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

[StephTheChicken]

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.

I've just come home from seeing the farmer and he actually recommends getting a smaller breed so now I'm back to square one with my research. He recommends Silkies or Pekingese instead of Orpingtons. He says they scratch the ground less as my partner was worried about them digging up the whole garden. He also said in about 2-3 years Orpingtons will only lay around 50 eggs per year.

I was dead set on Orpingtons, this jumbled everything up again! I thought my visit to the farm would reassure me

The coop I linked to is the actual one I purchased, it's available here in the UK. I am going to buy a second one as well though after talking to the farmer so they have more space and I'm able to separate them if one falls ill. Initially I was going to extend the coop as well if necessary but if I get a second one they'll have enough space.

 

[lazy gardener]

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.

The generally accepted recommendation for back yard chickens: 4 sq. ft. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. I strongly recommend against you purchasing a pre-fab coop. They are almost all inferior in structure. And they are never adequately ventilated, and don't have adequate perch room, ceiling height, or space under the perches. If possible, look at re-purposing a small shed, a dog house, or similar structure. If you have access to the basic wood working tools, you could also build your own coop. But... I understand you don't want to go down that road! I bet you can find someone local who could build your coop for you and it would be of better construction and probably less expensive, and surely bigger than a pre-fab.

As for bedding: check out deep litter bedding for both coop and run. (again, a prefab often is not big enough to allow appropriate litter management.

I've just come home from seeing the farmer and he actually recommends getting a smaller breed so now I'm back to square one with my research. He recommends Silkies or Pekingese instead of Orpingtons. He says they scratch the ground less as my partner was worried about them digging up the whole garden. He also said in about 2-3 years Orpingtons will only lay around 50 eggs per year.

I was dead set on Orpingtons, this jumbled everything up again! I thought my visit to the farm would reassure me

The coop I linked to is the actual one I purchased, it's available here in the UK. I am going to buy a second one as well though after talking to the farmer so they have more space and I'm able to separate them if one falls ill. Initially I was going to extend the coop as well if necessary but if I get a second one they'll have enough space.

As for the smaller breed of chicken that was recommended by the farmer: I believe those breeds lay even less than the Orpington. Silkies have a reputation of being incessantly broody, and Orpingtons are also prone to broodiness. IMO, that is not a trait you want in your back yard flock. Much time will be required to manage a broody biddy. A broody hen won't lay, and if her broodiness continues unchecked, it is bad for her health.

Check Henderson's Chicken Breeds chart for other options. Just b/c that farmer has Orpingtons, and possibly also has the other 2 breeds he's suggesting, doesn't mean that he's the only one who can supply your birds. Even if I only just wanted eggs for myself and my husband, I'd choose a LF bird instead of a bantam.

 

[User395221]

as my partner was worried about them digging up the whole garden.

If you let the birds free range in the garden, they will dig it up. They have no concept of what is to be left alone and what can be scratched at. If you want them not to wreck stuff, you have to keep them away from it. The more room you give them to "maraud about" in, the less messy any particular spot will get. You might want to look at getting a portable pen so that you can move them to different areas but keep them out of anything you want to keep undisturbed.

Silkies make beautiful pets, but in my (limited) experience, they are very (very) broody. My 2 silkies were born last October/November (something like that) and they spend all of their time in the nest boxes. Their half-sister, a silkie/polish cross is in their with them and she's full-on broody, she squawks and carries on when you take the eggs.

If we haven't put you off now, and you'd still like to get some chooks, I'd just look for some bantams and get whatever you like the look of. The eggs will be smaller than "big chook" eggs and they won't be popping them out willy-nilly, but you will get some. My 2 little girls in my avatar are cross-breed "whatevers", part pekin. Sweet little girls.

You might want to check out the posts of member Teila. She's got a smallish setup with some frizzles and small chooks. She has had one girl go broody quite often, but otherwise her experiences would be similar to what you'd be "in for" if you proceed and get some bantams.

EDIT: oh, and good on that farmer for considering your circumstances and giving you good advice that he didn't think his birds would suit.

FURTHER EDIT: oh, and bantams aren't as destructive as the bigger chooks. Littler feet, littler bird, less digging impact with each motion.

 

[StephTheChicken]

They are finally home! I just wanted to say thank you to you all for your help, advice and encouragement! I am over the moon!

 

[orchardflock]

Our bantams are way less destructive than our bigger chickens. And their run is so much more pleasant to be in. They are also quieter. Grass and clover is growing great inside their run. If you can find them, and you don't mind small eggs, I would recommend getting some good egg-laying varieties of bantams. We have some nice bantam barred rocks, but you can also find bantam leghorns and Easter eggers. I'm in the US though and not sure what is available in the UK.

One down side though of bantams is you almost always have to get them straight run, which means you will have males you will need to rehome or dispose of. At least around here, it's pretty easy to get rid of them as long as you don't care if the new owners turn them into dinner.

Edited: I'm so sorry, I missed your post. Clearly I need to remember to refresh the page before hitting post. Congrats on your new babies! I hope everything works out wonderfully.

 

[lazy gardener]

Congrats. Enjoy!!!

 

[Dawnclucks22]

Hello everyone!

IPossible issues: We have a cat and there are other cats in the neighbourhood. I don't know how high the risk is of them attacking the hens. Our own cat is very docile and doesn't play but I have no idea how he'd react to a bunch of big birds invading his garden. Will check with the seller if he would take the hens back after a few weeks if it doesn't work out.

We have LOTS of neighborhood cats and we've never had a problem. Once or twice one has slipped over our fence to cross into another yard, but my dominant hen must have taught it a lesson because it didn't touch them.
Also, I suggest getting three in case something happens to one of your hens. Not only will they enjoy socializing but because they are so social they should not be kept alone. If one dies, prepared to buy another one or sell your hen to another flock. Like @MasterOfClucker mentioned, hens aren't completely quiet and will let you know once they've laid. They get dead quiet at night though because they fall asleep at night just like people do.
I hope you can get your own chickens and have as much fun as we do!

 

[Dawnclucks22]

I've just come home from seeing the farmer and he actually recommends getting a smaller breed so now I'm back to square one with my research. He recommends Silkies or Pekingese instead of Orpingtons. He says they scratch the ground less as my partner was worried about them digging up the whole garden. He also said in about 2-3 years Orpingtons will only lay around 50 eggs per year.

I was dead set on Orpingtons, this jumbled everything up again! I thought my visit to the farm would reassure me

The coop I linked to is the actual one I purchased, it's available here in the UK. I am going to buy a second one as well though after talking to the farmer so they have more space and I'm able to separate them if one falls ill. Initially I was going to extend the coop as well if necessary but if I get a second one they'll have enough space.

Silkies are cute and friendly (one of my favorite breeds) but they also lay smaller eggs. The yolk is about the same size but a bit less white. (They are darn cute, however.) I've never owned either breed but I wish I did; Orpingtons and Silkies are both awesome.

 

[User395221]

They are finally home!

Oh, wow, they're gorgeous. I thought you'd been put off the idea altogether, but those little girls will fit in beautifully. Have you named them yet? What varieties are they? How old? Tell us EVERYTHING.
(living vicariously, who, me?)

 

[Dawnclucks22]

They are finally home! I just wanted to say thank you to you all for your help, advice and encouragement! I am over the moon!

I love them! Those ladies are beautiful!