Chickens are home! (New coop and first flock)

Chickenylady

In the Brooder
Oct 31, 2018
19
31
44
Moved the ladies home today! :wee

Got these girls last weekend at my 4-H chicken show and sale (I’m a 4-H agent in North Carolina).

These speckled Sussex ladies have been raised by 4-Hers from chicks since June. They were born about mid June!

No eggs yet but hoping for some soon as they get used to their new digs.

Coop set up is a 10x10 dog kennel topped with wire mesh and covered with a slanted tin roof to aid in drainage or rain and snow. Roosts are tobacco sticks from our old tobacco barns and nesting boxes are buckets.
(Will be adding tarps to two sides to give them a way to get out of the weather and apparently raccoons can pull chickens through wire so :oops:)

So far they have learned to use the nipple waterer and are enjoying digging for bugs in the straw!

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Hi there.
I’m very happy about your new flock as well as your enthusiasm. Congratulations.
I’m a NC’er too.
Everyone does their chicken journey in their own way but
I strongly recommend a coop of some type to keep them safe and warm.
Chickens sleep like rocks, which is why they are especially vulnerable at night.
Lots of nocturnal predators local to our area can reach through or enter through chain link: Raccoon, Fox, possum, rats, snakes...
 
They are beautiful! I also used a 10x12, 6 ft high dog kennel for my flock. To prevent the raccoon reach-thru, I ran 1 inch hardware cloth from the ground up to about 18", fastened on the inside of the chainlink and I also fastened hardware cloth panels to any areas where a chicken would be near the chainlink, such as roost bars, water bucket lid, etc. I also ran 3 strands of hot wire from the bottom up to about 3 feet. I found hot wire brackets especially made for chain link and they worked great. Best of luck, hope you get some eggs soon!
 
I have an old play house that I plan to move beside it and turn into a housed coop but that will be a little bit down the road. Other people in my area have had quite a bit of success with the dog kennel housing so I think/hope it will be fine for now :)

Hi there.
I’m very happy about your new flock as well as your enthusiasm. Congratulations.
I’m a NC’er too.
Everyone does their chicken journey in their own way but
I strongly recommend a coop of some type to keep them safe and warm.
Chickens sleep like rocks, which is why they are especially vulnerable at night.
Lots of nocturnal predators local to our area can reach through or enter through chain link: Raccoon, Fox, possum, rats, snakes...
 
Great tips!

They are beautiful! I also used a 10x12, 6 ft high dog kennel for my flock. To prevent the raccoon reach-thru, I ran 1 inch hardware cloth from the ground up to about 18", fastened on the inside of the chainlink and I also fastened hardware cloth panels to any areas where a chicken would be near the chainlink, such as roost bars, water bucket lid, etc. I also ran 3 strands of hot wire from the bottom up to about 3 feet. I found hot wire brackets especially made for chain link and they worked great. Best of luck, hope you get some eggs soon!
 

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