Why Do You Need a Chicken Yard or Run? - FHC Q & A

[@georgeschmitt8205]

Might be a little hillbilly but a trampoline works fantastic as a chicken yard. It provides overhead protection/shade for the hens, it's easy to fence around, keeps the kids occupied, and they're really cheap on Craigslist or marketplace.

[@normbograham]

The downside, is that your insurance will try to cancel your policy. And yes, they fly drones over your property to check and make sure you do not have a trampoline.

[@DavidRobinson-mx6cl]

Very nice!!!!!! 😊🙏👍❤️

[@donmartin7728]

We have lost 50 chickens to a family of foxes. Started early in the morning, so we didn’t let the chickens free roam till the afternoon, then after about 2 days the foxes would take them in the afternoon. Then we would vary morning and afternoon, they would just travel through twice a day to catch an easy meal. Now we just keep the remaining 12 in a small run. My wife has a dog that stays outside, all she does is sleep on the front porch. In 4-5 months trapping season will start, I have some plans for the fox hides.

[@normbograham]

I've worked in multiple states, and can tell you, I've had the same experience in Northern States, where the predators, do not have as many meals. But, there is a huge difference between Western Upstate NY, vs, East Texas. A predator in Texas, might get some chickens, and will not come back to take every one. Whereas in Upstate NY, a predator will spend 24/7, for days, thinking of how to get every chicken you have.

[@leeb4607]

I always wanted to build a chicken coop with separate chicken runs on two or three sides and a pop door for each one to allow or deny access to each run. at least one side open to access nesting box and the inside it self. But by having the separate runs I can rotate their access and let the grass recover.

[@matthewtaylor2185]

If you are worried about the chickens making a moonscape out of the yard, dump a load of wood chips and start a compost pile. They will focus most of their scratching efforts there. Add your grass clippings, table scraps, fall leaves. The chickens will love it and so will you. Best garden soil factory ever known.

[@aaron_brown7324]

I do this…16inches deep and let them work for a year then soft in 1/2 hardware cloth and top dress gardens and do it all over again

[@matthewtaylor2185]

@aaron_brown7324 that's about like Paul gautschi always did it... I find it a little laborious to sift as much as I need, I would like to make a trommel to do the sifting.

[@misterdubity3073]

EdibleAcres just did a video "Sea of Green - Rich Pasture in Fenced Chicken Yard!" showing how he takes viable seeds (e.g. wheat), soaks them with rainwater, then scatters them in the chicken run with or without a barrier (similar to @9:20). However his chicken run is also a compost "factory" in that he adds a lot of wood chips, sawdust, food scraps inputs as well as labor to periodically turn the material with a pitchfork and move the compost a few feet down the line.

[@sishrac]

Yes, given a similar climate and conditions, Sean of EdibleAcres has the best, most thoughtful, most effective, and most affordable chicken yard.

[@beekeeperzo]

We have "chicken hour" in the afternoon when the girls are allowed to free-range. We are outside working and watchimg and the dogs keep an eye on them. The girls have good clocks as it is always about an hour and they are ready to go back in to their run and get some meal worm treats before it's time to preen and go to roost.

[@mleonard3163]

@@beekeeperzo I have chicken hour too but I keep mine to that last hour of the daytime. They put themselves back in and I just do a quick head count. I've had to go fetch stragglers that aren't paying attention to the diminishing light in the sky or the fact that they are the last one outside. It's usually a good dust bath in the goat bedding compost pile that gets them.

[@beekeeperzo]

​@@mleonard3163they love their dust baths 😊

[@GypsyBrokenwings]

Lazy dog farm uses a chicken tractor to clear his cover crops. At the same time they federalize the garden for the next crop. Unfortunately, my property is all hills.

[@PhoenixFarm]

You do the best videos! Love the humour, style, and substance. All around amazing. Thank you for all your help! ❤

[@farmhandscompanion]

You're very welcome, PhoenixFarm. Thank you for watchin'

[@dwilladsen4696]

What I have is one large fenced lot, separated by a fence with a gate that can pivot to shut off either side. The total is probably 150 x 80 feet. What I do is plant a garden in one side, and the chickens and goats run on the other, stripping it down and fertilizing it. In the winter, I rotate the gate, and the animals happily clean up the garden remnants, and I have a completely weeded bare patch, newly fertilized, ready to plant in spring. Rinse and repeat. It works like a charm.

