Need help with coop plan

[2chicks]

My Kindergartener brought home a couple of baby chicks that they hatched in the classroom. No clue what kind of chickens they are, they are black & white and rather adorable lil cheepy things. I think they are about 5wks old.

They are living in a parrot cage in my dining room right now that is on-loan from the school, they won't fit in that cage forever and I would prefer to see them go outside at some point.

We have a very, very small yard...I would like to put their coop on the side of the house, the yard there is 5ft wide and approx 50ft long and is not being used for anything other than weed growing atm.

What do I need to put into a coop? I dont want anything gigantic that will call attention to itself, I am zoned for chickens (no roosters) and my neighbor on that side is perfectly fine with this but the pesky neighbor across the street will raise all sorts of problems if she can see it over my 6ft fence. I've never had a pet other than a dog, always lived in the city..this is all new to me.

 

[ThunderStruck]

Hi

Welcome to BYC

first off, What part of the country are you from?

 

[2chicks]

I am in So CA, very close to the ocean surrounded by hills on 3 sides, so it gets quite cold here at night. Drops to at least 60 degrees at night during the summer, not sure on winter but many mornings we do have ice on the cars.

The guy at the feedstore said I need to keep them inside the house for another month at least, since it's unseasonably cold right now, which is fine with me...but my lil brother will be leaving in 2 weeks, I am beyond useless at construction and need him here to help me, so I want to build it now so it's ready when they are. I have several huge sheets of plywood that the neighbor gave me..hoping to use them in building this.

I take them outside during the day when it's sunny but they are getting to be very fast and hard to get back inside, so I have ordered a circular fence to keep them contained and not running everywhere until I can do something more permanent.

 

[ThunderStruck]

2chicks, have you checked this out yet? its a good start.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/raising-chickens-basics.php

lots of good things in there such as what you can use as a proper brooder w/ heat, type of bedding to use (i used pine shavings for mine), make sure they are on chick starter, and have plenty of good clean water. No treats unless you have extra grit. As for a coup, a larger rabbit hutch might be all right for them. but not until they are fully feathered out (abt 9 weeks). you might want to check out other peoples coups to get some better ideas as to what you like.

 

[2chicks]

Yes, I have read that.

They have a 60watt heat lamp which is keeping their cage (parrot cage with a tablecloth over most of it to keep heat in) at around 100 degrees by the lamp and cooler as you go away from the lamp. I went to the feed shop 1 town over and got the starter food and food/water dishes. The've been in there a week and seem very happy, although they love being outside when it's sunny. I have newspapers on the bottom of the cage and change them around 2x a day as they get covered in poop.

Their current home is doing well, so I am more concerned about getting an outside home for them ready.