Help!! Can I fit more hens in my coop/run???

[21hens-incharge]

They look like red sex link chickens in your pic. Is that correct?
I am thinking maybe ordering some would be an option too.
I know it is a long shot with you being in Canada and all but may be worth looking into.

 

[Kmath]

I could order chicks but then I have to wait. We just bought 10 acres and trying to a get farm status and we can with 30 laying hens so I really can't wait. I could just keep looking online and hope people have some. There are some for sale now. 5 months old but I guess I can't fit them so I have to wait and see. I can't quarantine them and as for the tractor i my have a hard time asking my husband to build that. He's building a second large coop and redoing our house, too busy why do they need to be soooo far apart? If I buy from a breeder where I can visually inspect each chicken and ask her to treat for love before could I get away with the wall as a barrier? Please consider my circumstances, I'm trying the best I can, what can I squeeze by with ?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am confused. You said you did not have a way to keep them 100 feet apart. I am thinking with 10 acres that would be a cinch.

I am only on 1/4 acre in town and am able to do it.
You may want a tractor in the future anyway so I would build one for the quarantine and use it for foraging to keep the raptors off them.

 

[Kmath]

They look like red sex link chickens in your pic. Is that correct?
I am thinking maybe ordering some would be an option too.
I know it is a long shot with you being in Canada and all but may be worth looking into.

Yes they are! Golden comets

 

[21hens-incharge]

A tractor coop is the easiest thing to build. I bet with some reading up on construction and some determination you could do it and let hubby do the other stuff.

 

[Kmath]

A tractor coop is the easiest thing to build. I bet with some reading up on construction and some determination you could do it and let hubby do the other stuff.

Ok thank you I will run it by him. Trust me, me building something would be a nightmare and probably wouldn't withstand a night.

 

[Kmath]

10 acres of undeveloped land. Just how we like it. I have a 1/2 acre horse paddock, 200 ft driveway, large home, 40x40 shop. I really don't have much flat land that isn't being used at all! As weird as it sounds. 8 of our 10 acres is undeveloped mountain.

 

[Kmath]

My heart really feels for you on this. I have a friend that goes to the auctions practically weekly (okay, I may be exaggerating and it's bi-weekly) and I get palpitations when she talks about it. She has a lot more space than I do, though, so that's a factor, too. My problem is that because I avoid the auctions or feed store/local stock, I order hatchery day olds and I start out scoffing that I have to order 15 or 25 minimum, yet I keep exceeding that anyway! 

Do you know the person who is offering the chickens? Are they really that rare that you couldn't order eggs or hatchery chicks instead?

I'm not questioning your reasoning or anything, I guess I just know that I'm a sucker for these babies and I have to just not go to auctions and such lest I'd have to rent land just for the chickens I'd gather LOL

Maybe an idea would be to go to the auction and speak to the seller about getting fertilized eggs that you could hatch yourself and that would take up the time necessary to build the coop while you wait for them to hatch and then get ready to move in?

Maybe u should get a rooster and breed my own... I've heard it's heard to breed red sex links. May be an entirely different month of research. That way I can make sure of diaeases

 

[LeanneP]

I'd wager a bet someone here has extensive knowledge they'd be willing to share on any breed ever known (and probably some no one has ever even heard of! LOL).

Do they have to be laying by a certain time? Is there a deadline? If not, why not order a dozen or so of that breed and throw in some of the hatchery's other laying assortments? Sometimes they can send them much sooner than the website says, you just have to ask when it's close to their shipping day because maybe they had more than anticipated or someone cancelled last minute or who knows. It wouldn't hurt to ask, anyway.


ETA: I'm not suggesting breaking any laws or anything, and I know this is kinda cheating. What I'm saying is, even when they're a day old, they're still laying hens...they just aren't laying YET! (It will only be a few months before they do, so it's not THAT big of a stretch!)

 

[marktoo]

I could order chicks but then I have to wait. We just bought 10 acres and trying to a get farm status and we can with 30 laying hens so I really can't wait. I could just keep looking online and hope people have some. There are some for sale now. 5 months old but I guess I can't fit them

so I have to wait and see. I can't quarantine them and as for the tractor i my have a hard time asking my husband to build that. He's building a second large coop and redoing our house, too busy why do they need to be soooo far apart? If I buy from a breeder where I can visually inspect each chicken and ask her to treat for love before could I get away with the wall as a barrier? Please consider my circumstances, I'm trying the best I can, what can I squeeze by with ?

I am relatively new to chickens, having had my small flock of 4 for 2 years. This thread is of interest to me because I am considering adding to my flock & culling birds in the future to refresh my flock & am looking into the various options open to me. I have pretty much decided on day old chicks & culling the flock when they reach POL but that is a year off should my little enterprise not be discovered by the city by then. Chickens are illegal here! I was advised to try to get the laws changed by the folks here on this page & indeed that would have been the BEST option. I elected to go against the BEST advice & go stealth. I have gotten away with it for 2 years now but I could be reported by anyone at anytime. Should I have to call the PD for a break in, vandalism, etc. I am at the mercy of the responding officer. That is the risk I assumed by going against the Best advice! Likewise the article on biosecurity & the people advising you here, offer the best methods for introducing new birds to your flock, with yours being at the other end of the spectrum. The BEST method isn't foolproof but, you could get away with yours, for years in fact & the risk is entirely yours to take. Best of luck! ;o)