Howdy From Texas . . .

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC and your new chicken adventure. I would recommend 3 rather than 2 - if/when one dies that would leave two to remain as company for one another.

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome Nice to have you here! The coop section has a lot of great ideas/examples of coops, tractors, runs.... all sizes and styles.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Welcome to BYC! Do say hi on the Texas thread in the Where Am I? section of the forums. And definitely read through the Learning Center articles - I found so much helpful stuff there. Yeah, the commercial prefab coops are too small for what they say they can hold.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Funny - my barber , an old country, old lady, has about a dozen hens. She sells eggs at her shop. Nice. When I asked her a few questions about keeping laying hens her response was, "Don't piss them off or they will stop laying."

That begged the question, "How do you piss off a chicken". I could clearly see that this conversation was about to get very interesting..

Her response (I will abbreviate...) was, "do not crowd them, do not spook them, keep their coop clean, and most important don't feed them junk. They need a high quality diet to lay eggs, and a better quality diet to lay lots of eggs."

Sounds like damn fine advice to me.

 

[TexasWineGuy]

Welcome to BYC and your new chicken adventure. I would recommend 3 rather than 2 - if/when one dies that would leave two to remain as company for one another.

Sour,

If my daughter does well with the 2, we will add another fairly soon, when I have completed a larger "run" that will attach to the existing coop.

TWG

 

[TexasWineGuy]

Update: Got the Coop ready after a few small modifications.

We reinforced the main frame, modified the mount for the coop access ramp, and for now, added some carry handles so that we can move the entire coop to give them some fresh grass in the "run".

We also replaced every door and access window latching mechanism, because what was installed would not keep a racoon out for very long at all. We installed new latches, with spring loaded ring locks. If a racoon gets in there - they deserve to eat the chickens.

I have attached (hopefully) some pics below. One of the questions I have is about ventilation: I think the actual coop might need some more ventilation based on some comments I've seen in some other threads here at BYC. Note the ventilation window on the "back" of the coop. Thoughts?

If I need more ventilation, what is a good way to have a new window, but be able to easily cover it in the cold winter?

We get the 2 hens tomorrow morning! We will be getting one Ameraucana, and one Black Laced Wyandotte from my brother. They are young, and should start laying eggs within the next month (I think).

Once we get comfortable with the 2 hens (translation: know what the heck we are doing...), I will begin to work on a portable Run that I can butt up against this existing structure.

Another question: At some point we would like to be able to let them out of the Coop to walk around our property (1 acre). However, due to local predators we would have to do so when we are present. My question is: How do we train them to go back into the coop/run structure on command? Thoughts?

Thanks for any suggestions.

TWG

 

[Celticdragonfly]

On letting them out - have them well used to the coop first, maybe a week. Then when you are first ready to let them out, do it in the early evening, maybe half an hour before sunset. They will want to go back to the familiar coop to roost for the night. It worked well for me.

 

[TexasWineGuy]

On letting them out - have them well used to the coop first, maybe a week. Then when you are first ready to let them out, do it in the early evening, maybe half an hour before sunset. They will want to go back to the familiar coop to roost for the night. It worked well for me.

Celtic,

Thanks for the reply. What about training them to get back into the coop/run during the daytime? I need to be able to let them out during the day, but also get them in when we can't be out there with them.

TWG

 

[rjohns39]

Update: Got the Coop ready after a few small modifications.

We reinforced the main frame, modified the mount for the coop access ramp, and for now, added some carry handles so that we can move the entire coop to give them some fresh grass in the "run".

We also replaced every door and access window latching mechanism, because what was installed would not keep a racoon out for very long at all. We installed new latches, with spring loaded ring locks. If a racoon gets in there - they deserve to eat the chickens.

I have attached (hopefully) some pics below. One of the questions I have is about ventilation: I think the actual coop might need some more ventilation based on some comments I've seen in some other threads here at BYC. Note the ventilation window on the "back" of the coop. Thoughts?

If I need more ventilation, what is a good way to have a new window, but be able to easily cover it in the cold winter?

We get the 2 hens tomorrow morning! We will be getting one Ameraucana, and one Black Laced Wyandotte from my brother. They are young, and should start laying eggs within the next month (I think).

Once we get comfortable with the 2 hens (translation: know what the heck we are doing...), I will begin to work on a portable Run that I can butt up against this existing structure.

Another question: At some point we would like to be able to let them out of the Coop to walk around our property (1 acre). However, due to local predators we would have to do so when we are present. My question is: How do we train them to go back into the coop/run structure on command? Thoughts?

Thanks for any suggestions.

TWG

Ventilation is probably just as or more important in winter. Generally speaking you want about one square foot per bird and you want it not to produce drafts. Most folks will put half of it down low and the remainder up high.

During the winter moisture will accumulate in the coop and contribute to frost bite, if there isn't enough ventilation.

 

[TexasWineGuy]

Ventilation is probably just as or more important in winter. Generally speaking you want about one square foot per bird and you want it not to produce drafts. Most folks will put half of it down low and the remainder up high.

During the winter moisture will accumulate in the coop and contribute to frost bite, if there isn't enough ventilation.

Help me understand the conundrum of needing ventilation, but also needing to keep them warm. How do I do both?

Thanks,
TWG