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jbrianchamberli

jbrianchamberli

Songster
5 Years
May 13, 2014
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Just thinking about it at this point and I'm not even sure where to get started. We live in the country and we have plenty of land. I've seen some coops online and am looking maybe to do 4 chickens. I have a deaf 3 year old who LOVES animals and I think he'd have a blast with the chickens. The free eggs are always a plus.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? Not interested in any rare breeds, at least not right now. Mostly need help with the location of the coop. Kinda want it close to the house but not too close to the house.

Thoughts?
 
This is my first year and my chicks are only 4 weeks old so I'm no expert but here is what I've found so far. I already had a coop in my yard but no power. It is about 100 yards or so from the house. Lots of time and money in trenching and under ground electrical. Secondly think of water. It's not going to be fun lugging 5 gallon buckets of water out there especially in the winter in knee deep snow. But if your too close then you may have to contend with odors.

Just my experience so far.


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Welcome! We built our coop about 60 ft from the house.I like being able to see the coop and run from the house. An easy water source is important and if you have a well you don't want it near the coop.
 
I don't know if water will be an issue. I have a running stream on my property. Would that water be suitable? I see ducks nearby and the deer drink from it.
 
I question the cost of the start up. So many voices in this. I hear $500 to get started and some say $1000. Just so many opinions.
 
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I wonder if you should have the water tested to see if it has a lot of runoff from animals, farm chemicals etc. to know if it's safe to use for your chickens. On the other hand chickens will overlook their bowl of clean water to drink from mud puddles. Guess I never gave it much thought.
 
Really, this will be as cheap or as expensive as you make it - you can construct a coop from repurposed material or you can go all out and build a chicken palace with all newly purchased lumber and hardware. You can find great deals on used equipment (or make your own - there are tons of DIY projects) or you can purchase brand new "top of the line" things that do the exact same thing.
 

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