Brand new to the chicken world...

[MantenoSteve]

My name is Steve and we were just given 3 hens (adolescents). We live on an old farm in north central Illinois and have plenty of room. But I know nothing about chickens, caring for or raising. My son and I will build a coupe this week. Any advice is much appreciated at this point... ideas for building coupes, care during winter months, protection from predators, keeping their area clean, etc... Thank you. Looking forward to learning much from this seasoned community!

 

[drumstick diva]

head for the Learning center for a good start. Manteno, that name rings a bell - do they still have a mental hospital there?

 

[MantenoSteve]

Haha... no Diva, the mental hospital been closed for years. Turned it into offices and industrial area. Thanks for the tip.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Steve, and

! Great to have you aboard! Drumstick's advice on the Learning Center is sound. Here is some more on the coop & run specifically: Use hardware cloth instead of chickenwire for a more secure and predator-proof set up. Make sure the roosts are higher in the coop than the nest boxes so they don't roost (and poop) in the nest boxes. You probably need only one or maybe two nest boxes - they normally like to lay in the same box. The recommended coop size is 4 sq. ft. per bird and the run size should be 10 sq ft. per bird. But, make the coop larger than you think you need it to be - you'll love chickens so much that you'll be adding more birds! Good luck!!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!!

Glad to have you aboard!!