New Member - Chicks Arriving Next Week

[jmurf]

I've been reading the information on here for a while after deciding to possibly get a mobile coop for our large yard. A friend outgrew his coup, and offered it to me. I wanted four chickens, and although the coop is described as a coop for 2-4 chickens, it appeared small. I saw on the manufacturer's website where they sell an extension. I figured I could build it better, and slightly larger, so I did that last weekend.

I believe I have covered all bases, so I'm posting here for advise, in case I missed something. I ordered 28 day old chicks from McMurray, 2 EEs and 2 Barred Rocks. They are shipping next Monday (10th). I plan to put the extension in my garage, with a partition to keep them on one end. I figure I will leave them there for two weeks, so hopefully my family can handle them/give them treats, prior to putting them in the coop in the yard. I purchased starter/grower feed, feed dish, and some screw in nipples to make a small waterer for the temporary coop. I also have large sheets of cardboard and pine shavings for the temp coop floor.

The main coop has the waterer and feeder installed, so that is covered once they are moved. Have I missed anything? Any other advice? TIA

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck with your chicks.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, jmurf, and ! Great to have you aboard! Looks like a nice, solid build! Nice work! Best of luck to you and your chicks! If you'd like to chat with some local poultry folks, you can find the LA state thread in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread
Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Hello

and Welcome to BYC!

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to BYC!!! We are glad you joined our flock!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under jmurf

Welcome!

Great job on the extension!

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

Hey, if you have not checked out the Learning Centre yet, there are some great tips to be found: https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[drumstick diva]

I hit submit prematurely sorry. I wanted to say chicken tractors are not very secure against predators. They can dig under to gain access. The bigger predators can knock it over, and nasty raccoons can just chew their way into the coop part and take their pick.

 

[Circle W Farms]

Welcome to BYC and I agree with drumstick diva on the predator proof of tractors.

 

[jmurf]

I appreciate all the feedback. As for predators, there are very few, if any around here. Also, the coop will be in areas near motion lighting.

So, today I installed the partition in the run extension. I will keep the 6 week old chicks in there for a few weeks, before I put them in the coop. I included a picture of the set-up. I have a waterer to install once the chicks are in, and I can see the height I need to mount it. I put in a roost out of 1x2. I will have cardboard with pine shavings for the floor. Am I missing anything?