Deciding today whether to get chickens. Have I considered everything?

[RowanTheRed]

The garden itself is pretty safe but yes, there are cats in the neighbourhood (including my own). Just googled hardware cloth and it does look sturdier, I'll get that instead. Thank you for the tip!

your very welcome. And I agree, my cat really couldn't care less about my big chickens, however I know he would have LOOOOVED to get a hold of one of them when they were small and more like the birds he gets everyday. Plus, I have seen other neighborhood cats stalking my chickens. None have tried to get one, but again I think that is because mine are bigger than the cats are lol

 

[User395221]

So, have you picked out any names yet, or are you going to wait until you meet your new girls?
(enabler - who? Me? )

 

[RowanTheRed]

oh, and do you know for a fact you don't have ANY nocturnal animals where you live? Here is the states we all have to worry about raccoons and opossums. Even those who live in urban areas have them around. Oh, and rats too. They all love chickens and eggs.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!
Kudos on doing your research!

I didn't see it mentioned so,
don't bring birds home until you have the coop and run in place,
and ready for them to move in.

Beware of prefab coops that say you can keep 'this many' birds.
Make sure you have plenty of space for the bird and their feed and water.
Here's a great article by ridgerunner about Space:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

 

[StephTheChicken]

So, have you picked out any names yet, or are you going to wait until you meet your new girls?
(enabler - who? Me? )

hahaha.. I have started thinking of names but if I go down that route I'll end up making an irrational decision

oh, and do you know for a fact you don't have ANY nocturnal animals where you live? Here is the states we all have to worry about raccoons and opossums. Even those who live in urban areas have them around. Oh, and rats too. They all love chickens and eggs.

There are foxes where we live but I read they can't jump a 2m fence and to get into our garden they'd have to jump at least 2 of them as we're surrounded by other fenced gardens. But I'm still worried which is why I want to build a large run and only let the hens roam freely when I'm home to keep an eye on them.

Welcome to BYC!
Kudos on doing your research!

I didn't see it mentioned so,
don't bring birds home until you have the coop and run in place,
and ready for them to move in.

Beware of prefab coops that say you can keep 'this many' birds.
Make sure you have plenty of space for the bird and their feed and water.
Here's a great article by ridgerunner about Space:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

Thank you, I'll have a read through the article! I did look up how much space each bird needs but it will obviously depend on how big the chickens are themselves so I'll wait until I go see them today. Haven't even seen an Orpington before and finding it difficult to get a good idea from photos online.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Years ago we had an orpington escape and corner a neighbor's cat on the cat's own carport. They cat was wide eyed and terrified, the hen was yelling her head off at the poor cat. I don't think you have to worry about the cats.

 

[User395221]

Haven't even seen an Orpington before and finding it difficult to get a good idea from photos online.

I've never seen a pure Orpington either, but I had Australorps and now have some Australorp crosses. They are derived from Orpingtons. They are quite big chooks. Obviously, it also depends on the individual. My "main girl" Agnes was huge, but her 2 "sisters" weren't as big as she was. If you think cats, Orpingtons would be like a big tabby cat, not like a delicate little siamese.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A few comments.

That coop you linked is from a company in the States. Maybe that's why they mention it's coyote proof. Is it actually available in the UK or are you just looking for something similar? I know they say it is suitable for 3 to 4 birds, depending on size. I could not find actual dimensions of the enclosed coop area, which is pretty small, but the overall dimensions are pretty tight for 3 to 4 Orpington. I spent a year in London many years back. You do get some snow and ice but it's not cold as far as chickens go. I also suggest you start with three pullets for reasons already stated.

I don't know how big a run extension you are planning, but it should be OK if that is big enough as far as behavior goes. With three hens all the same age you don't need a lot of room as far as their behavior goes. It's when you mix ages and sexes that the space requirements grow for behaviors. I suggest you look at available building materials and base the size of your run extension on what is available. That should minimize cutting and waste. Here that would be a 4' x 8'. I also suggest you build it tall enough so you can stand in it.

Chickens can handle your weather really well as long as they have protection from a direct breeze hitting them, especially when they are roosting, and they have good ventilation. That's the big issue I have with that coop, I don't see any real ventilation. Normally I'd say open up the top of the coop under the overhang of the run and cover it with hardware cloth to provide ventilation and keep rain out, but I'm not sure the enclosed section is tall enough for them to sleep on the roosts and not get hit by a breeze. To me, that would disqualify that coop.

To me there are three major issues with space. One is that if the chickens are crowded you can have behavioral issues, I've already covered that. The others are that the more crowded they are the harder you have to work and the less flexibility you have to deal with any issues that pop up. These last two are the reasons I suggest more space is much better than less space, even more important than behavioral issues.

Chickens poop a lot and they have no manners about that, they'll poop anywhere they happen to be. The smaller space they are in the more the poop builds up. Wet poop will stink. If it builds up it stays wet. Since they are not moving around at night it can really build up under the roosts, that's why that tray under the roosts. But in a small suburban coop like you need, the poop can possibly build up in the rest of the coop/run so you may spend time managing that. That's just one example of working harder.

I find flexibility to be very important. Things happen, often at very inconvenient moments. Let's say one of your hens becomes injured and the others are pecking at that bloody wound. They could wind up killing her with that pecking. That doesn't always happen with a wound but it can. How can you isolate that hen until she recovers? Orpington are known to sometimes go broody. The best way to break her from being broody is to elevate a wire-bottomed cage and keep her in it for about three days. A wire dog cage works well, not the enclosed plastic crates but the wire cage. Where can you put that? You are not likely to have room inside a suburban coop like you will probably have, but they typically go broody in warmer weather. If your run is big enough and tall enough you could hang it in the ruin and cover it with a tarp for rain. If your run is predator proof that's a great place for that cage.

I'll mention something else. Location of your coop/run is very important. Wet poop stinks. If you locate the coop/run where water drains to it and stands you are going to have smell issues. Your neighbors will notice. You need to locate the coop/run where water drains away from them or build the area up under them so water drains away.

Lots of people have coops like that you referenced and make them work through hard work. They can get very frustrated with that lack of flexibility but they manage. But their chicken keeping experience is not anywhere as pleasant as it could be. If you notice, most of what I've talked about has little to do with the chickens, it's mostly about your comfort and convenience. I find that extremely important if you are going to enjoy the chicken experience.

 

[aart]

I could not find actual dimensions of the enclosed coop area, which is pretty small,

Didn't see the coop link before, but:
"Dimensions incl nest box (approx) : 6ft 7" (W) x 2ft 5" (D) x 3ft 4" (H)"
Can correlate that actual coop area appears to be 2'-5" by what looks like maybe 2'.
Tiny. They're using 1sqft per bird.

 

[chickens really]

Best wishes !
I have Orpington and they are very nice Chickens...I will never change breeds...have no fear about Cats...They won't bother with the Chickens....