Hello everyone. I 1st posted in the "Raising Baby Chicks" forum when I rescued some yellow peeps I found on the road. 2 survived & are 4 weeks old now. I just spent $1,200 on materials to build their coop & run. They'll have an 8x8x8 foot coop with a hawk proof 12x20x10 foot run, when I'm done. Why so big? I plan on buying some egg layer breeds later who can pay rent with eggs. Maybe I'll start making some of that money back. I had to resist real hard not to buy any peeps when I was at TSC buying chicken wire today. Massive self control. Why do I give in to their cuteness? I'm a MAN ! & yet, here I am going through all this hassle, because of 2 little peeps that peeped at me to rescue them. Looking at me with their fuzzy, yellow faces. Now I understand why baby everything looks cute, be it kittens, puppies, peeps, or people babies. It's a survival mechanism. They look cute so us humans will want to take care of them, & it's very effective. I never had much respect for chickens before. I was surprised to learn how smart chickens are. Funny thing is I was designing a hawk house for when I get a falconer to sponsor me & can start training a Red-tail Hawk. Then I run into these chickens & 4 weeks later I'm building a coop. But my chickens are so cool. When I take off the lid on their brooder, they fly up & roost on the top edge & if I hold out my arm, they will fly over to roost on my arm. Chicken & the Snowman? Plus they follow me everywhere & they keep my cat in line. My Black Halloween Cat. That mischievous, always getting into things he's not suppose to Black Cat; Mr. Gizmo. I've also learned the hard way to always wear a shirt when laying down to watch TV with the chickies. Things like small moles look like grains of food to them & well... OUCH ! That's my story so far. I'll post pics of my / their coop when I'm done. I guess I'll be postponing raising a hawk for a while.
Wow, quite a life! Good for you to take those chicks in - I'm sure they're very greatful. Yes, the chicken math is going to start. First you have two... then three... then six... then.... ahh! But welcome to BYC!!
Hi and from Ohio. So glad you joined. My advice on the coop, use screws. They are easier to remove when you need to make things bigger.
@ 4-H chicken mom... Way ahead of you. I've always built with screws, because they are stronger than nails. I'm designing one section of the coop wall so If I end up expanding; all I have to do is take off 1 wall panel. Clearing the ground is another story. Hopefully this "Chicken Math" has a long incubation period.
