Excited Newbie

[asphaltwarrior1]

Awesome! I thought you meant a new little prefab, not a used one, it might be bigger than I was thinking. In that case, make sure you clean and sanitize it really well with a bleach/water solution, then rinse and have it completely dried out before your chicks arrive. Chickens are notorious disease spreaders, and even if the "old" flock never showed signs of any sickness, they could have been carriers. Better to be safe. Chickens are pretty good at building immunities over time, but you don't want to bombard your little ones with some unknown possible illness.

So they should have most of their feathers by 4 wks old and could go straight to the coop. Probably won't need much supplemental heat (if any)... depending on outside temps. If you think it's too cold, you could always run an extension cord and try a heating pad or similar... much safer than a heat lamp.

If you do end up building a new coop, keep this old one too, it'll probably come in handy... like a separation area for a sick or injured bird, or a brooder for new babies... probably! If you get rid of it, you'll end up wishing you still had it.

Yes I actually cleaned and disinfected it today with a bleach water solution and should be good to go now. Temps here have been up and down from 30's for a low at night to high 40's - 60's mid 70's during the day. Weirdest Fall temps I've seen in a while lol.

 

[feathermaid]

Yes I actually cleaned and disinfected it today with a bleach water solution and should be good to go now. Temps here have been up and down from 30's for a low at night to high 40's - 60's mid 70's during the day. Weirdest Fall temps I've seen in a while lol.

Right on!! Sounds like you're doing great. I'm sure you guys are gonna be great chicken parents!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy

Thanks for joining us!

 

[asphaltwarrior1]

I'm very appreciative of all the welcoming thoughts and advice. I've been on many forums for different things over the years and from what I've seen this is by far the smoothest running as far as people staying in check with attitudes. Looking forward to learning how to care for our newest children .

 

[HuffleClaw]

Welcome to BYC! Thanks for joining, it’s great to have you here!

 

[asphaltwarrior1]

I've decided that I wanted to have the birds on the outside of the garden so I started building this shelter to house the Coop and it gives them a bigger run and an area for me to put up a few roosting poles in the run to keep them from getting bored .

 

[N F C]

I've decided that I wanted to have the birds on the outside of the garden so I started building this shelter to house the Coop and it gives them a bigger run and an area for me to put up a few roosting poles in the run to keep them from getting bored .

Your flock will enjoy the larger space!

 

[feathermaid]

I've decided that I wanted to have the birds on the outside of the garden so I started building this shelter to house the Coop and it gives them a bigger run and an area for me to put up a few roosting poles in the run to keep them from getting bored .

OOOH! Can I make a quick suggestion if it's not too late? If your new run will be covered, you might want to have the slope face the opposite direction. Even a small roof will dump lots of water on the coop and flood the area right underneath. Or a gutter would work too. But that'll be a great hang out space for them, especially with the roosting bars... good thinking!

I'm very appreciative of all the welcoming thoughts and advice. I've been on many forums for different things over the years and from what I've seen this is by far the smoothest running as far as people staying in check with attitudes. Looking forward to learning how to care for our newest children .

I have no idea what other sites are like... but there's a Jokes & Games section here too!
You might want to check it out. My 7year old daughter wants her own account so she can play along and post comments, but I think the minimum age requirement is... 12? There's other fun forums as well... one of my favorite threads is Chicken Shaming to Lighten the Mood. (it's another one we read together)

 

[asphaltwarrior1]

OOOH! Can I make a quick suggestion if it's not too late? If your new run will be covered, you might want to have the slope face the opposite direction. Even a small roof will dump lots of water on the coop and flood the area right underneath. Or a gutter would work too. But that'll be a great hang out space for them, especially with the roosting bars... good thinking!



I have no idea what other sites are like... but there's a Jokes & Games section here too!
You might want to check it out. My 7year old daughter wants her own account so she can play along and post comments, but I think the minimum age requirement is... 12? There's other fun forums as well... one of my favorite threads is Chicken Shaming to Lighten the Mood. (it's another one we read together)

I'm actually moving the Coop inside that area so it will be covered and protected. Good catch though as I realized that too

 

[asphaltwarrior1]

I'm basically getting this all together for now and will be moving that run over and attaching it to that shed back there in the spring. That shed will become the main coop.