Chickens in a neighborhood!!!

[DobieLover]

Hello!
I'm glad to read that you are, in fact, allowed to have your beloved silkies.
I clicked on one of the links you provided for a potential coop. I'm going to advise this: if you have been dreaming of having silkies for all this time and you are still trying to convince your parents to let you have them, prove to them that you are responsible enough for the undertaking and do yourself a huge favor at the same time by designing and building your own coop provided you have access to tools and the resources to get building materials.
I would just start out with your silkies and wait a while before you get ducks. Ducks may be allowed and they are most certainly adorable creatures but they are MESSY and frequently LOUD adorable creatures!
If I were in your shoes I would visit the coop pages and find a design I thought I could handle and start working on building a coop and run for my silkies.
Talk to your parents and see if they would agree to allow you to have them if you built the coop and run for them.
Good luck. I have my fingers crossed for you!

 

[HouseSilkies]

My Mom LOVES to build stuff,she's built bunk beds,desks,benches,twin beds and a picnic table,so I'm sure a chicken coop would be fun! I currently have 6 pets that are just mine! 1 dog,2 hamsters,1 leopard gecko and a temporary salamander and newt! I also help my younger brother and sister with their hamster and gecko! My Mom and Dad aren't completely sure about chickens but I think I can convince them! I also want to start a business making and selling chicken diapers and such,after all we need hens-wear!

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Do you have an old swing set, shed, or a bunch of pallets laying around? I have seen coops made from these that look better (and bigger) than those you found on amazon. If you mom is the builder - she might appreciate the challenge of converting that shed into a coop!! But yes, as DobieLover said, just some 2x4s and hardware cloth will get you started, go crazy! have fun! can't wait to see pics of the process/final product

 

[rosemarythyme]

I checked the ordinances online,and I'm allowed to have chickens in my city! No roosters,no slaughtering,coop 25ft from any residential structures,and up to four hens! It also said,Ducks ok. Does that mean I can have ducks? Or no? Does the city ordinances mean I can keep them in my neighborhood,which is IN the city? Not very good at this!

Definitely get ALL the details... because even if you can have ducks and chickens, you might be restricted to 4 fowl total. Also do you have a homeowner's association or anything like that? If so, their rules trump the city's.

If you're not sure post a link to the ordinances you're looking at, and/or any homeowner's rules.

 

[Ribh]

Best of British with it all.

 

[twendt]

I too live in Wisconsin! Please don't buy a pre-fab coop, they are not sturdy enough or warm enough for our winters. Silkies, especially, need protection from our harsh winters. I made the mistake of getting pre-fab coop when I first got chickens . I quickly realized I was going to lose a chicken if I didn't build a better coop! I took a lot of tips from this site, they have a lot of ideas and plans, (search coops). I copied the Wichita coop and added insulation, my 6 girls love it!!

 

[NewBoots]

Best to make or have a coop and run made rather than using a kit. Nearly all kits are made from terribly flimsy materials and much too small to hold more than one or two birds. Minimum coop (the house area) size for full size chickens is 4 square feet, then the minimum run size (the outside open air space) is 10 square feet. Silkies aren't considered full size chickens but their space needs can't be all that much less. IF my math is right, those kits you are looking at would hold 1, maybe 2 birds at the very most.

 

[twendt]

When we had temps of -20'F this past winter, I added a heat lamp in the coop ( look at the Premier "Prima" heat lamp) it's the safest one I could find. I had the cozy chicken heat panel but it didn't even last through one winter (junk). Even with the heat lamp and insulation, it was still 23'F-26'F in the coop. At least it wasn't below zero in there and I could sleep at night without worry. Someone posted a picture of their solution to sub-zero temps and chickens.... chickens in a tent, inside their garage!!

 

[HouseSilkies]

Thanks for the warning about pre-made coops everyone! Uggghh!!! At our old house before we moved,we had like 20 pallets laying around and a big roll of chicken wire!!! Why didn't we bring it with us??? Yes,I read that silkies are a little more high maintenance than other chickens,don't worry!

 

[HouseSilkies]

Also... Would silkie chickens be happy in a neighborhood? My cousins and my best friends chickens are free range,in a coop at night,and my neighbors chickens had a HUGE fenced area... Is it mean to deprive chickens of free ranging or a huge fenced area? Our yard is literally 1\3 of an acre,so the chickens fenced area would be quite small.