Are chickens happy to live on a patio?

[Horshamchildminder]

I am thinking of getting some rescue chickens. We have a large garden but wouldn't want them roaming free all the time (we would let them out while we are around, which is a lot of the time!)

We have a raised patio area near the house, right in front of the kitchen, that I feel would be safer for them as I don't think the foxes would be as likely to come that close to the house. It is already fenced off with a wooden fence, and has a shed that I would be happy to give to the chickens as there "indoor home", for at night etc. It is far bigger than the runs etc that I have seen so they should be fine space wise. Would they be OK from foxes in there? The fence is only about 3-4ft high, with no roof. But it is under the kitchen window so we can see them all the time.

Basically, I went to somebodys house last week with a similar set up, but theres was the other end of the garden, and they said the foxes never go in there. But theres was earth rather than patio.

you can do a wood chippings area, I don't think they'd like concrete as they like to scratch and look for worms etc.

Oh dear . I can't really put wood chippings down on that area as it is raised with no edge so would just fall off.

can't you find a way to put edging on part of it to keep the chippings in? If nothing else you could make a big shallow wooden box - say, an old door with edging nailed round the outside?

they would need something to stratch around in, you would need to edge it and put something like woodchip down, also I don't thi8nk it sounds very safe from mr fox tbh. you could some kind of roof over, weldmesh or something, foxes can easily scale 6 foot fences if they think there is a hen on the other side.

They smell - I wouldn't put them right under the kitchen window!

They attract flies! - ditto -

Foxes will come right up to your door, especially if there is chicken on the menu.

3 - 4 feet is not high enough to keep a fox out - the run ideally needs to have a roof. If an energetic collie could get in, so could a fox.

Oh dear! Not looking good all round!

I know that foxes can get over fences, which is why they would be in the shed at night. I thought that they would be OK in the daytime and that most people let them roam the garden in the day?

Trouble is, if I have a run with a lid its going to be small so they will have a lot less space.

I didn't realise they smelt that bad either

they can be stinky if you don't keep on top of it, I only ever let mine free range when I am in the garden with them, otherwise they are in the run. foxes will stike at any time.

The poo does smell.

The foxes are active in the daytime too - I lost a hen to a fox/dog at 2 in the afternoon last week. We only let ours out if we are in the garden too - we are rural.

New plan, I am thinking of having a section at the other end of the garden, 2 sides being the fence and the 3rd side being against the fence, with chicken wire all around with a wire front with a door and wire over the top. So its a big walk in area, where I can still let them out in the day? Would be completly enclosed, with some sort of indoor area within it.

Does that sound OK?

Its wise to be able to get to the eggs and coop without letting all the hens out too!

A walk in run is a good idea, but apparently a determined fox can chew through chicken wire, so decent gauge wire mesh is recommended. You also need to make sure a fox can't dig under the run, so use paving slabs around the edges or as a flooring in the run with some bark chippings or some other kind of 'substrate' so they can scratch about, unless you plan to leave the run grassed? (they do wear out grass very quickly unless the area is pretty large)

You can buy walk in types of runs online if you don't want to build one. Flytes of Fancy do them and call the 'poultry protection pens'.

Thanks. We can't afford to spent hundreds on a new run, and also by building one we can fit it exactly to the space. Having it in there though does mean they will have to wait as the area is currently a big blackberry bush, and we are waiting for them to die down for the winter before we clear it all (We moved here this spring) but that will give me time to research the hens, possibly getting some run building materials together from freecycle with any luck.

Now just got to pursuade my Dad that he can build it for me

You can build it yourself, woman! I did!