Getting started in Ohio!

[Jenbirdee]

Hello and welcome!! I am not a fan of prefabs they are small and Im claustraphbic so .....

 

[Kenneth Zweerink]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens. The Best of Luck with your Plans. And a Big Hello from Eastern Nebraska!

 

[MommyGirl]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

If you don't want to build the entire coop, consider modifying an existing old shed into a coop. That is what I ended up doing and I've never regretted it. It is much easier than building from scratch and you get a lot more bang for your buck, a much easier structure to work with and you can walk into it and the birds will be much healthier and happier with more space.

The marketing of the plastic prefabs as being low maintenance is almost as bad as their claims for the amount of birds prefabs can house. You need to target 3.5-4 square feet of floor space, 1 linear foot of roost space and as close to 1 sq foot of permanent ventilation per bird in the coop as you can manage. This is even more important in climates with below freezing temps in winter as the birds can succumb to frostbite without being in very dry coops. Birds breath out vast amounts of moisture during the night and that moisture needs to be moved out of the coop to prevent frostbite. The birds themselves can fluff up their feathers to easily keep themselves warm in the coop provided that any air movement through the coop does not open their feathers.

You also need to consider where the birds will spend their time during the long cold days of winter. If there is too much snow on the ground or it is brutally cold with strong winds, they will not want to venture out of the coop for long unless they have a wind protected shelter with a solid roof on it. They will need lots of personal space in the coop so they don't start going after each other. PBRs are very nice birds but they can certainly be pushed to their limits.

This is what my flock has been locked down in since the arctic blast started several days ago.

Think about one of those small plastic coops if this happens one winter:

 

[tripletfeb]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

If you don't want to build the entire coop, consider modifying an existing old shed into a coop. That is what I ended up doing and I've never regretted it. It is much easier than building from scratch and you get a lot more bang for your buck, a much easier structure to work with and you can walk into it and the birds will be much healthier and happier with more space.

The marketing of the plastic prefabs as being low maintenance is almost as bad as their claims for the amount of birds prefabs can house. You need to target 3.5-4 square feet of floor space, 1 linear foot of roost space and as close to 1 sq foot of permanent ventilation per bird in the coop as you can manage. This is even more important in climates with below freezing temps in winter as the birds can succumb to frostbite without being in very dry coops. Birds breath out vast amounts of moisture during the night and that moisture needs to be moved out of the coop to prevent frostbite. The birds themselves can fluff up their feathers to easily keep themselves warm in the coop provided that any air movement through the coop does not open their feathers.

You also need to consider where the birds will spend their time during the long cold days of winter. If there is too much snow on the ground or it is brutally cold with strong winds, they will not want to venture out of the coop for long unless they have a wind protected shelter with a solid roof on it. They will need lots of personal space in the coop so they don't start going after each other. PBRs are very nice birds but they can certainly be pushed to their limits.

This is what my flock has been locked down in since the arctic blast started several days ago.
View attachment 3732581
Think about one of those small plastic coops if this happens one winter:
View attachment 3732582

All great points. I can't imagine my girls being stuck in a prefab plastic coop in the bitter cold and snow we've had the past week

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I'd definitely update a shed instead, chickens need more room, plastic sweats and doesn't breathe well, and you should able to stand up inside of your coop. You and the birds will appreciate the space. Best wishes!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[SilverBirds]

Welcome to BYC!
As the others have already stated, we are not fans of prefab coops. Your money will be much better spent if you can buy a used coop or get someone to build you one.

 

[sourland]

Good morning, and welcome to BYC. Any possibility of getting an Amish built coop?

 

[Knobby]

Welcome from a fellow Buckeye! I wound up just building my own coop using free pallets. So far, our flock has able to survive through 2 winters without any issues. Manufacturers tend to inflate the amount of chickens their coops can manage, thus my reasons for building my own. Since the pallets were free, I have no issues tearing down my existing coop to build another one that is suiting to my current flock size.