Beginner

[Chick Magnet 77]

I have a chicken coup I put together and am going to get 6 Rhode Island Reds today. I assume the hens I pick up at Rural King will have feathers (pullets). Any advice from anyone. I'm have no idea what I'm doing. What to feed? Do I let them free range? How do I get them back in the coup and at what time?

This is the coup I bought with a 9 foot run. It is big enough for 6 hens?
https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/portable_chicken_coop_eglu_go_up/

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

How old will they be? I would feed flock raiser with oyster shells in the side if they are laying, and starter/grower if they are still very young. I start giving mine flock raiser at 12 weeks, as it is basically grower.

If they figure out that the coop is home they will go back by themselves. They normally head back around sunset, as they have horrid night vision.

I would wait a few weeks until you free range, if you have a run. They need to figure out where home is.

 

[Chick Magnet 77]

How old will they be? I would feed flock raiser with oyster shells in the side if they are laying, and starter/grower if they are still very young. I start giving mine flock raiser at 12 weeks, as it is basically grower.

If they figure out that the coop is home they will go back by themselves. They normally head back around sunset, as they have horrid night vision.

I would wait a few weeks until you free range, if you have a run. They need to figure out where home is.

I assume the pullets at Rural King will have feathers and be more than 6 weeks old. I don't know. Headed there with my 3 daughters around lunchtime today.

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

I assume the pullets at Rural King will have feathers and be more than 6 weeks old. I don't know. Headed there with my 3 daughters around lunchtime today.

I would get flock raiser then. I get Purina Flock Raiser and it works pretty well. My flock loves it, they follow me around when I take their feeder out to be refilled.

 

[TooCheep]

My advice.

First: Stop. Do not pick up the birds yet.

They will benefit greatly from your being better prepared and educated. You can still pick them up in a week or two after you've better learned how to take care of them.

Second: Not to say it is impossible, but I've never seen a Rural King carry pullets, only chicks who have special care needs until their feathers grow in. Visit or call and ask. Once you know, then you can better judge how to proceed.

Third: How large is that coop? I'd bet heavy money it isn't big enough for six adult birds, so you will need to look at the size of your coop and run area to see how many you can reasonably raise. 6 is Rural King's minimum buy, but you may not have enough space to take care of them properly.

Ask lots of questions and you will make far fewer mistakes when you do pick up your birds. People are friendly here and quite willing to help. Welcome to the community. Good luck.

 

[Chick Magnet 77]

How old will they be? I would feed flock raiser with oyster shells in the side if they are laying, and starter/grower if they are still very young. I start giving mine flock raiser at 12 weeks, as it is basically grower.

If they figure out that the coop is home they will go back by themselves. They normally head back around sunset, as they have horrid night vision.

I would wait a few weeks until you free range, if you have a run. They need to figure out where home is.

I bought an Eglu Cube and put it together. The cube has a place for them to poop and lay eggs. Where do they sleep?

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

I bought an Eglu Cube and put it together. The cube has a place for them to poop and lay eggs. Where do they sleep?

On the roost bar?
Yeah, just lay off from getting the chickens until you are more prepared. An Eglu Coop won’t hold six RIRs.

 

[Chick Magnet 77]

My advice.

First: Stop. Do not pick up the birds yet.

They will benefit greatly from your being better prepared and educated. You can still pick them up in a week or two after you've better learned how to take care of them.

Second: Not to say it is impossible, but I've never seen a Rural King carry pullets, only chicks who have special care needs until their feathers grow in. Visit or call and ask. Once you know, then you can better judge how to proceed.

Third: How large is that coop? I'd bet heavy money it isn't big enough for six adult birds, so you will need to look at the size of your coop and run area to see how many you can reasonably raise. 6 is Rural King's minimum buy, but you may not have enough space to take care of them properly.

Ask lots of questions and you will make far fewer mistakes when you do pick up your birds. People are friendly here and quite willing to help. Welcome to the community. Good luck.

This is the coop I purchased: It has a 9 foot run
https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/portable_chicken_coop_eglu_go_up/

 

[Lydia Huizenga]

I bought an Eglu Cube and put it together. The cube has a place for them to poop and lay eggs. Where do they sleep?

Put roosts inside the coop. They will hop up there at night and sleep. I would put two. I higher and one lower, close to each other so they can hop from one to the other. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Lydia Huizenga]

Also the coop ypou purchased looks like it can only hold 2-3 adult chickens but I think they will be fine as they are only 6 weeks old. As they grow, you might want to get a much larger coop, especially if you want more in the future.