Hello and am I on the right track.

[Lythy]

Hi all. Well I'm new to here and been doing a lot of reading. There's so much to take in at first. I'm about to start my project in my garden. I'm building my own hen house for layers. It's going to be 10x6 foot. And the run will be 20x6 foot How many could I have. I keep hearing 2sq n 4 sq. the hens I need must be fairly quiet. A very good egg layer. And non flyer. I can clip if needed. I have young exited kids that cannot wait to meet our new family members.

 

[bigt447]

You can't beat Sex-links for laying eggs. I equally like the red & black ones.As for noise,all kinds are gonna cackle when egg laying.

 

[drumstick diva]

Rule of thumb is to allow 4-5 sq.feet per bird in the coop (not including roost and nest boxes, and 10 sq.feet per bird in the outdoor run. If your birds will need to be cooped up a lot due to severe weather - it's best to have even more space. Chickens get feisty when overcrowded, which leads to fighting, feather plucking and in extreme cases cannibalism.

If you cover your run, it can shield from rain, snow, raptor attacks and prevent your birds from flying out. Even with wing clipping, some will find a way to "jump ship." Most hens like to announce their egg contribution and sometimes the rest of the flock, will sing along. That's chickens for you.

 

[N F C]

If you want to share your coop build, or run ideas past other members, this will take you to the coop/run forum:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

I like the sex link birds too. We have 3 in our mixed flock and they lay almost every day, extra large brown eggs. Mine are pretty quiet for chickens, they don't even sing the egg song.

Nice to have you here!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Welcome, Lythy! You've been given excellent advice. I wish you and your kids a happy chicken-keeping experience. My kids love chickens, and I'm sure yours will as well.

 

[Cynthia12]

You've gotten some good advice about how many hens. I personally like the sex links also..prefer the reds. I love the leghorn, everyone thinks what? Boring..I say, no they are not. They lay so well. Yes, I do clip wings just in case, but have not had any that even acted interested in jumping the fence. They are so friendly..mostly because they are little piggies. They love love their treats..they come to the door asking..and they follow you around like little puppy dogs..so do most of mine. I also like an EE or OE in there for the egg color. Fun times coming your way! Here are a couple of photos of my leghorns..along with a sexlink at the door.