WWYD???

[georgialee]

I am a complete newbie and I cannot for the life of me figure out what will be best for the chickens (that I don't have yet, lol!).

Option #1: We have a large shed (the kind that you pay to own) and TONS of fencing (both chain link and cattle fencing) on our land which is 5 acres and about 5 minutes away from our house. The chain link kennel that we have is 10' x 40 or 50' (can't remember). We would most likely but the chickens in that, however, I would love to be able to free range them. Two issues with that: we have every predator under the sun (badger, fox, coyote, racoons galore, skunks, cats, dogs, hawks, vultures, etc.) and even though the chickens would be locked away at night I'm not sure how they would do during the day???

Option #2: We can put them in our backyard (we live in a subdivision on .3 of an acre) in a 10x10 wire kennel but we would have to either buy or build a coop (the shed previously mentioned will not fit through the opening in our gate). The chickens would be sharing the yard with our monster-sized irish wolfhound who would probably just leave them alone (not really an issue since they'll be fenced anyway.

I would prefer to have them on our land b/c we wouldn't have to pay anything except to move the shed from my parent's house which is across the street and to build the nest boxes. It would be a lot of labor to put the fencing back up, but I could probably entice DH with the shotgun he has been wanting for a while

If y'all were in my position wwyd?

 

[Chirpy]

Wow, that's actually a hard decision. My first thought is that my chickens give me so much pleasure being able to just watch them that I'd want them at my house so I could enjoy them.

Do you plan on moving to your property in the near future? If so, then you could possibly make the Ft. Knox of all Ft. Knoxs and keep them totally confined on the property until you get moved there. That would mean using hardware cloth completely around and on top and buried into the ground for a run. Although chain link is made in different gauges, my own dog has ripped through several with no difficulties. You would want to have either a person who can lock them up inside the coop at night and let them out in the morning or invest in an automatic door opener.

If money was no object... I'd first bring them to your house and then start working on the five acre area for when you move there. That way you can enjoy them and keep an eye on them now but be prepared to move them when you move.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.