Free range with coop for night

[4FriedEggs]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to raising chickens & also a newbie to East Tennessee. We just moved here a little over 3 months ago from Western New York. This will be our first time raising chickens. We have a rather unique set up in our backyard. It's fully fenced & then it's separated into 2 areas with a fence & gate between the areas. We're going to use one side for the chickens. Basically, they will have free range during the day, & we want to put them in a coop at night for safety. The area has a good amount of shade, but a section also gets plenty of sun. The trees are EXTREMELY tall & we have quite a few. However, I also hear a lot of birds. I'm home all day with our 2 kids so we will definitely be keeping an eye on them during the day. 2 questions, what type of coop for safe keeping at night would you recommend & at what age can we move them to the coop area? Any advice is greatly appreciated, oh we will be getting Easter Eggers & Americauna, total of 8 for now. Thanks everyone 

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to raising chickens & also a newbie to East Tennessee. We just moved here a little over 3 months ago from Western New York. This will be our first time raising chickens. We have a rather unique set up in our backyard. It's fully fenced & then it's separated into 2 areas with a fence & gate between the areas. We're going to use one side for the chickens. Basically, they will have free range during the day, & we want to put them in a coop at night for safety. The area has a good amount of shade, but a section also gets plenty of sun. The trees are EXTREMELY tall & we have quite a few. However, I also hear a lot of birds. I'm home all day with our 2 kids so we will definitely be keeping an eye on them during the day. 2 questions, what type of coop for safe keeping at night would you recommend & at what age can we move them to the coop area? Any advice is greatly appreciated, oh we will be getting Easter Eggers & Americauna, total of 8 for now. Thanks everyone 

Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of chicken parenting!

Sounds like an ideal setup for backyard chickens! For 8 large fowl, you'll need a coop of at least 32 sq ft. I strongly, strongly, strongly advise building your own or converting a shed. Any sturdy coop with a door you can close at night will work. It will need 1-2 nest boxes, about 8 ft of roosting space, and 8 sq ft of ventilation. Vent and window openings should be covered in 1/4 hardware cloth.

More and bigger is always better, imo.

That's just basic parameters. You can check out the articles page for LOTS of coop inspiration!

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

 

[mowin]

Congratulations on getting out of NY. Wife and I are in eastern NY, and are about 2.5 yrs away from leaving. We are looking into Eastern Tennessee also.

You might be able to get away with a open front coop. Basically 3 solid sides and 1open but covered in 1/2"x1/2" HC. @3KillerBs can give you better advice on those types of setups.

 

[3KillerBs]

Hello, Welcome to BYC.

I'm at work and my lunch is almost up, but here's some basic info to start you thinking:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

 

[Aunt Angus]

I wrote 1-2 nesting boxes. I meant 2-3! My b!

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Since your run is large and your coop will be for sleeping and laying eggs, you CAN go for a smaller coop. But in my experience, you will have far less flexibility if you have any issues, need to isolate, or want to expand your flock. Also larger coop requires less cleaning. Ventilation is important, for summer AND winter. Rectangles /squares are FAR more efficient than drilling holes for vents.

I had 4 birds in a 3x5' coop that was 4' tall not including the nesting boxes inside a large fenced run. It worked, but it was work opening and closing their pop door every morning/evening. I also had to clean every two weeks.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Since your run is large and your coop will be for sleeping and laying eggs, you CAN go for a smaller coop.

Yes! This is very true! But if you have bad winters, they may need a bigger one for days when free ranging is not an option.

 

[Ashbash4710]

I converted a large shed/tractor garage. It's made of wood, concrete floors, and hubby installed a few windows. Has electricity for a brooder and so I can work on it. Put in some nesting boxes made from scrap wood. We got this house in February. Kept our chicks inside until they were about 10 weeks I would say. Then moved them to the coop. Now they free range the yard all day and put themselves up at night. So all I do is shut the door.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Yes! This is very true! But if you have bad winters, they may need a bigger one for days when free ranging is not an option.

I had to shovel out an area for them a couple times so they could get to the feed, water, and "chicken shed" which was a small shelter in the run. Definitely extra work with a smaller coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

what type of coop for safe keeping at night would you recommend & at what age can we move them to the coop area?

OK, I'm home and settled in for the evening so I can focus.

First, climate matters -- especially when it comes to housing. I used to live up in Boone, NC so I know that parts of eastern Tennessee are steamy-hot while the mountains are much cooler and can have severe winter weather.

In a steamy-hot summer, mild winter area, I highly recommend what's called an Open Air coop -- a big wire box with a 3-sided shelter at the windward end.

But in an area subject to severe winter storms you'll need more protection from the weather -- without compromising ventilation.

In a mild winter area the chickens will not lose access to their run/ranging area very often or for a very long time. But if you get regular snow you'll need a bigger coop since the chickens can't or won't go out.

One good option, even if you're free ranging, is to give the chickens a covered area right outside their coop where they can hang out when the weather's lousy.

Ventilation is key no matter the season or climate. And the key to good ventilation is to have generous amounts of air moving above the chickens' heads while they're sitting on their roost. For this reason, soffit and ridge and/or soffit and gable vents are popular.

You don't want this:

or this:

8 hens

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

My brooder is 4x8: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/avian-flu-lockdown-3-cockerels-in-32-square-feet.1509636/

If you *can* make your coop bigger than it *has to* be, you probably won't regret it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/over-sized-isnt-just-for-sweaters.77604/