FIRST COOP -- Just getting off the ground

[Breifne]

Hey, guys.

I know there are loads and loads of ideas here for building your own coop, but we're just about to venture into the world of backyard chickens for the first time. I am not talented with a hammer and nails (to say the least), so I really want to go for a pre-made coop & run to start off.

We're planning on starting our flock with FOUR hens. Would this coop do the job? The dimensions are listed in the advert:

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/poultry/1705671

 

[jason180sx]

hi
were are you in ireland if i was you i would build my own i made all of mine
for four hen it will cost around 40 EURO

 

[Breifne]

Quote:
We're in Connemara, Jason. Like I said, though, I have awful carpentry skills...and therefore, have very little in the way of tools.

 

[NoseyChickens]

These coops are really quite small, but nice for a beginner. They are giving you the "overall" dimensions, which means they are including the run in that, not just the "coop" space. General recomendation is 4sq ft of coop space per bird, and 10 sq feet of run space per bird. You can cut that in half for a bantam sized chicken.

 

[Pele]

That is a nice coop, but I wouldn't put more than 3 to 4 birds in there.

You may want to re-think not making your own coop. It's actually loads of fun, and you get to have exactly what you want. For example, I made my access points to the coop tall since I am a taller person. Every other coop I looked at had 4 ft access. Yuck.

And I know that you mentioned not having carpentry skills, but my DH and I didn't either. It was a fun learning and bonding experience, and we even were able to get friends involved. It's worth it!

 

[Breifne]

I'm thinking maybe going with a pre-fab one like this may be prudent to get started, then acquiring Building Chicken Coops for Dummies and acquiring the knowledge I need to build a bigger / better one when I'm ready to expand. Does that sound reasonable?

We wanted to start with FOUR birds, anyhow, so I was thinking the pre-fab one I have linked here would work fine for that.

 

[NoseyChickens]

Sounds like a good idea. And if your birds are able to free range this coop could work out for you. Good luck!

 

[Breifne]

Quote:
Yep...we plan to let them free range it whenever we can -- supervised free ranging, an average of once or twice per day.