Hi, we have no chickens or coop yet

[Lexie27]

Thank you! I have been taking a crash course in chicken keeping here for the last week! Thank God for yall!

PS, chicken keepers calling themselves chicken tenders is my kind of humor!

 

[Dominique King]

I am so happy for you!
The Hundred Acres Wood is a Rally Racing event in the USA! lol!

 

[Dominique King]

PS, chicken keepers calling themselves chicken tenders is my kind of humor!

Exactly!

 

[Lexie27]

I am so happy for you!
The Hundred Acres Wood is a Rally Racing event in the USA! lol!

I’ll have to look that up! Car racing? Hubs did dirt bikes which is why he’s more metal than bone now lol

 

[McChooky]

I was born and raised in Florida, we’ve been in NC for 3 years. Y’all this soil is a mystery, lol
Huge learning curve but I absolutely love it here, the land, the people and the culture. So blessed.

I've found its hard to get past the first foot unless you use a steel bar to break up the hard pan soil using a sledge hammer.After you get it broke up digging deeper is easy.It isn't as hard as it sounds.

 

[Lexie27]

Hello Lexie, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

Not really.
You want to shoot for as close to 1sq ft of permanently open ventilation per bird in the coop with more than can be opened up during hot weather.
You also want 1 linear foot of unobstructed roost space and 4 sq ft of floor space per bird in the coop. You want to shoot for an additional 12-15 sq ft in the run especially if you plan to expand the flock.

If your DH is in construction, he should be able to run a circuit out to the coop. It is very convenient to have electricity in the coop so be able to work out there at night. Or to have a heated water source out in the run.

Hey, want you to know I’ve been building mathing and not chicken mathing. Working on ventilation on top of ventilation and will post what I come up with on the appropriate thread.
Thanks so much for your guidance!

 

[Lexie27]

I get that. Texas (least where I am) is solid clay just a few inches down. Practically undiggable

What do you use in your run, if you have one? Hubs wants to use crushed run under pea gravel under sand, but even in our drive, if you dig in the gravel a couple of inches, it’s wet, and it stays wet for days.

 

[McChooky]

Hey, want you to know I’ve been building mathing and not chicken mathing. Working on ventilation on top of ventilation and will post what I come up with on the appropriate thread.
Thanks so much for your guidance!

Our coop section is where you need to be lol

 

[Lexie27]

Our coop section is where you need to be lol

For sure!
ETA: I posted there, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a heavily trafficked forum, so if any of you experienced chickeners want to head over, feel free.
There’s other first time posters struggling, too.

 

[500Chickens]

welcome!