New to chickens - what do you think?

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Welcome to BYC! This is a great place with very knowledgeable and helpful folk. i think you will like it here.

The first thing i want to tell you is, chickens are addictive! i started out with just two "Honey, can we get just two chickens so we can have farm fresh eggs?". Now we have 25 and i just bought some fertile hatching eggs for my broody, so we will have more in approximately 21 days.

If you think you may want a total of 5 at some point, you should probably get them all at the same time. Merging chickens into an existing flock is not always a pretty thing. That pecking order can be brutal. But if they are all raised together from chicks, you can pretty much get whatever you want and they will get along.

i started off with a custom made rabbit hutch i found on craigslist, enclosed in a chain link dog kennel. That actually worked really well for a while. Then when my flock grew, i bought one of those chick-n-barns, which are about 4' x 4'. My silkies live in that inside a 10' x 13' kennel. But i am now expanding and building a whole new coop and run for my big girls, and the little girls will inherit a 5' x 10' expansion.

You may want to poke around the coop design section and get some ideas. Have you considered a used rabbit hutch, or even a wooden shed or playhouse?

Whatever you end up doing, you are taking the right steps in researching everything first. You are embarking on a very fun adventure!

Colleen
 
First of all,
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, you've come to the right place! I also have 3 chickens. I have a RIR, Black Star & Buff Orpington. I wanted each to be different so I could have "yard candy" to look at! LOL! They get along just fine!

I have a Chick N Barn & Yard. The barn could hold more than 3 chickens (probably 5), but not the Yard, it's tight with 3 already. I'd have to add a 2nd yard if I wanted to add more birds. I have to tell you that once you have 3 you WILL WANT MORE, I do! I'd love to have 2 more, but DH says "no way". I'll just be happy with what I have (for now!)

I love that coop in the CL listing! Cute! But, I have to agree with the other posters, it will be tight for more than 3 birds.

Good luck!!
 
Welcome to BYC. I like having a mixed bunch of girls so I can tell them apart, too. These guys on this site are awesome and full of great, practical info. Lots of experience to learn from here. Good luck.
 
Thanks everyone! Really good info.

I have looked around at some different coop options - this site & mypetchicken, and at sheds & such at Lowes. But so far, for a pre-built structure, this one I found on craigslist is the best for the price. I really don't want to try to build something by myself, but maybe I could get my brother to help me or something. I need to find out how much the lumber & supplies would be to see if it's even worth the trouble. Plus, I'm anxious & want to get going! But, I don't want to get the chickens until after 9/7, when I'll be back from camping, so I have a little time to figure it out.

Would the 4'x4' be big enough for 5, or not really? It's the same style as the one in the craigslist link, just bigger in one dimension.
 
I have another question: I have a dog (his name is Debo, he's in my avatar) & he is very active. I exercise him everyday in the backyard by playing fetch & flirt pole (I put his ball on the end of a stick & make him jump for it). Would his running around & being active freak the chickens out? This is providing he won't go after the chickens, which I don't think he will, but if we have problems, I'll either have to keep the chickens in their run while he's running around or exercise him somewhere else.

What do you think? How are chickens usually w/ dogs that don't go after them?
 
Hi! When we moved to our new house it came with over 40 chickens! My boxer & Cocker had never been around chickens before. They were aweful chasing the chickens. Most would just fly away from them (the chickens free ranged on the 2 acres) We did have 2 casualties - the boxer grabbed one that came walking around the dining room and she caught a 2nd one out in the yard. That was a year ago - we thinned out the chickens - we have 3 adults and 3 babies and neither dog has hurt a chicken. They all go out together with no problems. Every once in a while if the dogs have been in the house and make a mad dash outside and the chickens are there - they make a run thru the middle of where the chickens are just to hear them holler :) The chickens really aren't even that upset by it - they are bit*^ing at the dogs more than scared of them. For my "herd" it has more been getting them use to each other and "growing up" together that has made a difference.
 
Our chickens get chased once in awhile by our Beagle. I ususally keep them separate. The chickens get all ticked off, wing flapping, running, bwoking, etc... They do get over it quick though.

I don't think your dog's exercise and playing will overly bother your chickens unless his energies are directed at them specifically.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty confident that Debo will do just fine. He really has very little animal aggression (except dogs, but sometimes he'll bark at a squirrel) & he's completely gentle w/ my cats. I'm really more worried about the cats! But I have also heard that adult chickens aren't bothered by cats. I just have a little bit of a hard time believing that as my cats will outweigh the chickens & they are avid hunters.

When I finally get the chickens, they will have to stay in the coop for a couple days so they recognize it as their home (right?). So, I'm hoping that introductions w/ the other pets will go well while the chickens are still protected w/in the coop. Then I will slowly start letting them out & see how it goes. Fingers crossed!
 
Debo's Chickens :

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty confident that Debo will do just fine.

Just so you know, there is an incredibly large number of sad posts on this site from people who were CERTAIN that their dog would be fine with their chickens, and indeed he WAS for some months or years, and then one day, not so much
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Dogs are predators, chickens are prey; it only takes one atavistic brain-cell firing at the wrong moment to end up with a pile of feathers and a dog that's now learned that chickens are tasty.

Just a thought,

Pat​
 

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