Clueless city slicker moves to country and tries to build a chicken coop

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WiscoLinkie

In the Brooder
May 27, 2023
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64
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Hello,

We're a young family (2 boys, 2 and 4) and recently moved out of city/suburb live into a small town with plenty of room to raise chickens (and maybe a couple goats if we are successful with chickens and I can convince wife.). The home we purchased has 2 preexisting dog kennels, and I'm currently working on figuring what it will take to convert one of them into a chicken coop.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Brand new without a clue

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Zero

(3) What breeds do you have?
Good question. We're in southern Wisconsin, so we need a breed that will be able to handle some colder nights in the winter.

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Free eggs. (Low maintenance?) Little outdoor pets. Good project, chores and responsibility for the kids.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Videogames, fishing. Trying to figure out what home project to tackle next.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

As I said we got 2 kiddos. Also a cat. We want to get a big ole dog, but we are holding off until the kids are a little older.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community? :D

I actually found this place from a book about raising chickens I bought on Amazon. Not sure if the book it's directly related to this site or just links to here a lot, but that's how I first arrived.
 
janiedoe said:
Welcome to BYC. Congratulations on your new home!
The hardest part of converting a dog kennel is sealing the gaps around the door. A wood frame for the door is the easiest way to do that. There are plenty of ideas here on byc.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's a good idea. I was looking closely at the kennel and I think it's just the door and the roof that I need to seal off.
PXL_20230527_171537988.MP.jpg


The other odd thing is it's built on brick. So I think I'll need to fill the bottom with some straw or something.
 
WiscoLinkie said:
Thank you, that's a good idea. I was looking closely at the kennel and I think it's just the door and the roof that I need to seal off. View attachment 3520005

The other odd thing is it's built on brick. So I think I'll need to fill the bottom with some straw or something.
Click to expand...
I would wrap the entire structure with hardware cloth. Weasels and rats can squeeze through the tiny holes. About 3" of pine flakes in the bottom should pad their feet. I sometimes use pine needles from our trees.
 

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