New Member Introduction and Questions

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DeBerryJacket

In the Brooder
Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
11
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36
Location
DeBerry, TX
Hello All! I am new to this hobby and currently do not have any chickens. I have a friend that will have some ready for me soon! I have read this site and researched information over the last year and heavily over the last 2 months. I found out about this site by searching on Google and it has been a wealth of information. My little girl (8 yrs old) and I are excited about this new hobby and something else we can spend more time together.

I have a plan and layout for a run. But I need plans for a good coop. Where is the best place to find this? I am willing to pay for a set of plans. My carpentry skills aren't the greatest so the plans are a must have. I have an idea in my head but there is a slim chance I can convert that to the building process. I would like to build a 4X8 coop to save me the hassle of a bunch of cuts. I would also prefer just a sloped front to back roof and not roof like on a house. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I enjoy reading everyone's post, articles, reviews, and everything else on this site! Well done to all!
 
Welcome to BYC! You are going to absolutely fall in love with them! For your coop, you will need at least 4 sq ft of floor space per bird. For the run, 10 sq ft per bird. I highly recommend using half inch hardware cloth for the fencing on your run and something covering the top whether it be fencing, roofing, or netting to protect from predators. You'll want to make everything bigger than you think you need it because chicken math will catch up to you and you'll want to get more. It happens to all of us lol.
 
Auroradream26 said:
Welcome to BYC! You are going to absolutely fall in love with them! For your coop, you will need at least 4 sq ft of floor space per bird. For the run, 10 sq ft per bird. I highly recommend using half inch hardware cloth for the fencing on your run and something covering the top whether it be fencing, roofing, or netting to protect from predators. You'll want to make everything bigger than you think you need it because chicken math will catch up to you and you'll want to get more. It happens to all of us lol.
Click to expand...

Thank You for the tips! I have ordered the 1/2 inch hardware cloth
 
DeBerryJacket said:
Hello All! I am new to this hobby and currently do not have any chickens. I have a friend that will have some ready for me soon! I have read this site and researched information over the last year and heavily over the last 2 months. I found out about this site by searching on Google and it has been a wealth of information. My little girl (8 yrs old) and I are excited about this new hobby and something else we can spend more time together.

I have a plan and layout for a run. But I need plans for a good coop. Where is the best place to find this? I am willing to pay for a set of plans. My carpentry skills aren't the greatest so the plans are a must have. I have an idea in my head but there is a slim chance I can convert that to the building process. I would like to build a 4X8 coop to save me the hassle of a bunch of cuts. I would also prefer just a sloped front to back roof and not roof like on a house. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I enjoy reading everyone's post, articles, reviews, and everything else on this site! Well done to all!
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome to BYC! You've certainly come to the right place.

How many chickens do you plan to start with, types, ages?
When you plan your coop and run you will want to consider any type of predatory animals in your area. Also, if you plan to free range part time or whatever. You might be able to get some good coop designs among the multitude of threads in this forum https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/

You might also like to join the Texas folks here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas.44/unread
 
Crooked Chicken said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! You've certainly come to the right place.

How many chickens do you plan to start with, types, ages?
When you plan your coop and run you will want to consider any type of predatory animals in your area. Also, if you plan to free range part time or whatever. You might be able to get some good coop designs among the multitude of threads in this forum https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/

You might also like to join the Texas folks here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas.44/unread
Click to expand...
I plan on starting with 6 Ameraucanas newly hatched. I have the "kiddie pool" brooder set up for the first weeks until they are ready to move to the coop.
 
DeBerryJacket said:
I plan on starting with 6 Ameraucanas newly hatched. I have the "kiddie pool" brooder set up for the first weeks until they are ready to move to the coop.
Click to expand...

Make sure you have a way to keep them in there! It only takes about 2 weeks for those wing feathers to come in and they start flying up on things. They will be flying out of the pool lol
 
Auroradream26 said:
Make sure you have a way to keep them in there! It only takes about 2 weeks for those wing feathers to come in and they start flying up on things. They will be flying out of the pool lol
Click to expand...

LMAO we found that out the hard way. Went to bed one night, next morning we're chasing 8 little peepers through our garage. A piece of hardware cloth did the trick to keep their little peepin butts inside their brooder.
 

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