New to Chickens from Boise, ID!

[Cynthia12]

WELCOME! Nope, no pre fab. . And, are you sure you can't have more than 6 with all of that land? Anyway, have fun getting ready!

 

[Indigo Lioness]

WELCOME! Nope, no pre fab. . And, are you sure you can't have more than 6 with all of that land? Anyway, have fun getting ready!

I live in Boise as well and it's a city rule. 6 hens only allowed within city limits. We just got our first 6 pullets 2 days ago. Such cuties!

 

[mcd0713]

Thanks for all your suggestions!! Yes, right now I'm looking into either renovating someone's shed (still looking for options on craigslist) or maybe a playhouse (I'm not sure about the feasibility of a plastic playhouse in the hot Idaho summers though). I luckily have a next door neighbor who is a whiz at building, and she's offered to help with my renovations! I'm also considering having someone local build one for me and "splurging" as well - I think the time I'd spend and the mistakes I'd make might be worth the price.

As for breeds, our local garden store has Ameraucanas, and it sounds like a lot of people here are excited about those! They also had some Black Sex Links. Since our kids are young, we are hoping to get a Rhode Island Red, since they're supposed to be fairly friendly and docile - we want the chickens for pets as much as for eggs! I'm open to all suggestions on breeds!

 

[mcd0713]

Welcome! Glad you decided to join us Have you considered converting a shed? I have 10 thumbs and converted an old existing wooden shed into a large coop and put some windows and roosts, nesting boxes and a pop door in, then attached a walk in dog kennel with a roof, covered the chain link with hardware cloth. After almost 10 years the ancient shed started to fall apart, roof leaked but it served its purpose well and I managed to do all the work myself. I considered buying a new shed and converting it but then found a local fellow that builds coops/runs and I ‘splurged’. This was during summer, still had to work on the pavers surrounding the coop and runView attachment 1699834

This looks beautiful! I love that you can walk right in to clean!

 

[mcd0713]

I live in Boise as well and it's a city rule. 6 hens only allowed within city limits. We just got our first 6 pullets 2 days ago. Such cuties!

Hi there!! What breeds did you get? And where? We've just been thinking we'd drop into Zamzows and see what they had when we were ready. My cousin is bringing us her brooder and chick set up, so we are super lucky then!

 

[Indigo Lioness]

Hi there!! What breeds did you get? And where? We've just been thinking we'd drop into Zamzows and see what they had when we were ready. My cousin is bringing us her brooder and chick set up, so we are super lucky then!

I called Zamzows the day we got ours and they only had I think 3 types, Ameraucana was one of them. We got our 6 from D&B Supply up on Glenwood, the one by Big Lots up past the fairgrounds. We got one each of Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, Cinnamon Queen and Calico Princess.

 

[CannedMonster]

Hello from Emmett, Idaho!


Just north of Boise in Gem County.
It’s funny to me how everyone poo poos prefab coops.
They have their uses.
It really depends on your predators and how many birds you have.
I have 3 coops and one is a prefab.
We bought it from Tractor Supply and it one of the largest you can find.
It was our first for 5 chickens and served us well until we could build our “big” coop; a 10’ x 6’ walk-in.
Now the prefab is our bantam/grow-out coop.
We’ve had it two years and it’s still fine.
Our newest coop is being built by DH also. We downloaded plans from CleanCoops.com and they’ve turned out really well.

As for friendly breeds, I recommend Speckled Sussex, Australorps, Plymouth Rocks and Easter Eggers.
Speaking of EEs...the “Americaunas” they have at TSC and Zamzows are really EEs.
They’re great birds regardless.
My Taka lays a large blue-green egg.

So glad to hear of more Treasure Valley chicken enthusiasts!
I hope you like it here on BYC.
If you do Facebook, there’s a FB group for Treasure Valley Backyard Chickens you might enjoy.

 

[Indigo Lioness]

Hello from Emmett, Idaho!


Just north of Boise in Gem County.
It’s funny to me how everyone poo poos prefab coops.
They have their uses.
It really depends on your predators and how many birds you have.
I have 3 coops and one is a prefab.
We bought it from Tractor Supply and it one of the largest you can find.
It was our first for 5 chickens and served us well until we could build our “big” coop; a 10’ x 6’ walk-in.
Now the prefab is our bantam/grow-out coop.
We’ve had it two years and it’s still fine.
Our newest coop is being built by DH also. We downloaded plans from CleanCoops.com and they’ve turned out really well.

As for friendly breeds, I recommend Speckled Sussex, Australorps, Plymouth Rocks and Easter Eggers.
Speaking of EEs...the “Americaunas” they have at TSC and Zamzows are really EEs.
They’re great birds regardless.
My Taka lays a large blue-green egg.

So glad to hear of more Treasure Valley chicken enthusiasts!
I hope you like it here on BYC.
If you do Facebook, there’s a FB group for Treasure Valley Backyard Chickens you might enjoy.

Hey there! I have a prefab we are currently putting together and I don't see a problem with it. We are properly sealing the wood for weather first which is where I have seen some go wrong based on reviews and what a few other chicken keepers have told me recently. I am also handy with things like repairs or shoring up weak areas but since I am disabled don't really have the funds or physical ability to build one from scratch. Being in Boise we also have pretty mild winters in our neighborhood so I'm not worried about snow drifts and prairie winds and such. The one we picked was from TSC and was originally $500 but on sale for $299 so really I feel like we could not have built one of the same size for that price. It is about 9ft x 5.5ft and is 6.5ft tall with a walk in door and fully covered.

Yes I had heard about a lot of Americaunas actually being Easter Eggers which I think is crappy of them but she's still so cute! Love them little fluffy cheeks! She seems really sweet too.

 

[Cynthia12]

I live in Boise as well and it's a city rule. 6 hens only allowed within city limits. We just got our first 6 pullets 2 days ago. Such cuties!

We're all neighbors. I'm in Utah. Getting some snow tommorow. Not sure you guys will get this storm. It's heading to Colorado big time. Wyonming will get some too.

 

[Chickenclaw]

Hi and welcome to backyard chickens! I hope construction goes well.