[@laneclaypool8005]

Use electric chicken fence and a portable chicken coop on wheels, move your chickens before they wear out the grass. They will spread there own manure if you have a wire mesh floor in the coop.

[@douglasvantassel8098]

Great video, thank you for making these!

[@user-qe4dw8dy9i]

I built my chicken yard out of 3/4” conduit. It’s 4’ high. The sides and top are covered with wire mesh as is about 3/4 of the base. Every couple of weeks I move it to give the grass a chance to rejuvenate and the chickens fresh pickings.

[@laurenbingenheimer3913]

I've seen several people do the 2x8 square with hardware cloth on top to save the grass. They have had good results, so I'm making my own.

[@cameroneverhart6443]

I watched another video of yours in the past where you mentioned the whole "releasing chickens after noon" and it HAS proven to be successful. To be clear, last year we lost 5 hens to a family of hawks in a one month timeframe. We were letting them out in the morning to save cost of feed, but were then losing our investment when hens kept getting killed. I think your theory on hawks being hungry in the morning is spot on but I'd like to add to that theory my observations from watching these hawks obliterate my hens. I notice every morning they sit at the highest point and look around. They look at my coop, neighbors coop, and all surrounding areas. If the chickens aren't free-ranging when they're up there, they move on and I think that's the key takeaway. Because originally I had doubts about your theory because every time a hawk would get my hens it was around noon to 2pm but, I believe the hawks (like any good hunter I imagine) observes their prey before finally going in for the kill. Love all of your videos and am a big fan. Would love to meet you someday...

[@PhoenixFarm]

@@cameroneverhart6443 I have falcon nest two properties down and I always see them in the morning scoping out the area as you say. I built a 32 x 16’ polycarbonate roofed run with 1/2” hardware cloth to keep them during the day, attached to a 20 x 16’ fully insulated coop overnight. I live in Headingley near Winnipeg so our winters can get down to minus 40.

[@farmhandscompanion]

I think we're on to somethin'! (and thanks for the extra keen observations)

[@cameroneverhart6443]

@@PhoenixFarm ahh yeah I built a very small run with the whole hardware cloth but it's so small so I used to just let them out to forage and whatnot during the day. I was able to acquire a 20'x12' shed that I converted half of to a coop (it's now called the shoop lol. Half shed, half coop) and then I built a 12'x10' run but this time I just wrapped hog wire around it. The reason being if a night time predator gets in the run it's fine because they'll be in the coop and day time aerial predators can't fit through the hog wire. I really want to make a big huge run styled like pa mac but with a 4, 2, and 7 month old children it's hard to get anything done :)

[@cameroneverhart6443]

@@farmhandscompanion We are! God bless you sir

[@poacher7805]

Inresponse to Patrick's question about a combo coop/run setup. I've done exactly that. It's a 12 x 20 With a 6ft square elevated coop incorporated into the structure all under the same roof. The walls are 6ft high wrapped in chicken wire with a added wooden pickets to create a little shade while allowing air to flow thru. Plus an added protection. The concept came from a podcast called. Nature's always right. I believe the video was title building a self sufficient chicken coop. Check it out.

[@nobodykayaks1041]

i fenced off a section of dense woods with lots of dense overhead cover and literally wraped chicken wire around the perimeter trees to give them a good sized safe area to roam in. i also piled branches along the bottom of the fence to make it secure and used stakes along the bottom to hold everything in tight.

[@elizabethjohnson475]

Our neighborhood bear grabbed the top of our six foot tall chain link fence and pulled it over near to the ground.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Great coverage Pa Mac, simplest solution answered!! Really enjoy watching your channel and seeing what I really missed most while growing up. Keep up the great videos and lessons to be learned. Fred.

[@willmegehee]

Neat idea regarding the grass boxes, Pa Mac

[@randyreitzer329]

Another thought about grass for chickens: catch your grass in a grass catcher and dump it in their run. It provides them plenty of “goodies” in addition to making their “fertilizer“ easier to collect.

[@elizabeththequeen943]

Another feature that works really well with a chicken run is placing the hen house and fencing around a group of trees and shrubs. They provide cover from predators like hawks, falcons and ravens, which we have plenty of here in Vermont. The cover also provides shade. Mine are let out in the morning and put in at dusk. I do have to check the fence perimeter every so often to see if a racoon, fox or possum has tried to dig under it.

