Hello From Mass.

[sourland]

Good morning, and welcome to BYC.

 

[Adolph Otto]

Thanks, everyone. I put a new roof on the coop last week, before I realized it's drawbacks. It has up to 5 nesting boxes, but the dividers can be removed to make double wides. I am going to free range, so the run isn't an issue right now. Until I build or buy a new one, I figure I'll modify this for added ventilation.

 

[Boppo]

Glad to meet you, Adolph. Greetings from just south of Boston! Yeah, I discovered as well, that those prefab coops don't hold as many chickens as they say they will!

Be sure you add some predator proofing by stapling some quarter inch hardware cloth around the bottom to come up around the base and add a skirt around on the ground. If you can make the skirt 2 feet or more, that will at least make a predator have to work hard to get in. Use garden staples to hold down the hardware cloth. We have enough raccoons, coyotes, fisher cats, weasels, cats and neighborhood dogs to make it worth the effort! Not to speak of keeping out mice and rats

Best wishes, and have fun!

 

[Adolph Otto]

Glad to meet you, Adolph. Greetings from just south of Boston! Yeah, I discovered as well, that those prefab coops don't hold as many chickens as they say they will!

Be sure you add some predator proofing by stapling some quarter inch hardware cloth around the bottom to come up around the base and add a skirt around on the ground. If you can make the skirt 2 feet or more, that will at least make a predator have to work hard to get in. Use garden staples to hold down the hardware cloth. We have enough raccoons, coyotes, fisher cats, weasels, cats and neighborhood dogs to make it worth the effort! Not to speak of keeping out mice and rats

Best wishes, and have fun!

Thanks, Boppo. I'm in Kingston. Four plus acres, about half being woodland, so predators are definitely high on my concern list! I have the coop fastened to landscape timbers, which are trenched into the ground. Great suggestion about the skirt, thanks very much.

 

[Adolph Otto]

Orpingtons are great birds! My last remaining original hen is a Buff Orp, and she's a delight.

I think you are making the right decision about holding off on the Rhode Island Reds for now. I can't really tell how large the coop is, but it looks like five full-sized birds would be pretty crowded in it.

Still, a free coop is a lovely gesture by your neighbor, and I hate to waste anything free.

Good luck with those little ones, and welcome to BYC!

It was nice of my neighbor. We're new to the neighborhood and it's always good to start making connections. He even dragged it on plywood down the road to my house with his truck. Good guy.