Hi all...New here just saying Hi!

[Dwaskom]

Hi Y'all glad to be here...will be nice to get some help with this new farm adventure.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Just Ordered our Chickens today and our Amish built coop is coming tomorrow. I will be Building the run this spring.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
We are starting with 6 chickens that will be here in just about a week or so.

(3) What breeds do you have?

We weren't sure what breed we wanted so we got a mixture of breeds. 2 Rhode Island Reds, a White Silky, a Black Sex link and two silver laced Wyandotte's.

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?

We have a small horse farm and want to expand into more farm animals as we love raising them.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

Love working on building our small 10 acre farm here in Michigan. Love riding Harley Davidsons ... and doing anything DIY.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

We are recently married and have three dogs and a cat. Two silly Mini Donkeys and a horse.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

So glad you decided to join us. Enjoy your soon to be new flock! If you have any questions about them along the way, be sure to ask. Welcome aboard!

 

[Dwaskom]

Here are some pics of the Amish built coop we purchased..It’s 5x8. Normally I’d build this myself but for the price we got it for it saved me a huge amount of time. I am planning to build a covered run onto this.

 

[theoldchick]

 

[TwoCrows]

Very nice coop! Sometimes it's easier to let someone else build it. I think your birds will enjoy it!

 

[TwoCrows]

Make sure it has vents in the eaves near the roof, chickens need fresh air no matter how cold it gets. Prevents frostbite too, all the moisture from pooping and breathing from the birds needs to vent up and out.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Like all Amish coops it seems, they are well constructed but not well designed for chicken keeping. The coop needs a LOT more ventilation. I would remove the top course of siding from under the soffits and secure 1/2" hardware cloth for added ventilation there. Did they at least leave a gap at the ridge for ventilation? It doesn't look like it.
Lacking that you can also pop the upper piece of siding off in the gable ends and secure it with 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside and baffle vents on the outside to shed water.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place the explore.
Nice looking coop nice size.
You have been given advice on ventilation and such.

 

[Dwaskom]

Make sure it has vents in the eaves near the roof, chickens need fresh air no matter how cold it gets. Prevents frostbite too, all the moisture from pooping and breathing from the birds needs to vent up and out.

yea if it doesn't have ridge vents I'll put some in the eves. thanks for the pointer!

 

[Dwaskom]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Like all Amish coops it seems, they are well constructed but not well designed for chicken keeping. The coop needs a LOT more ventilation. I would remove the top course of siding from under the soffits and secure 1/2" hardware cloth for added ventilation there. Did they at least leave a gap at the ridge for ventilation? It doesn't look like it.
Lacking that you can also pop the upper piece of siding off in the gable ends and secure it with 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside and baffle vents on the outside to shed water.

I'll know more tomorrow when the coop is delivered...I did buy it off Facebook without seeing it....but I'm very capable of making modifications If need be. I'll be sure to post as I progress so I can get some pointers.