[@IveysFamilyFactotum]

Another great video with some great ideas. We currently are in process of building a chicken coop and run. We are repurposing an old industrial chicken house grain feeder bin into the coop. The fencing is still pricey but we are trying to recycle what we can when we can.

[@todmus8433]

If you have the ability to get free or cheap mulch that could be spread out on your chicken run/yard, that would help to capture the nutrients from the droppings and then you can weekly/monthly/yearly rake the now weathered and "fertilized" mulch to use in your garden. Be mindful though that free mulch may contain wood that is not desirable for your garden like walnut and such.

[@cameroneverhart6443]

100% agree! I've received probably 20 chip drops and spread all throughout the backyard and use heavily in the coop as well as the run areas.

[@mleonard3163]

@@todmus8433 I placed my coop and run at the top of the hill above my garden terraces so the rain washes the nutrients from the run down for me. We do deep litter in the coop and every spring and fall clean it out. It goes to a compost bin next to the coop. After that's aged for a few months I add it to the main compost pile that's mostly goat bedding. I keep it separate until the chicken manure has aged a bit because goat bedding you can use straight up directly in your garden and chicken manure is too hot for that.

[@sethmoking]

We have 9 chickens, a chicken coop, a chicken run, and then we let the chickens out of the run between noon and early evening. The outermost area also has a fence surrounding it, but no roof. Hawks have not been a problem. The grass in the outer area has not been destroyed by the 9 chickens. It's a few hundred square feet.

[@Barbarra63297]

My Grandpa and Grandma had a chicken barn, it was huge, about the size of a 5 car garage long and 3 car wide. They had lots of chickens lol.

[@mleonard3163]

@@Barbarra63297 I loved my grandpa's coop! It was a very sturdy building (he helped build roads and dams so all his outbuildings were still going strong with pretty much no maintenance the last time I saw any of them. The property was unfortunately sold just over a decade ago and Grandpa's been gone since 1983 and those buildings were still perfect. The coop was about 20x30 feet and the chickens all just free ranged all day. Grandma just kept lots of chickens. There was the actual coop area with an easy to open people door. A divider wall made with 2x4s and chicken wire sectioning off the utility area from the chicken area, an easy to raise little chicken door you just had to pull the cord for. Huge bins in the utility area that each held about 200 pounds of feed, and big double doors that opened up so very early every spring all us grandkids could go shovel all the bedding into a wheelbarrow, toss it into the trailer hooked to my uncle's tractor, and then he'd take it up to the big 60x60 garden plot where we'd spread it before he tilled it under for my mom and I to grow vegetables for my grandma every year. She wasn't a gardener and that was Grandpa's job when he was alive so we took that over when he passed and did it until she passed in 2005.

[@andreac.6164]

ooohh!! I work from home and left to go out for 2 hours and left my last 4 chickens in a metal dog crate and they got GOT! Grrr now I got to start all over again.

[@EveryBlossomMatters]

I'm having such trouble with my chickens lately! A discovery of a large Rat snake in my coop with my 7 week old chicks has ended the mystery of what was going on...😢 ! Good video! I thought I'd put this out there because it might help. Daddy built my original chicken coop with a nice run . But over time we put together another one that lays alongside the other one. This way I can shut them out of one and let them into the other when I want to let one grow grass again. I even scatter seed in there sometimes ( like turnip) and let it grow a bit and then let them in for a fresh green treat . I do let them free range too . Well I guess I did and I'm starting over. And I guess over with my chickens again. But I may try composting with my new chickens eventually and set up a compost pile inside one of the runs( the one closest to the garden) . Have a good day and thanks 😊

[@EveryBlossomMatters]

Oh and I have a lot of crows around and they actually help me keep an eye out for hawks and chase them away for me too though they don't know they are helping lol!

[@mleonard3163]

@@EveryBlossomMatters I have ravens and if I have eggs that were incubated but didn't hatch I'll set them in a specific spot and the ravens take them away. I'm rebuilding my flock too. Lost 31 to raccoons early January. 7 months later I'm up to 20 hens and 3 roosters...2 of which won't be staying. I like to have multiple runs as well. I keep climbing vines on my run (roses and honeysuckle in the front where people see, and there's a large blackberry patch in the back). I find this helps deter predators, gives the chickens extra treats and greens as they eat the leaves of all three, and some extra shade in the summer.

