First Chicken Coop coming Thursday!!

[123RedBeard]

Also note that many chickens are sold as "Americana's" ... most are actually really "Easter Eggers" (EE) ... since you bought these from a farm/feed store ... I would imagine that they are EE's ... while not huge, they are still considered LF, and the hens could range from 4-6 pounds when mature at one year old ... EE's really are a cross breed, and could be a mix of alot of different breeds, so there is lots of variety between even siblings ... if they are female ... they will lay lots of eggs for you ... maybe not like the Isa Brown's or Leghorn ... they may even lay different color eggs, hence the nickname "Easter Egger" ... various shades of brown, olive, or blue ... only one color per chicken though.

 

[townchicks]

I think you should get another coop. That coop is too small for all your chickens. Does it snow where you are? You might get away with it if you take the dividers out of the nest boxes and let them sleep in there too, and they are not stuck in the coop all day due to bad weather. Even so, it is woefully inadequate size wise. That's about the same size as my coop, and I have three hens in it. Maybe you might try to rehome some of yours.

 

[StephanieRose44]

While the black one has black around its face and eyes, it does appear to have a little yellow comb ...

Is it the same size as


That would be my guess at this time ... you should have a better idea in another 4-6 weeks.

How big is your dog crate? You may end up needing to split up your flock in the new coop and the dog crate, once they out grow of the new coop ...

Yes the black one is pretty much the same size as the 2 Americanas. Here are pictures of those 2**

My dog crate is 42”x28x30
The coops “living space”
is 36”x 43x 38
4 Nest boxes are 12”x12”12 each.

So the length of the coop is a bit shorter but with the width and height and room in the nesting boxes I’m hoping it will provide them with a little more space, and definitely more security and comfort. But yeah I was thinking the same, that I would have to eventually split the flock.

 

[culturalinfidel]

That sounds like a really tight squeeze for that quantity of birds...

 

[aart]

Those are Easter Eggers, not Ameraucana...but that's fine EE can be great birds and will likely give you blue/green eggs.
Coop is tiny and doesn't appear to have any ventilation.
Should get you thru winter...but it'll be a rough one.
Will you have a covered run?

 

[StephanieRose44]

Those are Easter Eggers, not Ameraucana...but that's fine EE can be great birds and will likely give you blue/green eggs.
Coop is tiny and doesn't appear to have any ventilation.
Should get you thru winter...but it'll be a rough one.
Will you have a covered run?

So which breed is generally the larger of the two, Americanas or EE. How do you tell the difference ?

And yes the coop is definitely not big enough for the entire full grown flock. I am planning on either modifying it (thankfully my husband is a carpenter and although he wouldn’t go for building my own coop he did say if it needs modifications he would help) buying a second coop or who knows maybe when the weather is warmer (I live in NY) he will get the urge to build me another coop. But as of right now since they are not full grown yet - 6-7 weeks.. I am open to anyone with experience/advice on modifying it. The coop will be going in my garden that’s all fenced , they have a small covered run right now we have against the cage outside so they can come outside, about the same size as the cage but a little higher. But as soon as the coop is up we will be covering half the garden making that into a run and the second coop will go on in there as well ( sharing the same run)

*and again I’m sorry but when you said that it should get me through the winter...but it’ll be a rough one” what did you mean by that? What can I do for it not to be a rough one?!

** the coop came late this afternooon!! I ** I haven’t opened it yet but it came in two boxes the size looks to be okay (from the boxes) but.

 

[aart]

.but it’ll be a rough one” what did you mean by that? What can I do for it not to be a rough one?!

Crowding can cause behavioral and health issues.
Only real solution is more space or fewer birds...
...any chance at all you can relocate half those birds?
Should be able to add some ventilation, that will help with fresher air.
But space for feeder, waterer(which is going to need to be heated or changed multiple times a day) is something else to think about.

Oh, the size difference between Am's and EE's is not even worth mentioning,
it's not enough to solve your space problems.

How did you end up with 13 chicks this late in the year?

 

[StephanieRose44]

I have 12, I got them in November. I have the room (outdoors) for more coop(s). Just got this coop as a next step up from the dog cage. Not trying to re-home them, again just looking for advice because this is the first real coop they will be in. Thank you to all who have given me advice/ suggestions from the information I’ve given. It’s greatly appreciated.

 

[blackdog043]

Put gable vents on both sides, this will help with ventilation. Will you have electric to the coop for a heated waterer?

 

[StephanieRose44]

Put gable vents on both sides, this will help with ventilation. Will you have electric to the coop for a heated waterer?

Yes I will have electric, to the coop. Where can I get a heated waterer is there any you recommend I’ve never seen any before but have heard a lot about them.