Chick Order - anything I should change??

[Graidyn]

Hello!

So, I am new here and am placing my first order of chicks. I am ordering for arrival at the end of April, which will give us plenty of time to finish setting everything up for them. And while I, personally, have never owned chickens my grandparents owned a large farm raising everything from chicks and ducks to horses, cows, goats, rabbits, etc. so I will have plenty of advice and help from my grandmother and mother if needed. Anywho.... this is what I'm planning to order, please let me know if you think I should change anything... Here's what I have:

Easter Egger Female x2
Buff Orpington Female x3
Lavender Orpington Female x2
Lavender Orpington Male x1
Meal Maker Unk x1

The meal maker I know I could get anything at all, and I'm okay with that. Hoping it will be a hen of some type, but if not we'll just see how it goes. What do you think? Does this seem okay?

 

[CindyinSD]

Nothing wrong with the order as long as you like the chosen ones ... Lovely birds all!

What're your coop dimensions? Let's make sure you'll have the space you need for the numbers you're ordering. That will partly depend on your climate, so a general geographic location will help folks help you. (You can set that in your profile so people won't keep asking.)

One thing I should mention because I wasn't prepared for it: hatcheries usually send extras in case not all the chicks make it. In most cases, all the chicks do make it, so be prepared for a possibly inconvenient abundance.

 

[Graidyn]

Nothing wrong with the order as long as you like the chosen ones ... Lovely birds all!

What're your coop dimensions? Let's make sure you'll have the space you need for the numbers you're ordering. That will partly depend on your climate, so a general geographic location will help folks help you. (You can set that in your profile so people won't keep asking.)

One thing I should mention because I wasn't prepared for it: hatcheries usually send extras in case not all the chicks make it. In most cases, all the chicks do make it, so be prepared for a possibly inconvenient abundance.

I think I will like them very much

We are converting a 6x10 shed into the coop. We are figuring 6x7 coop and 6x3 for food storage. That said, we are considering making the whole thing the coop and adding on a space for storage (though we would really rather not). The shed is 7 ft tall (forgot to mention that). The weather has been pretty miserable, and it's pouring rain right now, so we have been gathering materials and will get on it hopefully next weekend. Hubby is in construction so I have no concerns about getting it done and getting it done well.

Their outdoor run will be 10x20 or possibly larger. Or I should say it will start at 10x20 with plans to enlarge if feasible. Since we have just acquired a neighbors lot, we are unsure of water runoff and ground saturation during certain times in part of it that we'd like to extend it into, but will wait and see how it is after the thaw before we confirm that so 10x20 may be it. I *think* it should be okay?

I have heard about the "extras" but it's a pretty small order (by hatchery standards) so hopefully not many? Even so, I have two neighbors with chickens, one of whom has a truly massive coop and he's said if I need to board any he'll take them lol.

Oh and I fixed my location

 

[CindyinSD]

Yes, COLD in your neck of the woods (and mine). I figured the recommended 4 sq ft per bird for my fifteen mail-order chicks. They sent eighteen, so it was too small right out of the gate. Then snow happened. It was a horrible winter for us. The worst I've ever experienced and I've lived here for more than thirty years. I was lucky to have a tool shed (10 x 12) to clear out and convert into a coop for them. In situations where they may (will) need to stay in the coop for more than a day or two at the outside because of inclement weather, it's my experience that they need more like 7-8 sq ft per bird to keep them from savaging one another. As for their run, give them all you can, but your planned 200 sq ft plus a large enough coop will likely work out all right.

You don't need to insulate or heat, but you DO need excellent draft-free ventilation, natural light in the coop, and tight entrances to keep out even the tiniest of predators. (ask your neighbor what predators to expect).

Oh yes, I just realized I didn't mention that for the frozen north, birds with small (rose, pea) combs, close to the head, are a lot less likely to suffer frostbite. It's not so bad for the hens; their combs are smaller. The roosters get frostbite easily on their ridiculously huge single combs. Ventilation helps as it's the moist cold that causes frostbite.

