New to the forum and need guidance!

[gator75]

I grew up with chickens. We bought some property and it came with chickens, an old coop, and some boxes for them to lay eggs inside. It was a rural(ish) area and they just ran around free range. we gave them all away when the area grew urban and business expanded.

Flash forward 30 yrs. I want to build my mom and dad a coop (and run?) on their property. I'm excited to do it becasue I loved raising chickens back in the day and they did too, but I have ZERO knowledge on the subject.

I need an easy design for a coop based on 4 chickens. Need to know what kind of chickens to get - want egss, not meat. Also, the house is on a saltwater bay in N. Florida., is there any thing I should know about the environment? It will need to be covered. Foxes, coons, and especially Ospreys are everywhere. Where shold I start?

Thanks


Can't wait to get started.

 

[NovaAman]

Hi and welcome to BYC. You've come to the right place.

I think, first, you should join your state thread. Other Florida chicken owners would be best able to advise you.
Second, check out the coops links. There are hundreds of coops, from LARGE to teeny tiny coops.

And third... HAVE FUN!

 

[gator75]

Will do. Thanks

 

[PeepsAreForMe]

Welcome to BYC! Are you building this yourself? You say it is for your parents. I'm not sure how old they are, but I am only 43 and I don't like bending down and crawling in small places to clean! You may want to think about something they can walk into with a coop at waist height. It would be fun for your parents to get different breeds of chickens so they get a few different colors of eggs. Mine only lay brown ones, but some are lighter than others. It really is exciting when the eggs start rolling in! LOL

Definitely check out the freebies on Craigslist or other places. We re-purposed a door and three windows we replaced from our house. Also check out the coops tab at the top of the page, you will get all the ideas you could ever ask for! Good luck!!