Long time lurker and tiny dinosaur enthusiast

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Glad to meet you, and welcome to BYC. I am so sorry about your cat! I do like your very practical way of dealing with grief. I am not sure how long term practical your mobile chicken housing plan is at 300 lbs. In case it helps, here are my lists of articles and how to find more information here. You might keep your current arrangement, or transform it into a stationary coop. I do love the idea of moving a coop around. One member has experimented with lighter weight moveable coops, and discussed it here.

Here are my favorite beginning articles that helped me as a newbie. All articles are short, and have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

3(a). Farmers Almanac on Building Coops (Includes size requirements!)

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. Winter chicken care

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

Notes about where to put a coop:

1. As far as you can, put a coop and run on high ground, that drains well, so you won't have so much muddy coop problems. Chickens need to be dry, dry, dry.

2. As far as you can, put a coop with the ventilation lined up with your prevailing breezes, and away from the direction of your storms. If you are not sure of these (who is these days?), check with your local National Weather Service website.

3. As far as you can, arrange for some sort of shade over your coop and run. Preferably deciduous so the girls will enjoy winter sun, but summer shade.
 
spottendogrun said:
I have not yet built the run, which I have acquired 1/2 inch hardware cloth for. I was looking at some of the dog kennel conversions some others have posted about (with hardware cloth along the bottoms) but am worried about them still having gaps. I really want my girls to have a fort knox of a run with supervised outside time, if that makes sense. Am I overthinking it?
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You are not overthinking. A fort Knox is absolutely worthwhile. My runs are secure from top to bottom. That means I can leave the chicken door open 24/7. To me, that is worth the labor and the costs.
My bantam run is a 10x10 dog kennel wrapped completely with hardware cloth. The biggest challenge was the doorway. (It is wood framed so there is no gap.)
 
Howdy, :frow and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy :ya to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
Glad you decided to de-lurk!

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Thanks for joining our community! :celebrate
 
Welcome to the coop! I use the Forums and Articles tabs at the top of the page to do research. You can get lost for hours. It's nice to know you are minutes away from getting help with questions and emergencies! I always check in the "What's New" section as well at the top of this page. This way I can read how I may have a similar question or help give some advice.
 

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