Doing My Homework First

[Earlybirdmom]

Hi, everyone! I am reading all things chicken to figure out if having 3 or 4 chickens is doable without spending a fortune to get set up. We have 5 acres but will have to come up with a coop and run. I would like to have the chicken range free as much as possible but hawks and coyote are in our area. I look forward to learning from those of you with experience!

 

[DucksAreBest]

Hello, welcome to BackYard Chickens. Thank you for joining us.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Take a cruize onj the home page look through the coops..
many cheap or free to make..
Welcome to backyard Chickens biggest cost is hardware cloth

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!
Look under the article section... Great coop ideas.

 

[Brooks_]

Hi, everyone! I am reading all things chicken to figure out if having 3 or 4 chickens is doable without spending a fortune to get set up.

Without knowing your definition of "fortune", I say yes.

come up with a coop and run

I found that to be the hardest part. So many ideas and choices.

I would like to have the chicken range free as much as possible but hawks and coyote are in our area

We suspect a hawk got one of ours while free ranging, but never found evidence.

Welcome to BYC and good luck.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Hi, everyone! I am reading all things chicken to figure out if having 3 or 4 chickens is doable without spending a fortune to get set up. We have 5 acres but will have to come up with a coop and run. I would like to have the chicken range free as much as possible but hawks and coyote are in our area. I look forward to learning from those of you with experience!

Welcome to BYC! Any questions you have, feel free to ask!

 

[N F C]

Hello, make yourself at home here and always feel free to ask questions!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Welcome from New Orleans! Read lots of articles, start threads and ask questions. Look for sources of free wood or other material to build with. Build way bigger than you need to for the number of chickens you will start out with. As @penny1960 said hardware cloth will be your biggest expense, but will be well worth the money. Also if you can keep a rooster, I would highly recommend that you do. They are a great help with your flock.
The only other thing I can think of is to make sure your chickens have places to hide from hawks and such. Good luck and let us know how it is going. We love stories and pictures.

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Set your goals, plan and prepare and you will be successful in establishing and maintaining your flock. Plus we'll be here for support.