I am a new chicken lady looking for input!

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glitchchick

glitchchick

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 12, 2012
15
0
22
SW MI
Hi all! I am new to this site and to raising chickens. So far it's been great. We bought 6 ISA Brown's from the local TSA on March 24th. I assume they were just under a week old when we brought them home.
They are been thriving thus far, as has their coop!
We 'winged'
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the plans and built as we went. It came out....okay. Sturdy as heck but seems plain. I was hoping that I could get some input on how to spruce it up!
My two boys decided to paint the stripe on it, so I can't remove it, but would like to make it fun. What's cooler then an eccentric coop??

We have 2 roosts and a wall mount feeder inside the 4x5 coop as well as 3 nesting boxes. There is a little window to the side as you can see. I have yet to build the chicken door. We finally got the fence up this week and moved a little raised garden bed inside to place the babies in until they are big enough to NOT fit through the chain link. Until then they are still in their comfy brooder out the the garage.

I have been feeding them medicated bagged feed and greens. I have noticed that there is a lot of medicated water additives, should I use those??

Any tips on the chicks or coop? I am all ears!

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What are the prospects for predators in the area? It looks like we may be much more rural than you, but hawks is a problem around here. If a covering net is not practical, you may want to put some bushes in there for "cover" where the chickens can hide. Also, coons and other vermin will have no issue scaling the fence, so ensure you close them up (including the window) at night. I would actually put some kind of mesh / wire in the window so you can leave it open for ventilation. Great looking coop! So glad to have you here.
 
I have chicken wire covering the window, but then was told- after I I installed it in between the wood- that chicken wire was no good, so now it has both chicken wire and 1/4" hardware cloth over the window. I hope that helps.

So far with 2 compost heaps, one enclosed and one covered, we have not had any wild animals mess with either of the compost heaps or garbage bins. I am crossing my fingers that that would be an indicator of vermin. So, honestly I don't *think* that we have issues out here. With that said, my chickens will be cooped up at night just to be safe.

Good call on the bushes! I honestly never thought about that. I will be planting some soon! I plan on also planting a lettuce garden inside the coop so they have access to fresh produce. Hopefully that plans out as it does inside my head :)
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan :D

Your chicks are too young for scratch grain, a medicated starter feed is fine until they are around 6 weeks, then you can transition them to a grower/finisher ration.
 
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Hi.
I agree with "too young for scratch grain" too. Be sure to sprinkle some chick grit on their food every couple days, but don't overload them on it.
 
Sorry about the mistake, I changed the scratch with FEED. I have been feeding them medicated feed (purina brand) with greens, yogurt, tiny food scraps. So far so good!
Any feeding tips I should be aware of?
 

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