New to the board & questions

[michelle59]

I moved to a city in Va and discovered the residents can have up to 10 chickens but no rooster. I am excited to learn this. I have postage stamp sized yard already fenced in. Here is my thinking if someone can give me feedback please. Using an outdoor kennel for the enclosure , I want to then get a small raised coop with two nesting boxes ( I only want two hens) the raise coop would be easy to clean and closed up at night. The enclosure would keep my dogs away from getting in. easy for me to get in and out. Thanks!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Glad you joined us!

Sounds like you have a good plan! You might consider getting 3, however, just in case something happens to one.

You also might consider covering the top of the kennel, even if it's just bird netting , to discourage hawks and such.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I think that would be fine. I'm assuming the floor of the kennel is dirt and not cement? One big piece of advice.... do not buy any of the pre-made coops on Ebay or the online chicken supply stores. If you want something that will last through the first winter you'll need to build something yourself or hire a handyman to build something for you.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I use the chain link dog panels as well. They work GREAT! Very nice to have the gate already built in. You can often find them for half the price on CraigsList if you look. I bought mine new on sale for 15% off at Orschlen's during one of their sales. You can use a large dog house and build a little platform for it to raise it, or just build a little coop to fit your needs. The coop section here should give you great ideas. Personally, I'm a big fan of the raised coops-- easy to get into and clean out, especially when they are on the smaller side. Just an FYI-- I know you want TWO hens... but I'd go for 3. Not that anything would happen.. but if something did happen to one of the hens, then you won't have one lonely bird getting sad and depressed on you. I think you have a great plan! Oh and you only need one nesting box for every 5 hens. It's not necessary to have two-- but it's not a bad idea, either. I'd never have less than two boxes in anything I built.

 

[michelle59]

Hey thanks everyone for the great advice I never thought of using a dog house but if I did & I need to raise it do I use pallets or concrete blocks? Handy I am not in building, no tools no even make one. But I have a couple of months to go. Again many thanks

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hey thanks everyone for the great advice I never thought of using a dog house but if I did & I need to raise it do I use pallets or concrete blocks? Handy I am not in building, no tools no even make one. But I have a couple of months to go. Again many thanks

OH, when I mentioned raising the dog house, I meant literally building a "deck" to fit it and put the dog house on top. Or you could build a frame and stilt it? Just enough to raise it about 17 inches or so, so that your hens could get under it in rain, snow or really hot sunny weather. I've seen people use the plastic playhouses and build a deck for them.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Okay, a while back someone on here used these playhouses for chicken coops-- notice they wired in the windows. Anyway-- see the platforms they built to put them on? I believe they even bolted down the houses onto the deck. You could do this with a dog house, too.