[@farmhandscompanion]

That alternating area is a great idea. My brother, Johnny, used to do that too, and had great success with it. As for the compost in the chicken yard, that worked well for me in TN. I'd pile up wheelbarrows full of cow manure in the chicken yard and the chickens kept the weeds from takin' it over. The pile was so large and tall that not a lot leached away down deep. Actually had two piles in there rotating; while buildin' the one up I was using the other on the garden, and then alternated the next year. There's a photo of it in this video when showin' the wire. Great hearin' from you, Lori!

[@jarretv5438]

U could also make the grass cover mobile and sow other forage like kale or whatever and then move it once it gets bigger

[@joshrichardson8952]

God bless ya Pa Mac! Always enjoy your videos!

[@bjornstacy9590]

Here's a good idea that I use, setup different chicken yards and rotate them, let them in one for a couple days, then the second one for a couple days and the third one for a couple days, then start back at the first yard.

[@lorineidtinytoadplot744]

I have a coverd chicken yard. I used recoverd roofing tin so it was quite cheep becouse the recoverd tin I used was ours from an old lean to. But the run is only double the size of the coop for 12 to 15 chickens. I let them out to free rainge when I'm home so some days its from about noon on and other days I let them out around 5:30. I also have 2 Anitolian Shepherds, one is out all day the other is old and prefers the dog bed in the house but they both bark lol

[@BrettCales-xi5bj]

Patrick should consider a chicken tractor.

[@harmonysalem9377]

Merci from Montreal Canada

[@musselmansgarage8849]

Lawn rake that you tow behind your mower my chickens and goats love it

[@mleonard3163]

From my personal experience I agree... Most of the manure stays in the coop until you scoop it out. My run is uncovered and dirt. It's been that way for about 7 years now. My current run was built almost totally from scrap wood and recycled materials though so now that I've lived with it for a few years and better know what works for me, I'm ready to rebuild. My new run will include multiple sections. The first section will be the most secure - we've got all the predators from owls and hawks, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, cougars, and bears. This section will be covered and have a concrete floor. The next sections I'll be able to close off to rotate them through different sections I'll be able to separate problem birds or Mamas with babies, etc. These 3-4 sections will each have a section where it's auto irrigated via rain catchment and the grass will be growing up through a protected cover such as what Pa Mac showed in his video. I saw this years ago and knew I wanted to incorporate it into my new run. I'll also be having a fodder system. My birds only get to free range that last hour or so of the day before bed so the fodder will help a lot. Maybe I'll rig up a worm bin too.

[@TrialAndError8713]

Wow! That's a chicken keeper's dream!

[@mleonard3163]

@@TrialAndError8713 😂 I've had chickens for 9 years now. My current 8x12 foot coop only needs a couple more modifications before it's my current dream coop. I've already thought up and designed a new one that will have all the same features but I'll save that for the next house in a decade or so.

[@davidtyler7208]

The wire thing works, ive left wire racks in the grass around sheep and birds. Some of the only green grass alive in the summer.

[@jaybolt100]

Ur videos are soothing…love from India🇮🇳

[@jamesrochon2195]

What can you tell me about building a goat pen? Thinking of getting two goats. Thanks for all the great content. Been a fan for years!

[@laneka74]

You're a hoot and a half! Love your videos and the fact you keep the old ways-and the common sense that comes with them- alive and well! I will for sure be cleaning the manure off my refurbished drying rack.🤣 Keep em coming brother!

[@jacksnavely559]

Oh heck , ,In late winter go ahead and rake the run and throw wheat ,oats ,milo and sunflower seeds in and keep birds off it until the sunflowers are just getting too knee high and the milo has started, then the chickens wiil have ground cover ,eat oats and wheat grass then you got shade for the rest of year and milo heads too put in fence for em too peck , best cover ❤❤❤

[@andreac.6164]

oh and the bears may be under trees staying cool when it's really hot and humid at Noon. They're alot this year. N. VT

[@MarkWYoung-ky4uc]

Hi Pa! How big is that first log temporary chicken house you built and featured in this video? The one you built from half rotten logs.

[@marker113]

Here in the thick forests of Eastern Tennessee we've noticed what we think are grouse birds nesting in the woods. They look like mini turkeys and act strangely domesticated. Do you think, or have you heard of anything like that? We're thinking maybe they'd make better hillside farm birds than those valley chickens. Love your content, just received your book on building a pole barn and am excited to put it to use soon, cheers!

