New guy

[Chonke]

New guy here from socal. I still dont have any chickens but i have a few friends who do and they kinda got me into them. They might actually be in this forum.
I pretty much just want chickens for the fresh eggs and they dont seem complicated to care for. Im a bit limited in backyard room, so im only planning to keep 5 maybe 6 chickens. Plus I have a not-so-friendly german shepherd, and a typical 9 to 5, and I might start school soon again, so Im planning on keeping the chickens confined so I dont have to worry about them on the busy days.

So anyways, im building a 4'x6' coop attached to a 12'x'6' run. Apparently that should give me enough room for 6 chickens. Heres a rough preview of what I want to build...








The tall side of the coop against the block wall will be 6' high, and the sloped side where the door is will be 5' tall. Theres going to be a 3' wide entrance to the run for cleaning and what not, and the coop will have a large door on the front side for easier cleaning. Im planning on putting removable nesting boxes on the inside of the coop, with an opening to get access to the eggs. On the other side of the run, im leaving room to build rabbit cages too, but thats another story lol. I live in a very very hot place, so im going to add some holes at the sides of the coop for ventilation too.

I pretty much designed this using different ideas from different coops ive seen online, so feel free to tell me if theres anything wrong or any other suggestions.

 

[CuzChickens]

Hello there, and welcome to Backyard Chickens! Your coop plans look very nice and well thought out. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation in there. If you ever need any ideas, we have over nine hundred coop designs, so check em out if you ever need anything! I hope you make yourself at home here! Enjoy!

 

[Chonke]

Thanks, im going to try and get some breeds that do a bit better in hot weather, but ill definitely check out the ideas here for ventilation.

 

[drumstick diva]

You don't need separate nesting boxes for each hen. Three would probably be fine. Hens are silly and even if you give them a dozen identical nest boxes, they will choose to use only certain ones. Often there is one favorite nest box and the hens will line up to use it. If they can't wait, they climb in on top of the present occupant and lay an egg on top of her.

When pullets are approaching point of lay, you can try putting a golf ball or two in the nests, to give them the idea where eggs go.

Because of your GSD I would advise never letting the dog and chickens meet. You'll need an extra secure run and coop from ground up. I would also suggest a solid run cover to keep chickens inside . If you still have anxiety about the dog, run a couple lines of electrified fencing around the perimeter .

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

 

[Chonke]

You don't need separate nesting boxes for each hen. Three would probably be fine. Hens are silly and even if you give them a dozen identical nest boxes, they will choose to use only certain ones. Often there is one favorite nest box and the hens will line up to use it. If they can't wait, they climb in on top of the present occupant and lay an egg on top of her.

When pullets are approaching point of lay, you can try putting a golf ball or two in the nests, to give them the idea where eggs go.

Because of your GSD I would advise never letting the dog and chickens meet. You'll need an extra secure run and coop from ground up. I would also suggest a solid run cover to keep chickens inside . If you still have anxiety about the dog, run a couple lines of electrified fencing around the perimeter .

Yeah, i read 1 for every 3 hens would be about right so I just added 3. That way they also dont take up too much room from inside the coop. Thats a good idea about the golf ball. Ill try it out whenever I get some chickens.

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

Thanks!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Chonke, and ! Pleased to have you in our community! Best wishes and thanks for joining!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

 

[Chonke]

Greetings from Kansas, Chonke, and

! Pleased to have you in our community! Best wishes and thanks for joining!

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

Thanks!