First flock, first coop! excited and can't wait to hear the clucks!

[MistyH]

Hello, I'm MistyH!

I'm getting my very first flock in June and am so excited! I hope to hear from as many of you as care to give me tips and I hope to be helpful as well, here on BYC!

My flock will start small, with 1 rooster and 2 hens of a breed that lays tiny eggs. I intend to have a flock of 12 hens and 1 rooster as my ideal size, but am not sure if that will be too much or too little. I'm feeding eggs and meat to a family of 30 spanning 3 generations!

I have all the material I need to make a stationary coop that's 5'W x 4'D x 3'H. Totaling 60 cubic feet (I think)
I hope that's enough for a flock of 13, plus chicks.
The Run I have materials for 5'W x 11'D x 6'H,

Please, if you read this and find my measurements would be small or odd, say so! I don't want to do this wrong!

Glad to meet all of you!

 

[chickgma]

Hello! I'm getting my first chicks in June too! I'm getting 2 each of Barred Rocks, Road Is. Reds, Delawares, and Orpingtons. I'm such a newbie that I can't give you any advise at this point, but wish you well & have fun!

 

[MistyH]

The same for you!! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only fresh starter this season!

 

[emrys]

You don't say were you live. That can influence coop size. Where I live, I wouldn't try to put more than 5 adult birds in a coop measuring 5x4. Height doesn't really count except for the human's convenience. A 5x4 coop would be useful for a transitional space for young birds who have outgrown the need for a brooder but aren't ready to join the big chickens. Even with bantams I don't think your coop will be large enough for a dozen adult chickens unless it is only a sleeping coop and has plenty of outside space some of which is covered.

 

[MistyH]

I live in NH actually. Sorry that I forgot to mention that. I see that my coop plans are too small for my ideal flock of 12 hens and 1 rooster.

Let's see, I have plenty of materials, so can build it larger with little extra money spent.

I can go 8 x 8 x 4 no problem. That's 64 sq\ft in the coop. And I can stretch the run out to 8 x 16 x 6

Thanks for all the advice! I have one more question.

My aunt wondered if it turning her 8 x 5 tin shed into a coop would be safe for the hens.

 

[ChickNhood]

That would be more than fine... You should browse the coop section and look at all tge c!reative/redneck way people have built coops...anything will work as long as you hVe shelter nest boxes and roosts

 

[MistyH]

Oh, that's wonderful! She wants me to take it and use that. If I take off a wall, add 3 feet to that side, and then add insulation and the run it'll give me enough left over wood to make a rabbit hutch with three cages! YES!!! Thank you!

 

[EweSheep]

That would be more than fine... You should browse the coop section and look at all tge c!reative/redneck way people have built coops...anything will work as long as you hVe shelter nest boxes and roosts

Welcome, ChickNHood!

 

[chickgma]

Hey you there in Decatur Illinois. I live in Maroa, Illinois! Glad to see a post from someone so close!

 

[7 Biddies]

Got my first chickens, 7 of them, in March when they were just 2 day old peeps. It's amazing how much they grow in 2 months. Just got their Big Girl House completed and they seem to love it. It's the lazy woman's version, so it has the automatic solar powered, photo sensitive poultry door, automatic waterer fed from a rain barrel, and a Poop Deck; a vinyl covered drawer under the roost that slides out for easy clean-up. I call it my "Automatic, Self-Operating Chicken Coop". All it lacks is a chute to automatically transport eggs from the hen house to the refrigerator in the winter. But, I'm working on it.