[@ciphercode2298]

Could you e found someone else's turkens or Guinea?

[@marker113]

​@ciphercode2298 perhaps, but we're deep in the woods, nearest neighbors are miles away. They may have wandered off and started nesting here though..

[@ciphercode2298]

@@marker113 my daughter raises turkens. They're calm,gentile,and quiet. Guineas are kinda flighty and noisy. Look em up on your phone or computer and see if they're similar to what you're seeing.

[@BrettCales-xi5bj]

Pa Mac, I was fortunate enough to come across and acquire a fanning mill. I unfortunately don’t know the age or manufacturer. Do you have any knowledge of how they work and the parts and pieces that go with it so I can restore this piece into correct and accurate function? I have all the original pieces except screens and a hopper that I think used to go on top. Thank you for any information.

[@canjowarlock]

Is juniper shaving safe for chickens, since they call it a false ceder?

[@codygillespie]

We put our birds out in our dog yard. The top isnt enclosed. The dogs keep the predators away. We have 10 birds or so and we got thick grass, they cant eat it all its and it isnt really that big of a yard for a dog. We just ran 2' tall chicken wire around the bottom of our dog fence and a few of the birds need their wings clipped from time to time to keep them in.

[@richjageman3976]

I have a question, I am planning on 7 hens and 1 rooster, Black Jersey Giants and have a fenced in 25 foot by 50 foot area for them to roam. I have a larger half acre area they can roam that is about 40% brush and weeds. Si that enough space for a very long time or do you think they will tear up all of that space eventually?

[@sheilal3172]

For so few chooks, that seems like plenty of space. I throw straw in my outdoor run, which is about 12 x 20'. They compost that and everything else I can throw in it. We let them out into an electric fenced area that is about 25 x 25'. We move it around every couple of weeks and let it regrow. A chook really needs about 3 square feet minimum. Our chicken house is 12x20, and they have plenty of room. Crowding revs up tension and cannibalism. You have plenty of space!

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

why? One words: Foxes.

[@quirty864]

Too keep the chickens from scratching out her flower beds and any other place she didn't want scratched out, grandma laid down chicken wire. Or any scraps of welded wire she could get her hands on. I bet coils of old barb wire laid out flat would work too.

[@timothypollard4332]

The reason for a run or coop is that either the chickens or the garden must be fenced... Sonce roaming chickens tend to sit where you don't want them its usually the chickens.

[@ddouglas3687]

I'm toying with getting chickens but have no clue what I'm getting into! Def appreciate these insights! Seems a bit of a row to hoe! Thank you!

[@jonas3333]

Ok - So, my dog killed a rooster yesterday. His first. It was one of 3 roosters my neighbor deposited on his property a few weeks ago to "live or die" as he no longer lives there himself. I want to get chickens myself eventually and I'm looking for solutions that do NOT include "put a bullet in your dog's head" like so many have already told me, because I actually care about my dog. (I don't know what's wrong with this world) I don't know which route to take. Right now, I'm thinking I'll just get 100 chickens to roam & see what happens. Maybe a goose. Maybe just an enclosed area.

[@TheBereangirl]

My husband and I tried free ranging our girls in our backyard...😐 yeah, it didn't go very well.🤦🏻‍♀️ Those fluffy butts dug up our plants and pooped everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!!😫 Now, they stay in their swanky runs (Eastside and Westside) and we bring them their greens.😏

[@elizabethjohnson475]

Hi, PaMac. I see you've been busy playing in your family band at your store. Have any son-in-laws yet, and grandchildren?

[@farmhandscompanion]

Yep, three son in laws, and 2 grandkids (with another on the way!)

[@warriorpoet2968]

I built removable poop trays to catch a d transfer chicken poo to my garden

[@Andrew-sanders]

You completely missed another and the best option to keeping chickens on green grass. It's called the chicken tractor. I have 100 breeder hens on 1/4 a acre. 10 hens and 2 roosters in a pen that is 4 by 12. The trick is they move every day and about 2 weeks before back in that spot. The are is also my garden with everything planted on 5 foot rows those pens move up and down the rows. With chickens putting down a layer of manure every couple weeks wonder how much fertilizer in need. People don't utilize they place to produce the max. Small Hatchery and market garden on the same 1/4 maybe 3/8 of a acre

[@diamondbackecological]

This person DOES NOT know how to farm