get very loud and you might want to reconsider the side yard if your neighbor's bedroom is on that side.

No matter what though, chickies are the greatest. We love ours and have no regrets.

 

[JessHall]

We have one acre...most of it is VERY steep hillside.
With that said, our issue is really just finding flat spots to work with.

Here is a picture of our coop. It is not done in this photo (but should be tonight!

)



This is an even earlier pic of the coop, but you can get a little better idea of how the yard is situated.



We just got married in April and we moved in the day after our honeymoon. So, the house is still new to us. However, we are really getting a good idea of what we can do with what we have. I think that the creative process is fun!

Here are some things we've done and are going to do-
Moved the veggie garden to the hillside to make more room in the back yard.
Made the coop as nice looking as possible so we don't have a heap right outside our door.
We took out some planters to make room for a larger coop. (we've got a lot of chickens

)
We made the coop duck and chicken friendly so there is no need for another pen or coop.
Designed a built-in storage closet in the coop for feed etc. (so you don't have to use any other space)
We use the hillside to let the chickens free range, so that we still have our backyard nice and chicken and duckie poop free! (you can see them in the first pic, they're curious as to why plywood is blocking their trail)
We're going to use a terraced area in the very back for a pond/ water fall type set up for the ducks.

My best advice to you is to get creative. My biggest concern was the looks of things. A small area can look pretty bad when it's cluttered or has even one unsightly thing around. (I didn't want that to be my chicken coop)

Maybe a smaller playhouse type coop that is long and thin will work for what you have. Maybe you could make it an L shape to come down the side of the house and a small leg of it could be in the back?
Have fun and good luck!