Building my own coop and looking for advice

[Nellydog]

Hi, my brother a former carpenter has offered to build me a chicken coop we have a large yard that's probably 2 acres and my dog runs outside in that area so they can't free roam everywhere I'm thinking build a coop and add a big run is that good for the chickens? I'm thinking of starting with 3 or 4 pullets by the way and I'm also wondering I know people say free range chickens but I can't do that does that mean I can't get chickens just how much space do i need for them I know the coops meant to be 4 square feet per chicken but how much space for a run

 

[Clucking_Crazy]

Hi there!
No, chickens do not have to free range. But they will enjoy the hell out of it if you can let them out every so often, even if only for a little while.

General recommendations for run space is 10 sq ft per chicken. But, if they are going to be in there full time, I would at least double that to 20 sq ft per chicken.

And build the coop and run bigger... you will inevitably end up with more chickens! They are addicting.

Best of luck!

 

[pennyJo1960]

have 1/8 of an acre mine run in daily yes it is fenced and are in the coop at night
or raining hard or snowing Contact moving companies that move furniture like houses
you can get the crates often free I have 2 one totally built that way

Silky Land

• pennyJo1960
• Jun 29, 2018

Front view of Silky land door open

Coop 3

• pennyJo1960
• Jun 29, 2018

Door front view

Cockerel Coop

• pennyJo1960
• Jun 29, 2018

Ventilation with welded wire hardwire behind

 

[bhopper]

You can also slowly introduce your dog(s) to the idea of chickens in the yard and with proper training you’ll have very little to worry about. I have 5 dogs and about 50 birds (chicken, duck, turkey, and pheasant). My dogs very RARELY chase a bird and I correct it immediately when they do. My dogs are only outside under supervision due to their size ( large breed dogs) and I live on 25 acres in the country. I even take my German Shepherd in the coop with me on occasion just to help keep him in check. He has yet to attempt to get a bird and I have been doing this for at least a year now. He was almost 3 when I first started with guineas and turkeys, then almost 4 when I started with chickens back in March this year.

 

[Pork Pie]

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/

 

[Nellydog]

You can also slowly introduce your dog(s) to the idea of chickens in the yard and with proper training you’ll have very little to worry about. I have 5 dogs and about 50 birds (chicken, duck, turkey, and pheasant). My dogs very RARELY chase a bird and I correct it immediately when they do. My dogs are only outside under supervision due to their size ( large breed dogs) and I live on 25 acres in the country. I even take my German Shepherd in the coop with me on occasion just to help keep him in check. He has yet to attempt to get a bird and I have been doing this for at least a year now. He was almost 3 when I first started with guineas and turkeys, then almost 4 when I started with chickens back in March this year.

Wow I have a German shepard too she's 2 and in a couple months she'll be 3 but the thing is her job(that she thinks) is to protect our house at all cost she's the one dog that barks at people but once she knows you she's fine but bikes she hates we have outdoor cats and my dog will chase them into the woods but we try to correct her behavior but I thijnk since she thinks her job is to protect I think she thinks it's her job to do that

 

[bhopper]

There is only one cat that my dog will chase and I’m not sure why but we continually correct it and he still does it. Which is odd because I have a cat indoors which he likes to play with.

 

[purslanegarden]

Maybe that cat called him a name once and he hasn't gotten over it.

OP, you can have the stationary coop/run area and then you can also have a mobile coop (aka chicken tractor) so that they chickens can make use of all that nice space you have!

 

[PirateGirl]

Look here for some inspiration...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/

Many people choose to keep their chickens fenced and not free range for various reasons. One of the most common is that it keeps them protected from predators, so it's not all bad if they have to stay fenced

I also highly recommend the book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. Among other things, it's got a great section on housing requirements for chickens, including drawings/diagrams.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Welcome to byc! also you are probably aware, but 10 sf is actually 5 feet, so not as big as it sounds