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YES, paper towels! I got 9-day old chicks yesterday. I have a heat plate, a plastic waterer and a plastic feeder. I used the green peck and grow gel for the first time. all of this is in a large amazon shipping box. Then the box is set inside a pop up chicken brooder (which is great for other purposes.) Chick Starter feed. 10 chicks will end up going through a few 50 pound bags.
 
Also, it is never too soon to think about Coops. Don't spend the money on the prefabs, Promise? Look at where you want it on your property, how much room you want them to have to roam. Think PREDITORS in your area and then think of them doing everything to get to your chooks.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-extra-large-sentinel-chicken-coop-mfc-ls I planned on modeling the coop / run after this. I plan on letting them roam around the backyard supervised (once they’re big enough). Our neighborhood is rural. Tons of outdoor cats and I know a family of hawks had a nest behind where we live. I’ve been looking at ways other people have taken steps to Predator proof their coops / runs.
 
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-extra-large-sentinel-chicken-coop-mfc-ls I planned on modeling the coop / run after this. I plan on letting them roam around the backyard supervised (once they’re big enough). Our neighborhood is rural. Tons of outdoor cats and I know a family of hawks had a nest behind where we live. I’ve been looking at ways other people have taken steps to Predator proof their coops / runs.
Hello and welcome to BYC! :welcome
I suggest you do not buy that coop and build one yourself. You could make a much better coop for the same price. Those coops also do not hold as many chickens as it says. A good rule of thumb is each chicken should have a minimum 4sq ft of coop space, 10sq ft of run space, 1 linear ft of roost, 1 sq ft of permanent ventilation, and 1 nesting box per 4 hens. So for ten chickens you would need a 40sq ft coop, 100sq ft of run, 10 ft of linear ft of roost, 3 nesting boxes, and 10 sq ft of permanent ventilation. About ventilation, that coop does not have any ventilation, ventilation is very important. Ventilation keeps the coop cooler and the smell down. I live in Texas as do you and I know how hot it gets. To keep the coop cool in our Texas heat you have to double or triple the amount of ventilation, that's why you may want to do an open air coop. If you don't do a open air coop you may want to get a shed and convert it into a coop and attach a run to it. You could also do a hoop coop. But it does snow where you are right? So it would probably be best to convert a shed to a coop, add lots of ventilation, and attach a run to it. You also want to use 1/2 inch hardware cloth for your run and ventilation. You will want to have a hardware cloth apron around your coop too to prevent predators from digging into your coop.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :welcome
I suggest you do not buy that coop and build one yourself. You could make a much better coop for the same price. Those coops also do not hold as many chickens as it says. A good rule of thumb is each chicken should have a minimum 4sq ft of coop space, 10sq ft of run space, 1 linear ft of roost, 1 sq ft of permanent ventilation, and 1 nesting box per 4 hens. So for ten chickens you would need a 40sq ft coop, 100sq ft of run, 10 ft of linear ft of roost, 3 nesting boxes, and 10 sq ft of permanent ventilation. About ventilation, that coop does not have any ventilation, ventilation is very important. Ventilation keeps the coop cooler and the smell down. I live in Texas as do you and I know how hot it gets. To keep the coop cool in our Texas heat you have to double or triple the amount of ventilation, that's why you may want to do an open air coop. If you don't do a open air coop you may want to get a shed and convert it into a coop and attach a run to it. You could also do a hoop coop. But it does snow where you are right? So it would probably be best to convert a shed to a coop, add lots of ventilation, and attach a run to it. You also want to use 1/2 inch hardware cloth for your run and ventilation. You will want to have a hardware cloth apron around your coop too to prevent predators from digging into your coop.
Do you have a picture of your coop set up? Thank you for the advice. We will more than likely end up building it because like you pointed out… the lack of ventilation and space.
 
Do you have a picture of your coop set up? Thank you for the advice. We will more than likely end up building it because like you pointed out… the lack of ventilation and space.
I'll get some pics of my coop in a bit. I have a raised coop. We've expanded our coop a couple of times and done things differently so the dimensions are a bit wonky and we are still working on it, but we have never had a predator get in!
 

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