I am new to this - Chicken Hutch for eggs

[herbyhempstead]

My wife and I are thinking about getting a few chickens for eggs. Can we just use a Chicken Hutch?
hffinc.com/01490WB-Chicken_Hutch.jpg


Thanks. We are below rookies right now when it comes to this.

- John

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Hi John, first

Now can you tell us more?
Where do you live?
How many/what breeds do you hope to have?
Will you free range or build a run?

The hutch is cute, would make a good grow out coop, not sure it is adequate for full grown hens though. Look forward to your answers.

 

[crj]

Hi John, Welcome. Are you from Hempstead, NY? I couldn't figure out how to see the hutch. You may want to look at some of the coop designs. It might give you an idea of what you will need for your chickens. I don't know how many you are looking to get or what kind. I'm sure you just want a basic chicken that lays a nice size egg. LOL..... thing is, there are so many of those chickens to choose from. Have fun figuring out what you will get.

 

[herbyhempstead]

3-4 chickens is what we plan on getting. Can we just use a Chicken Hutch like that and let them run around in the yard?

Not in Hempstead, NY, Northern KY.

 

[elmo]

Welcome to the forum!

I can't get the link to work, either. Did you mean these coops?

http://www.thechickenhutch.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4&zenid=4ula30rvm62hlvbgb728r8m311

If so, I think there have been concerns expressed here by people who've bought them about the lack of quality of the materials. Certainly they are too small for the number of chickens they claim to be able to house.

For three chickens, you should probably look for a coop that has at least 12 square feet of floor space (4 square feet per chicken). More space would be much better, though. And you should look for something that's properly ventilated for chickens. Housing designed for rabbits (which is what a hutch normally is) just doesn't meet the requirements of chickens very well.

This is the best summary of that subject that I know of:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

The other thing to look for in a prefab coop is easy access for cleaning. Many of them have small access doors that make it hard to reach inside. If one whole wall opens up, that makes cleaning very easy.

Letting your chickens run around your yard is called "free ranging." When you free range, you need to be willing to accept that fact that sooner or later you'll lose some birds to predators. If your yard is securely fenced, you won't have to worry too much about roaming dogs but there are usually hawks around most places. And chickens can sometimes decide to fly over a fence and go looking for greener pastures.

 

[maryellenks]

Here is the link to the coop/hutch linked to above: http://www.thechickenhutch.com/inde...oducts_id=18&zenid=4ula30rvm62hlvbgb728r8m311

I was wondering about these, too - if you have a large fenced area for them to run around in and only put them in at night, would this be big enough for, say, three bantams? I keep getting really different and conflicting information about square footage per bird, and it's confusing trying to figure out if people are talking about indoor space, outdoor space, fenced space, etc.

 

[ButtersMama]

FYI...MaryEllen's link....This coop is at Tractor Supply Co on sale for $99.

They told me no more than 2 or 3 chickens to be housed in it.

 

[Katy]

I have a couple of those that I use for brooders in the summer. They are really too small for large fowl hens. They'd work for a couple of bantam hens. They don't offer enough protection for winter weather.