Hello from OH!

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armstrng32

armstrng32

Hatching
5 Years
Mar 28, 2014
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We live in Ohio and are brand new to the world of chicken raising. After lots of research and a trip to Tractor Supply for gear, we picked up a coop/run combo and 4, 5 week old Golden Comets just 2 weeks ago. It's been really cold here for this time of year, so we moved the coop into our garage to keep the chicks warmer (they have a warming light too) and protect from the strong winds. We're trying to shore up the coop to protect from predators for when we move it out in the yard in the next few weeks. We have coyotes, raccoons, feral cats and possums nearby. There is not currently a door to close off the run from the coop. We plan to put a large piece of plywood over the coop opening and weigh it down with a brick at night. Any thoughts/suggestions on this? Thanks!
 
I live in oh too! Just went today and also got new chicks! They are so cute! And friendly!
 
Hi, fellow Buckeye! The chicks are much fluffier and cuter than I thought. Ours are definitely going to be egg-laying pets.
 
Yes ours are for egg laying as well. The kids already named them lol! We have 3 red of some type, sign said red pullets and 3 blacks, not sure which breed they are. It was a mixed assortment. They are so cute! Our store has a minimum of 6 rule to purchase so we got 3 of each. I hear they can be friendly and follow you around the yard like dogs! Looking forward to watching them grow.
 
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Drumstick Diva X2. Predators are much stronger and smarter than a brick and you will come out to injured and or dead birds. Please use some sort of locking system. Not worth going thru all the work and becoming attached to your birds to lose them over skimping on the build. Predators have a lot of time on their hands. They can work at something all night long if they think there is a meal at the end of it. So build, rebuild and over build again to keep your birds safe. Nursing a mortally wounded bird is a sad situation that could have been prevented.

Here is the link to our protecting your flock section in the learning center you might like to look thru...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock

Good luck with your new adventure and welcome to BYC!
 
Welcome to BYC. If your pen is made of chicken wire, you may want to cover it with hardware cloth. Many predators can shred chicken wire. A solid door with a 'raccoon proof' latch will be needed to lock your coop.
 
Hello :frow an Welcome To BYC! Golden Comets are great egg layers, they should make you nice hens! X4, you will need to take steps to predator proof your coop with good latches and reenforce the wood etc. Raccoons, dogs, coyotes especially the TSC prefab coops are not made to stand up to them... another thing to consider... those sort of prefab coops usually really overestimate the number of grown hens they can comfortably contain, the general rule of thumb is you want 4 square feet inside the coop (not counting next boxes or feeds/waterers) and 10 square feet out side the coop per adult standard hen. When chickens are crowded you are much more likely to have problems with fighting, feather picking etc. You might take a look at the BYC Coops section and consider building another coop for the girls to use when they are adults.
 

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