Just wanted to introduce myself

[sunflour]

Glad you decide to rejoin. Good luck with your coop/run renovations and getting a new flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

Hi Steve, nice to meet you. Hope you enjoy Backyard chickens as much as we do.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Nice to meet you, Steve!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC, Steve and Annette. Glad you decided to our flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in renovating your coop/run. Do you have any breed preference?

 

[Steve P]

Ok I got out and measured existing coop. The coop is small it is 7'x3' with a 7x7 run. I am planning on adding onto this setup with the following. I am going to connect a 6x12 foot coop that is going to be 6.5 feet tall so that I can enter the coop to clean and gather eggs. Current coop is 5 foot tall on one end and 3.5 on other. I will add some roosts in the small one but bigger coop will be the main house. Plus I am going to add another run onto these coops that will be 10x13 and 5.5 feet high. So when all is said and done I should have between the coops and runs at total of 272 square feet.

 

[Steve P]

Welcome to BYC, Steve and Annette. Glad you decided to our flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in renovating your coop/run. Do you have any breed preference?

Last time I had RIR's. This time we are going to try a mixed flock and have been looking at a local hatchery's web page and this is what we are looking

Isa Browns
Black Sex links
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Araucana Ameraucana
Welsummer

Im hoping she picked birds that will get along with each other....

 

[Michael OShay]

Last time I had RIR's. This time we are going to try a mixed flock and have been looking at a local hatchery's web page and this is what we are looking

Isa Browns
Black Sex links
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Araucana Ameraucana
Welsummer

Im hoping she picked birds that will get along with each other....

I've had all of those breeds and hybrids over the years and they will get along fine with each other as long as they are not overcrowded. All of these are actually more docile in general than RIRs. Black Sex Links are my favorite chickens; hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. I've raised them for years, and along with my Red Sex Links (Isa Browns), they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. I've have been especially impressed with the Black Sex Links' laying persistence in really cold, winter weather. I love the chocolate eggs of the Welsummers. In my opinion, they are the prettiest eggs in the chicken world. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Steve P]

I've had all of those breeds and hybrids over the years and they will get along fine with each other as long as they are not overcrowded. All of these are actually more docile in general than RIRs. Black Sex Links are my favorite chickens; hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. I've raised them for years, and along with my Red Sex Links (Isa Browns), they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. I've have been especially impressed with the Black Sex Links' laying persistence in really cold, winter weather. I love the chocolate eggs of the Welsummers. In my opinion, they are the prettiest eggs in the chicken world. Good luck with your flock.

I should have close to 300 square feet once I am done with my new coop and run

 

[Steve P]

This is my starting point. Coop and run addition will make it alot bigger

 

[Michael OShay]

I should have close to 300 square feet once I am done with my new coop and run

That will allow you to have a fair sized flock. The area should be 4 sq. ft. per bird for the coop floor and 10 sq. ft. per bird for the run floor. More is even better as overcrowding can quickly lead to aggression, fights, biting and feather plucking, and even cannibalism. It's always best to build the coop/run as big as possible and give the birds lots of space. Good luck in the expansion of your coop.