JC's flock begins

[JChipowsky]

I wanted to start my own little flock thread to share my babies and the construction
I planned to start next year after we get the yard fixed, but we happened upon the breed I had been researching so we started early. I'm building the run first and using a huge barrel for a temporary shelter. After we get the yard fixed we'll expand. The run is 10ft by 8ft, and will extend under the coop after it's built. The coop will be 8ft by 4ft, elevated three feet (to allow for easy chicken removal and prevent flooding).
On 7/14/23 we brought home 5 crested cream legbars, on 7/26/23 we brought home 4 more. I know I want to keep a flock of 10 hens and 1 roo. We tried our best to pick out the right ones, since they are supposed to be sex linked and should have been easy to pick the right ones. We picked out one with good boy colors and 8 with good girl colors. We ended up with 5 cockerels and 4 pullets, out of the pullets 2 are not true crested cream legbars (a mix of some type possibly easter eggers or prairie bluebells). We plan to re home all the extra boys and get some more pullets.

 

[N F C]

Cute chicks, best of luck getting their coop & run completed (they grow soooo quickly)!

 

[Callender Girl]

Your babies are heart-meltingly adorable! I hope you are able to successfully rehome the boys.

Best wishes with your construction project -- keep us posted, please, on how the work is progressing, and welcome to BYC!

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Great that you got your start. Might want to check those dimensions though. Still on my morning coffee, so not sure, but you currently have enough space for eight chickens tops, if you build what your post shows.

Four square feet per bird in the4 coop and ten square feet in the run. Will revisit that when my coffee levels are sufficient.

 

[JChipowsky]

Great that you got your start. Might want to check those dimensions though. Still on my morning coffee, so not sure, but you currently have enough space for eight chickens tops, if you build what your post shows.

Four square feet per bird in the4 coop and ten square feet in the run. Will revisit that when my coffee levels are sufficient.

The coop will have a 1 by 4 extension for next boxes and a second half level that will be 4 by 4. The run will extend under the coop, adding 32 more square feet. It gives me 132 square feet of run and 52 square feet in the coop.
This is also just the beginning. We'll add extensions to the run after we fix the yard.
Should give us minimum room for 13, but we're just trying for 11 right now (1 roo, 10 hens)

 

[TwoCrows]

Adorable babies! Good luck with your build, definitely keep us posted on it and the growth of your birds!

 

[JChipowsky]

Well, after a bit of discussion with my family, since we have to build the coop in stages, we're going to build a bigger coop! The new design will be 8 by 8 with notched out next boxes, don't know yet if we're going to put in a loft.

 

[N F C]

Well, after a bit of discussion with my family, since we have to build the coop in stages, we're going to build a bigger coop! The new design will be 8 by 8 with notched out next boxes, don't know yet if we're going to put in a loft.

Bigger is always better!

 

[JChipowsky]

The big chicks are out. The coop will be 8 by 8, will get started on that in a couple weeks. The initial run is all fenced in with roof and skirting.
We will be rehoming 4 of the 9. We actually ended up with 6 Brahma pullets (as long as they are all actually pullets) we will have...2 cream legbar pullets, 2 easter egger pullets, 6 Brahma pullets and one cream legbar cockerel.

 

[JChipowsky]