Both feet first....

[GeauxLSU]

Well.... knowing absolutely NOTHING about keeping chickens but always wanting some, and it being against county codes, I did what any mild mannered suburbanite with zero construction skills would do. Went out and bought a few chicks and built a coop.

The trio...



Supposedly a green laying EE, a blue laying Americanus and a chocolate laying Black Cooper Maran (at least I 'think' that's what they are supposed to be). Now exactly the trio I wanted but there is unfortunately a dirth of chicks anywhere even remotely close.

For the life of me I couldn't find idiot proof directions or follow the very few I could find online so I just forged ahead with nothing but a basic idea in my head. Started off simple enough...



It got a little more involved before all was said and done....





Oh well.... hopefully I didn't make any overly critical errors. We'll see.

LOTS of annoying newbie questions to come, almost guaranteed. Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Cute chicks and cool coop you've got started!

You need to be sure to check out our learning center where you'll find tons of helpful info.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/advice-for-first-time-chicken-owners
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

GLAD YOU JOINED! We look forward to helping you and chatting with you!

 

[GeauxLSU]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Cute chicks and cool coop you've got started!

You need to be sure to check out our learning center where you'll find tons of helpful info.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/advice-for-first-time-chicken-owners
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

GLAD YOU JOINED! We look forward to helping you and chatting with you!

Thanks for the welcome and the links!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Your three girls should make for a colorful egg basket, nice start to the chicken tractor also!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Very cute coop! You did a great job! Your birds should be very comfortable there.

Great to have you aboard and welcome to our flock!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Thanks for the welcome and the links!

No problem; glad I could help.

 

[6of6chicks]

Wow - for no construction skills you did a bang up job!! That's a fantastic looking tractor! I'd love to see pics of the inside when it's done!

And welcome!!

Gorgeous little chicks you've got there. There's loads of info on this site on how to raise them, and if you have a question just post it in the forum. There are lots of experts who are wonderful at answering questions and helping you figure out what to do. I'm new myself, and everyone has been wonderful in helping me with my girls. And believe me - I post all kinds of stupid questions, lol!

Glad you joined and enjoy your new flock!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Very cute chicks, and you did a great job building the coop and run. Just make sure to cover it with hardware cloth, not with chicken wire, as there are a number of predators that can either tear through chicken wire (dogs, raccoons, opossums, etc.) or pass through the openings in the mesh (rats, weasels, snakes, etc.). Good luck with your flock.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Wow - for no construction skills you did a bang up job!! That's a fantastic looking tractor! I'd love to see pics of the inside when it's done!

Thanks! Inside right now is just a free standing (sitting)divider for 12x12 next boxes. Need to figure out how I'm going to do a perch.

Thanks! (It actually looks better in 3d and I did pleasantly surprise myself) Inside right now is just a free standing (or sitting) divider for 4 - 12x12 next boxes. Need to get a perch figured out and installed.
Not the best pic but at least you can see the flush drop down door for egg collection and easy clean out.

Welcome to BYC! Very cute chicks, and you did a great job building the coop and run. Just make sure to cover it with hardware cloth, not with chicken wire, as there are a number of predators that can either tear through chicken wire (dogs, raccoons, opossums, etc.) or pass through the openings in the mesh (rats, weasels, snakes, etc.). Good luck with your flock.

I live in the Atlanta burbs but am fortunate that I back up to a beaver pond and a lot of green space. So while we have lots of critters roaming around I assume the only day time predator I'd have to worry about are hawks. Every thing else I have a couple of beagles on sentry duty for and the part of the yard the coop will be in is also fenced in (chain link you can see in the background of the pics). Plus I imagine due to the hawks they will free range (hopefully often) only under our watchful eye. At night, I find it impossible to believe anything would be able to penetrate the roost house. To that end I bought and intended to use galvanized welded wire fencing. I suppose I could use hardware cloth but I started out building this in the hopes I might save a few dollars over buying one already made. What an idiot I was/am!

 

[Michael OShay]

Quote: I hope you turn out to be right. It's surprising how easily some of these predators can slip past dogs, and slip through the openings in welded wire fencing. I know hardware cloth is some extra expense, but it's cheaper than replacing your flock. Good luck with your flock.