Hello from Bell's backyard

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Bell’s backyard said:
Well we’re not nearly as warm as you in Hawaii! Although it’s been very warm today and the ladies have moved from shady spot to shady spot. Currently, I’m looking at a kit set hen house and run. We also don’t have to deal with as many predators as elsewhere.
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We don't have predators other than a loose hunting dog every now and then but our domestic dogs alert us and are great at protecting their fenceline. :eek:
I wish I had built my run to keep the chickens contained better.They eat EVERYTHING and it is no fun rounding them up when they go AWOL. Little cute stinkers :love
 
We have invasive mustalids, rats, hawks (but not so much around here) and the beautiful NZ falcon. But nothing like the foxes and raccoons that other folk have to deal with. Wandering dogs are probably the biggest problem and of course our own dog. We have an elderly and arthritic greyhound who sleeps most of the time but I still wouldn’t take the risk of leaving him unsupervised with my chicken children.
 
Bell’s backyard said:
Well we’re not nearly as warm as you in Hawaii! Although it’s been very warm today and the ladies have moved from shady spot to shady spot. Currently, I’m looking at a kit set hen house and run. We also don’t have to deal with as many predators as elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Where do your chickens live for now? I don't know if I would recommend a kit or prefab for 5 hens, unless it's a really big one. Don't believe what the box says will fit-- that is usually bare minimum survivable space- not healthy at all. I started with a little prefab coop (labeled extra-large for 9 hens) for my 3 girls and they barely fit AND I let them out in the yard all day. It looked really pretty but it was just too small, the run was only 22 square feet.
little-coop1.jpg
If you plan to free range during the day, getting a coop with a tiny attached run is pointless... just get the coop by itself and build a bigger run if you want them in a secure place.

Sorry, I'm just trying to save you some heartache. Be sure to look at the dimensions only and multiply out the space you need... typically 10-15 square feet per bird. Your management plan will play a big factor on how much space you actually need. If you plan to let your birds have free access to a secure run or free range during the day, the coop will only need to be big enough for them to sleep comfortably having about 6-8 feet of roost space. But if you keep them locked inside the coop for long periods during the day, it will need to be much bigger otherwise some sever pecking can happen.
This article will explain it a whole lot better:
How Much Room Do Chickens Need

Reminds me of a great thread with tons of lessons people have learned
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...orst-mistakes-when-you-first-started.1283540/
 
Thank you for this. This small coop is basically where we started and it worked okay for a bit with the younger birds but it is absolutely not going to work now that the birds are bigger and moving into winter. The kit set is for a hen house from memory about 1.2 m x 1.2 m with 1.8 m height. Then the run is the same width and dimensions and 2.4 m long. They will be free ranging as much as we can during the day and in the hen house at night. Does this sound okay?
 
Bell’s backyard said:
Thank you for this. This small coop is basically where we started and it worked okay for a bit with the younger birds but it is absolutely not going to work now that the birds are bigger and moving into winter. The kit set is for a hen house from memory about 1.2 m x 1.2 m with 1.8 m height. Then the run is the same width and dimensions and 2.4 m long. They will be free ranging as much as we can during the day and in the hen house at night. Does this sound okay?
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Actually, 1.2 m2 sounds too small to me - I’ll look at bigger.
 

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