Hello! I am a stay-at-home mother of seven children ranging in age from 11 to 28. I have wanted chickens for a long, long time, but knew unless we had a coop ready it wouldn't be wise. The kids have begged for years, and I really want fresh eggs.
However, my husband has virtually no time to build anything, and I have zilch carpentry skills. So I figured this would never happen.
My friend, knowing I wanted chickens, found a friend of hers giving some babies away, and gave us four of them last week. They were about 4-5 weeks old then. (I still figured it would be easy enough to keep them in a dog crate...silly newbie I am!) and since she had given us a guinea pig cage, when we were at the farm store we came home with six one day old chicks.
I found out very quickly that the others should be in a coop, and although we have some piles of free wood that was given to us, as I said, my husband just doesn't really have the time (and sometimes not the patience) to do this. We are looking at premade ones, and I am especially hoping for ones with mobility.
Anyway, we took the plunge, am making mistakes I am sure, and are learning as we go.
Thanks all!
However, my husband has virtually no time to build anything, and I have zilch carpentry skills. So I figured this would never happen.
My friend, knowing I wanted chickens, found a friend of hers giving some babies away, and gave us four of them last week. They were about 4-5 weeks old then. (I still figured it would be easy enough to keep them in a dog crate...silly newbie I am!) and since she had given us a guinea pig cage, when we were at the farm store we came home with six one day old chicks.
I found out very quickly that the others should be in a coop, and although we have some piles of free wood that was given to us, as I said, my husband just doesn't really have the time (and sometimes not the patience) to do this. We are looking at premade ones, and I am especially hoping for ones with mobility.
Anyway, we took the plunge, am making mistakes I am sure, and are learning as we go.
Thanks all!
and Welcome To BYC! That was a fast way to gain a flock of chickens! TwoCrows gave you some good links to check out! You might want to check out / post on your state thread for suggestions on where to get coops or if anyone knows someone who builds them in your area. You might also want to consider getting shed etc and converting it to a coop, if you can't find a good premade coop. 
