I am dreaming and planning about having my own chicken coop

Hello, Everyone!!

I am glad to find this site. I look forward to learning a lot about owning chickens from you. Right now I need my username changed and I have spent about 2 hours trying to figure that out but still not sure how to go about it correctly. All I can think of is to request it here. Could a Moderator please change my username to "Henchanted" please? When I signed up I did not realize everyone would have these cute names. Thanks!!

We live in Monroe, WA. We are on .63 acre lot in the woods on the north face of a mountain. Currently, I am looking at a coop for 12 chickens. We eat a lot of eggs in our family of six. This will be totally new to me. I am a perfectionist so want to to do it right. I am doing a lot of reading online right now. What are the best books about owning chickens for eggs?

Also, I am totally confused about posting. So, do I start a new thread every time I want to post something? I do not see just a post button. I see a reply to what was said in the thread. So very confusing.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Henchanted

I don't have answers to all of your questions, but welcome! I know for our family it was a lot of reading, then a lot of trial and error to figure out what worked best for our family and our chickens. I think the internet has tons of resources (especially BYC!) where you can learn about chickens and their care. I'm sure others here will have some good book suggestions. Good luck!!

Hello, and welcome to Backyard Chickens! Please make yourself at home here and enjoy yourself!

~Cuz

Thank you MrsRubbler!!

Thanks Cuz!!

Welcome to Backyard chickens. Hope all your dreams come true. For a name change you need a moderator. I believe you are allowed only ONE name change.

There's a link to some FAQ tips in my signature (at the bottom of this post)...they might help you with using the BYC features. Trial & error works here too, lol.

One book I really like is "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens". You can find copies of it in some of the feed/farm stores (like TSC) and on Amazon.

Make yourself at home here and always feel free to ask questions!

"I am looking at a coop for 12 hens". Red flag. Usually that means you were in your local farm supply store and saw those cute Barbie doll chicken coops. Step away! Do some homework and look into building your own from scratch.

+1 on what Percheron said. Minimum for happy chickens is 4 square feet of usable floor space per bird. And that's assuming they have ample space to run around in during the day. If you're planning to free range (let your chickens roam around freely) run space is obviously moot. This means for twelve chickens you will need at least 48 square feet of usable floor space, not counting roosts and nesting boxes. Since you will have to clean it periodically and replace their bedding I would seriously recommend what is known as a walk in design. However I think you are going to find that 12 birds might not be enough to feed six egg-hungry people, especially during the short winter days when many breeds slow or stop production (welcome to Chicken Math 101 ). Some people have lights in their chicken pens to simulate the longer hours of summer days to stimulate laying, but remember each hen can only lay so many eggs in it's lifetime, so more eggs per year means fewer years of laying.

There's a lot more info than that, certainly more than can be contained in one post or thread. If you ever have a question, find the appropriate forum and search or ask. Other than that, clean water, nutritious feed and protection.

G’Day from down under Henchanted Welcome!

I like that username!

Just sharing something I researched on a quiet day at work which may be of assistance if you are looking at a kit/pre fab coop.

I picked what I believed was a well know manufacturer and did some calcs……..

Their 'Tavern’ is advertised as housing 3-5 chickens but if you go into the expanded details it mentions 4-6 large chickens.

Their 'Saloon' is advertised as housing 2-4 chickens.

So, for good measure, lets say the 'Saloon' houses 3 chickens and the 'Tavern' 4 chickens.

Using the measurements provided on site:
The 'Saloon' measures: 76″ long, 35″wide, 39″tall
The Tavern measures: 98″ long, 41″ wide, 61″tall

So, by that reckoning 1 large chicken only needs 22 inches long and 6 inches wide

Their 'Ranch' is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens.

The ‘Ranch’ measures: 143” long, 68″ wide, 67″ tall.

That is pretty close to double the size of the Saloon which houses 2-4 chickens but the Ranch is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens?? I am not going to work out how many inches that gives each additional chicken on the Saloon v Ranch but suffice to say it ain't gunna be much.

Keeping it simple and focusing on the Ranch, lets be generous and for ease of math, say 10 chickens that means each chicken would have an area 14 inches long by 6.8 inches wide.

I hope that was helpful. Good luck to you and your flock when they arrive .. very exciting!

I also hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends