Hi!

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rosie1991

rosie1991

In the Brooder
5 Years
Dec 11, 2014
31
1
26
Hi ya'll, I am a new member from Hull,Tx and I was given 4 hens and 2 roosters on thanksgiving day. They are 6 months old and we are trying to get a coop and run built for them any suggestions on how big the coop needs to be?? We want to make it to where we can move it around... Thanks :)
 
Hello and welcome to the flock!
I'm still a chicken newb, but everyone here is very helpful and full of great ideas along the way! The Learning Center has been great in guiding me along my own chicken keeping adventure, as has the Where am I, Where are You? forums. There you can find folks in your geographical area for even more specific advice.

Congrats on your new flock and keep us posted! I love to see chicken pics!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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Congrats on your new flock! First, you have too many roosters for your hens. These two will mate these 4 hens to death. The proper ratio of rooster to hen is about 8 to 10 hens. So you will need to either rehome one of these roosters and get more hens, you can rehome both of them as you don't need roosters unless you want fertile eggs, or you will need to keep these boys in their own bachelor quarters.

4 to 5 square feet per bird in the coop and 10 square feet per bird in the run.

Have you stopped by our learning center yet? Lots of good articles on all the aspects of keeping poultry...https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Enjoy your new flock and we do welcome you to our flock!
 
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. My wife and I were both raised in the great state of Texas. TwoCrows has given you some good advice. As far as the recommend space for the coop (4sq. ft. per bird) and run (10 sq. ft. per bird), more is definitely better as overcrowding can quickly lead to aggression, fights, biting and feather plucking, and even serious injury. I would recommend re-homing one of your roosters and getting some more hens to go with the other one. Too many roosters will become very hard physically on your hens as they mature; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10 hens in that regard. I currently have 25 hens and no roosters in my flock, and I get loads of eggs without all the aggression, fights, crowing in the middle of the night, biting and feather plucking, drop in egg production, and over-breeding and battering of hens that goes along with having roosters (especially too many). My hens are stress free and enjoying life without any roosters around. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock and in getting your coop and run built.
 
Thanks I figured that was way to many roosters LOL and I am planning on getting rid of one of them soon :)
 

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