 

[Graidyn]

Oh yes, VERY cold! Yes, I was figuring for the 4 sq ft. When you figure that, you're only figuring floor space, correct? Does vertical space figure in or matter at all? One of the main reasons I started looking at Orps was because of cold tolerance and everything *says* they handle periods of confinement well so my hope was that they would do well here. How cold requires that they not be allowed out? My neighbor has let his out nearly every day this winter (some of the days really surprised me, but they seemed happy as could be). And, if it doesn't work I suppose my neighbor will have a free bird or two or maybe we'll have a dinner.

Yes, my husband has been studying coops for weeks, with a heavy focus on ventilation and raccoon proofing. We know we have a lot of raccoons, foxes, mink, etc. I'm confident he can secure them. We won't be letting them free range like my neighbor does because we have 2 dogs, feral cats around, and TONS of eagles and hawks. It honestly shocks me that my neighbor hasn't lost more than he has during the day. He does have a LOT of pine trees they can hide under though and we don't, so... we know our terrain and our goal is to keep them safe and well.

Hopefully only the one Roo and we'll keep a super close eye on him next winter.

 

[CindyinSD]

Mine don't mind the cold. It's the strong winds and driving snow (and rain for that matter). Some of them will venture out in the snow and others refuse. That's about fear of that nasty white fungus all over the ground more than anything. If it's above zero and not windy I let them out. (Not this winter though--they have the run of a 30x40 greenhouse and for the most part they stay there. I am overrun with turkeys and it's been largely too cold to process them, but the females persecute some of the chickens. The turks get let out because they're getting a bit crowded, so the chickens stay in, until I can thin down the turkeys a bit more.)

 

[CindyinSD]

Oh yes, VERY cold! Yes, I was figuring for the 4 sq ft. When you figure that, you're only figuring floor space, correct? Does vertical space figure in or matter at all? One of the main reasons I started looking at Orps was because of cold tolerance and everything *says* they handle periods of confinement well so my hope was that they would do well here. How cold requires that they not be allowed out? My neighbor has let his out nearly every day this winter (some of the days really surprised me, but they seemed happy as could be). And, if it doesn't work I suppose my neighbor will have a free bird or two or maybe we'll have a dinner.

Yes, my husband has been studying coops for weeks, with a heavy focus on ventilation and raccoon proofing. We know we have a lot of raccoons, foxes, mink, etc. I'm confident he can secure them. We won't be letting them free range like my neighbor does because we have 2 dogs, feral cats around, and TONS of eagles and hawks. It honestly shocks me that my neighbor hasn't lost more than he has during the day. He does have a LOT of pine trees they can hide under though and we don't, so... we know our terrain and our goal is to keep them safe and well.

Hopefully only the one Roo and we'll keep a super close eye on him next winter.

I just realized I didn't say anything about the vertical space... yes, it helps, but it doesn't negate the need for floor space. The vertical space is great for building a ladder roost and especially for the flock-keeper who would like to enter the coop comfortably for cleaning, maintenance and just enjoying the birds. The problem with a lot of vertical space and not much ground area is that the whole flock will gravitate to and fight for the highest ledge. Only by being soundly beaten would any bird concede to use the spacious, well-bedded floor for sleeping. OTOH, they'll all be on the floor together all day, picking through the bedding for forgotten tidbits.

That reminds me... The earth is always the best floor unless the coop is in an area that floods. And a coop should never be in such an area. It's so much easier to keep clean and so much healthier for the flock. Simply throw down a nice thick layer of mixed carbon materials (people use what they can get and a good variety makes for better bedding: old unmoldy loose hay, straw, shredded leaves, pine--not cedar--shavings, pine needles, even shredded paper will do) and it all breaks down naturally into nice healthy compost. Just keep adding carbon.

Most clean it out once or twice a year, but inbetween-times the roosting area needs attention since that's where most of the poop happens. I toss a few handfulls of sunflower seeds (BOSS) under the roosts and the chickens scratch it in. Sunflower seeds are high in protein (~27%) and also high in oil, so nice for the cold without piling on too many carbs.

Here are some of my ladder roosts: