I am new and already need help

[dthomas61]

I was building a chicken coop for a friend and to make a long story short he never was able to afford to pick it up so I decided to keep it and put some nesting boxes in it add a few roosting areas and shingles. I also decided to elevate it off the ground but now I am not sure if I want the current side door or if I should block it and cut a door in the floor and just put some wires around the base for a run. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I would also be curious on the type of laying hens I should consider for brown eggs and not too noisy if there is such a thing. I am only wanting 4 or 5 hens.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings again, dthomas. Nice looking coop. Best of luck to you!

 

[SueT]

Welcome! So are you going to get chickens?

 

[Percheron chick]

Leave the door on the front. Add a ramp or steps for them to get into the coop. How are you going to get into the coop to clean? You can enclose the area under the coop but it's too small an area to be it. Build an attached run as large as you can with a people door.

There are no wrong breeds. Select breeds that are suited for your climate and that interest you. Get different breeds so you can sample the many different hens out there. Good starter breeds would include black australorp, buff orpington, Plymouth rocks, Wyandotte, sex links and Easter eggers.

 

[dthomas61]

The back section where the nesting boxes are is on hinges and opens like a door for cleaning

 

[drumstick diva]

Good for that - that is a great design feature.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!