cleaning coop and damage to yard

[sotelomary]

Hi,
I'm thinking of getting 2 chickens and after doing some research, I still need more info. I have a daycare/preschool and am wondering if perhaps I will have to keep the chickens penned up. Will I be able to even let them out alittle bit? I am concerned with the poop on the yard where the kids play. Also, how often do I clean the coop? If I will not be able to let them out, how big should the coop be? How much space do they need if they are always in a cage? I live in a normal city lot. Are 2 chickens plenty for my husband and I. We are not that big of egg eaters. Should we get more, just in case and give the eggs away? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mary

 

[B.CochinCrazy]

Chickens are very social I would suggest at least 3 in the event something happens to 1!

I would suggest a tractor you could move to certain areas maybe the kids don't play in (or just move around the edge of property/yard) so they could get fresh grass!

 

[patandchickens]

I second the vote for at least three -- it makes life simpler and more pleasant for everyone, no matter what the contingency.

I am skeptical about the wisdom about having chicken poo on the ground where daycare/preschool kids are playing. that sound to me like a great big 'kick me' sign in multiple ways, given peoples' attitudes to things (and some mildly legitimate IMO health concerns). They DO leave poop all over the place, and it is harder to see and scoop up than it'd be for dogs.

Far and away the easiest thing is to just build them a run, like most people have. Most people here would say to give them at least 4 sq ft per hen in the coop, and 10 per hen in the run (personally, I would say as much larger as you can manage is better) -- for 3 hens it would be convenient and congenial to build a 4x4 coop (perhaps 3-4' high) and something like a 4x8 or larger run... half of which could be underneath the coop, if you wanted, to save space *and* give the chickens somewhere shady and out of the rain. If you look in the section of BYC that has lotsa peoples coop pages you will see plenty of small coop designs of this type, you can pick whatever suits your tastes.

Good luck, have fun, welcome to BYC,

Pat