Looking forward to my first chicks

[MrsWolfe]

We are new to owning chickens and gathering as much information as possible. My first chicks are expected in April and have been looking at coop designs. I have ordered 8 chicks, Black sex links, Columbian Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Buff Orpingtons. I'm still confused as to how big I should make the coop and yard. They will be range free during the days. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

Welcome to BYC! General rule of them 4 sq ft per chicken in coop (with 12 inches of roost space per bird) and 10 sq ft in the run area.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, MrsWolfe, and

! Great to have you here! Pleased you are joining the poultry universe. Some great information can be found in the links below. I do know that 4 sq. ft/bird is recommended in the coop and 10 sq. ft. /bird is the recommended run size. Sounds like a lot but that's only a 8 x 4 coop and an 8 x 10 run for your eight birds. I would advise making everything bigger, however. You may want to add birds in the future (look up "chicken math: sometime). Enjoy your chicks and best of luck!

Here is the Learning Center link - all the ins and outs of responsible chicken care and maintenance.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/

For when your chicks arrive here is a the Baby Chicks forum - preuse old threads and post questions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/11/raising-baby-chicks

 

[MrsWolfe]

Thank you for the links I'll check them out.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Welcome to BYC! General rule of them 4 sq ft per chicken in coop (with 12 inches of roost space per bird) and 10 sq ft in the run area.

Agree completely. And bigger is better in case the chicken bug bites you bad.

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Glad you joined us!

 

[thasista]

Hi from Kentucky!