Hi!

[OurFirstRodeo]

Hey everyone. Just following the rules and introducing myself so that I can post some coop questions.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
My uncle had chickens all my life but I had never experienced caring for them (besides collecting eggs as a toddler) until now. My husband and I got our first chicks in late October 2024.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
3


(3) What breeds do you have?
One Ameraucana
One Plymouth Barred
One Russian Orloff

(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
My kids seeing how eggs work and understanding more about where their food comes from. And also their little personalities! I never knew chickens had so much personality.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Fishing, diving, free diving, gardening

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
We also have a cat that my chickens have bullied into becoming a house cat (he used to think he was an “outdoor” cat before we got them), and my husband is the stay at home parent in our family.

(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I’ve been reading forums for months! But my ladies recently started laying eggs and have since started refusing to sleep in their coop so i joined so i can ask alternate coop building ideas.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC.
Can you post a few photos of your coop?
Generally, if they stop sleeping in a coop as they grow older it is because of one of these things:
1. The coop has become too crowded
2. There isn't enough ventilation in the coop
3. There are mites

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Nice introduction! Definitely post pics of your coop so we can help you figure out what going on. I started with a tiny prefab coop originally and after they grew up, they started to refuse to use it too. So I built them a mansion.... We all loved it.

Welcome to our community!

 

[N F C]

Hello, glad to have you here! @janiedoe has mentioned some good possibilities about your girls and their egg laying...maybe with photos of your set up we can offer some tips. Thanks for joining us!

 

[OurFirstRodeo]

Welcome to BYC.
Can you post a few photos of your coop?
Generally, if they stop sleeping in a coop as they grow older it is because of one of these things:
1. The coop has become too crowded
2. There isn't enough ventilation in the coop
3. There are mites

Here’s a good photo, it’s not pretty, my husband built it himself, but it did the job for a few months. There’s definitely plenty of room since we only have 3 ladies. The back has a 2 inch opening in the bottom so ventilation shouldn’t be an issue either. I haven’t seen any mites, either, and they still go in there to lay their eggs, it’s just sleeping in there that they don’t want to do.

We do let them free-range during the day so honestly that’s probably the issue. They keep trying to fall asleep on the railing of our deck under the kitchen window. If we put them in the run, they hang out in there since they have no choice, but they don’t go into the coop itself unless it’s to lay an egg.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Hope you enjoy your time here!

 

[muddy75]

 

[CurlyChickenGirly]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you are here! Hope you get good advice!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

Your coop needs more ventilation. And more light would help. Can you post pictures of the inside?

 

[Nomadicus]

Hello and Welcome to BYC. So glad that you have joined us here in this fun and poultry loving community.