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Leanimal said:
I like the colored eggs from the americanas, I'm also thinking a silver laced wyandot and black australorp. Nothing too mean because I have young kids.
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Those are good choices for children. Actually it is Easter Eggers which lay colored eggs (true Ameraucanas lay only blue eggs). Most Ameraucanas (frequently misspelled as Americana or Americauna) sold by hatcheries (and frequently misspelled as Americana or Americauana) are actually Easter Eggers which are hybrids produced by crossing true Ameraucanas with other breeds to produce offspring that lay eggs in colors other than just blue (olive, green, beige, and even pale pink or gold). Our Easter Eggers are my granddaughter's favorite hens. She loves the different colored eggs that they lay. Black Australorps are my personal favorite, standard breed. I've raised them for years and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of ours), and they are the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. Other breeds that are very friendly and gentle are Buff Orpingtons (we have some currently in our flock), Cochins, Brahmas, Sussex, Silkies, and Faverolles. Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children (especially with the right breeds). My granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loves our chickens.
 
Michael OShay said:
Those are good choices for children. Actually it is Easter Eggers which lay colored eggs (true Ameraucanas lay only blue eggs). Most Ameraucanas (frequently misspelled as Americana or Americauna) sold by hatcheries (and frequently misspelled as Americana or Americauana) are actually Easter Eggers which are hybrids produced by crossing true Ameraucanas with other breeds to produce offspring that lay eggs in colors other than just blue (olive, green, beige, and even pale pink or gold). Our Easter Eggers are my granddaughter's favorite hens. She loves the different colored eggs that they lay. Black Australorps are my personal favorite, standard breed. I've raised them for years and they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of ours), and they are the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. Other breeds that are very friendly and gentle are Buff Orpingtons (we have some currently in our flock), Cochins, Brahmas, Sussex, Silkies, and Faverolles. Raising chickens is a wonderful experience for children (especially with the right breeds). My granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) loves our chickens.
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P.S. There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html explaining the differences between Ameraucanas, Araucanas, and Easter Eggers.
 
Welcome to BYC!

You will find a lot of good information here. Keep on asking questions and you will get many good answers.

You may also want to read the FAQ below.

A coop has one purpose: To provide protection. The protection is from a) precipitation b) cold wind and c) predators. Everything else is aesthetics.

There are some basic considerations. Chickens need a lot more space than people suspect. If they are going to be cooped up all the time, you need to provide about 10 sq ft/chicken, less if they are going to use the coop only for sleeping. You would need to provide bedding material, a roost (section of 2x4 raised a couple of feet off the floor), a couple of nesting boxes, space for water and food. You also need access to clean the coop on a regular basis. You really can not clean a 60 sq ft coop from the outside. A coop's floor should be raised above the ground. Chickens need over 12 hours of light to lay eggs so you need to provide windows. Chickens also need light to find food so they need.

If you already have building materials, you will not find plans. You will need to design your own coop based on the above principles.
 
Thank you Michael OShay! I will take that article into consideration when choosing between Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas! Hopefully I can get one of each. Is there any problems with getting 6 different breeds of chickens?
 
Thanks LIChickens! I've got a ton of books checked out from the library and am working on a design. Don't worry, I'm doing my research! :)
 
Ever since I've been on BYC people have said NOT to use cedar because the fumes are bad for the chickens. Either they changed their minds or forgot.
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Leanimal said:
Thank you Michael OShay! I will take that article into consideration when choosing between Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas! Hopefully I can get one of each. Is there any problems with getting 6 different breeds of chickens?
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No problem at all. I've had several dozen breeds at once in the past. My only suggestion would be to avoid buying aggressive breeds. Stick with those that have a reputation for being docile.
 
drumstick diva said:
Ever since I've been on BYC people have said NOT to use cedar because the fumes are bad for the chickens. Either they changed their minds or forgot.
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These cedar planks are not like cedar wood shavings that emit all kinds of nasty fumes. There is no fumes with these pickets and are safe to use. :)
 
Leanimal said:
@TwoCrows, how did you make your coop weatherproof with cedar pickets. Ours are not perfectly straight and do not line up, there would be gaps. I was thinking plywood walls, some kind of weather fabric, then the planks over that?
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Mine didn't line up completely either. But there are ways to fix that! :)

First, when lining them up, try to pick the ones that line up the best and nail them in place. Do this as much as you can all the way down the row. Small cracks and even up to an 1/8 inch are ok because you can caulk these up when you are done. You can even use the board and batten method and put a small strip on the outside over the crack and that can look very artistic. You can get some USB board, (same as plywood but cheaper at the lumber yards) and cover the inside. You can insulate or use anything to cover the inside of the coop.

Here are some pics of ours going up. Note in the second and third pic how we caulked all the cracks. We didn't have anything bigger than an 1/8th inch crack.





But you could use other materials to cover these cracks as I described above.

Good luck with the build! If you need more help, let me know and I will be glad to show more pics!! :)
 

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