re: Chicken Coup & Run Questions

Thanks guys. I guess I’ll let him stay around…..

We have a little bit of land so he’s not right up against the house. There are two other neighbors that have roosters that crow as well so he’ll fit right in.

I didn’t want this to turn into a baby making factory or me crack open an egg over the pan and a chicken fall out.

How many chickens do you have in there?

back to the topic of my run. i need to cover the top. i don't have enough hardware fabric to cover the open area roof which is 12x12. i do have some leftover roofing to possibly cover about 6x12.

Three options im currently considering are:
cover completely with more hardware cloth
roof partially then the rest with hardware cloth
or a 12x12 shade cloth that would cover the whole area

or something else yall suggest.........

note: there is an area approx 8x5 under the coop that they already have for shade

I don’t have a recent pic but it’s the same style as the red and white one on the first page of this thread.
Base dimensions 16’x12’. The coop portion is 4.5’x12’, the run portion is 11.5’x12’.

Unless you have an acre or two buy an Eggloo so you can sell it when the chicken shite is on everything in your yard.

I do have a roll of plain chicken wire I bought initially that I shelved when I read it was sub par for predator protection. May start with that.

No such thing as too much detail.

I checked and I probably have enough roof left over to cover half of the run so may extend out from the coop 6’ then cover the remaining area with either chicken wire or more hardware cloth.

I started a thread last week about thinking about building a chicken coop/run behind my shed. How has your experience been? I am thinking of starting small with 3 hens. My main issue is that my wife was all for it but now that I am making plans, she is getting cold feet, any tips on easing her mind?

Her main concern at this point are the birds being disease ridden and she wants them vaccinated. From what I have read and seen on Youtube, I have not seen mention of vaccinating chickens plus part of the whole deal is getting away from the industry birds that are full of vaccines. Do yall Vaccinate chickens?

Her other concern is that I plan to leave them in the coop/run the majority of the time and she thinks they need to roam the yard but doesn't want another chore. I plan to let them out when I am back there but they would spend the majority of time in the run.

My plan right now is to attach the below coop to this dog kennel and then strengthen both by adding hardware cloth and support where necessary. I would also anchor the run to the ground and possibly my shed. This will give me about 50 sq ft of outdoor space.

This is just a starting point and if I decide I want more chickens, I would build a bigger run and coop but I figure this is a cost effective way to give it a try and not sink $1k into something to find out its not my thing.

quote:

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I always have the baby chicks that I order from a hatchery vaccinated against Mareks disease. Costs about 10 cents per chick. The rest of the vaccines I don’t, but it is an option.

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You just take them to a vet?