Welcome! I am excited to follow along on your journey!! So excited.
Why are you choosing to not free range your chickens? I've got 20 acres and it just felt wrong to cage them in. However, I did cage in my "back yard" because MAN DO THEY EVER POOP A LOT. And my dog eats it, like crack, man.
hahaha! we will let them roam during the hours that we are home, but being in such a wooded area there are alot of predators around. I have seen a bear, bobcat, coyote, and owls in the year we have lived there. When we are home the whole family is outside so the chickens will be safer and have a good rooster to keep a look out, but while we are both at work I want a space they can be outside but safe.