Funnybones
Chirping
- Jun 8, 2023
- 7
- 67
- 51
I'm hoping I'll learn a lot from this site and the forums here. I know very little about chickens. I have been wanting to raise them for some time, but intimidated by it. I just have been worried about predators mostly. And doing everything right, of course. So we finally acquired 7 hens almost a year old. I'm not sure of their breeds, but 3 of them lay chocolate brown eggs (Copper Marans??), the other 4 lay green/blue eggs and have puffy cheeks. One is cream colored and the other 3 have varied shades of red/orange. They are all beautiful and have been easy so far. They are all laying almost every day. I can't believe it! I hate the coop we bought. It's supposed to house 10 regular sized chickens, but it seems crowded to me. There are 3 roosts and 8 nesting boxes. The roosts can fit 3 chickens each I guess, but it seems crowded. I probably clean the coop a little too much. I clean it every day. They eat bugs, their organic feed, and table scraps. We use a solar-powered electric fence at night after they're in their coop, to fight off any predators. We have bird netting on top, because of hawks. We dug over a foot under the coop all around with wire mesh curved under to stop any digging predators. I want to build a new coop soon - larger and one I can stand up in. We plan to start building it later this month. Because we are homesteading and gardening is keeping us VERY busy, I don't have time to build a new one yet. I don't have them free-ranging yet, because of the predators. We live in the woods in the mountains. We have every predator imaginable! My golden doodle has proven to be a very good caretaker watch dog. She does NOT threaten the ladies at all. She is very calm (yeah, a golden doodle) with them, the same way she is with baby kittens. It's amazing. I will be coming here often, asking tons of questions probably, but I thought I'd introduce myself.
I do have one question right now: What do you do with the chickens on a bad-weather, stormy day when the coop just seems so small to keep them in all day? I can use all the suggestions I can get.
I do have one question right now: What do you do with the chickens on a bad-weather, stormy day when the coop just seems so small to keep them in all day? I can use all the suggestions I can get.
Yes those pre fab coops are pretty useless. Sheds from the hardware store make wonderful coops, cut in a couple windows, add venting in the eaves, a 2x4 with the 4 side up for a roost, add some bedding, a couple nest boxes and boom,you have a coop! You might also stop by our Coops Pages for some helpful ideas... 
Glad you joined.
I'm hoping I'll learn a lot from this site and the forums here. I know very little about chickens. I have been wanting to raise them for some time, but intimidated by it. I just have been worried about predators mostly. And doing everything right, of course. So we finally acquired 7 hens almost a year old. I'm not sure of their breeds, but 3 of them lay chocolate brown eggs (Copper Marans??), the other 4 lay green/blue eggs and have puffy cheeks. One is cream colored and the other 3 have varied shades of red/orange. They are all beautiful and have been easy so far. They are all laying almost every day. I can't believe it! I hate the coop we bought. It's supposed to house 10 regular sized chickens, but it seems crowded to me. There are 3 roosts and 8 nesting boxes. The roosts can fit 3 chickens each I guess, but it seems crowded. I probably clean the coop a little too much. I clean it every day. They eat bugs, their organic feed, and table scraps. We use a solar-powered electric fence at night after they're in their coop, to fight off any predators. We have bird netting on top, because of hawks. We dug over a foot under the coop all around with wire mesh curved under to stop any digging predators. I want to build a new coop soon - larger and one I can stand up in. We plan to start building it later this month. Because we are homesteading and gardening is keeping us VERY busy, I don't have time to build a new one yet. I don't have them free-ranging yet, because of the predators. We live in the woods in the mountains. We have every predator imaginable! My golden doodle has proven to be a very good caretaker watch dog. She does NOT threaten the ladies at all. She is very calm (yeah, a golden doodle) with them, the same way she is with baby kittens. It's amazing. I will be coming here often, asking tons of questions probably, but I thought I'd introduce myself.
