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[Unobtanium]

Hi, I am absolutely new to this. I have a cat. I feed, groom, and change the litter. I'm all about low maintenance. I'd like to add chickens for the sake of eggs. I want to free range them. Ideally, I'd like to put boxes 5 feet off the ground on 4x4s and let them nest and lay in those, but I don't get to make the rules. I remember my aunt had an industrial fridge looking coop decades ago. Aluminum. Very functional. Lasted my whole childhood. Now? It's all cheap Chinese fir prefab junk. I cannot find anything sensible. It's that, or multi thousand dollar SMC composite space shuttles.

I want something, some solution, to my goal:year round chicken keeping with minimal predator loss and no need to hunt all over for where they hid the eggs, at the lowest time and money expense.

My location is SW MO. Predators are bald eagles, hawks, coyote, raccoon, and the neighbors dogs. Bald eagles and the dogs get a pass. I'll shoot anything else on sight if its eying my chickens. Mostly though, I need the chicken to handle itself. Some loss is inevitable I understand.

I would like: breed recommendation, housing solution for year round, at the lowest cost. Seriously... can out door nestingboxes be placed on a beam like mailboxes?

Me:

32, male, healthcare profession.
I enjoy lifting, shooting, hiking, and online gaming (xbox and pc)

I plan to keep these chickens in this yard, and the housing arrangement to the left of the garage.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC


On this link you'll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/


There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.


Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive


You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find Your State Thread

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[007Sean]

Howdy

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. Thanks for joining us!

 

[Joeschooks]

Hello and welcome!
The choice of coops is endless. You’ll find loads of pics, plans and ideas here https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/
Or if you prefer some more simple DIY, how about repurposing a shed? I repurposed a “factory seconds” shed that I got cheap on eBay. You can see it at the bottom of the page when you click the “my coop” link under my name

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

You might want to consider something like a cattle panel coop with nest boxes and hot wires around the base. About $300 including a solar charger for the hot wires. Move it once a week so your girls always have fresh grass.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome! We are glad you joined our flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops

BYC has an APP!

 

[Unobtanium]

I found a 6x10x6high coop for sale, $400 delivered, in new condition.

Thoughts?

At 6' high, and with that center beam, it should allow me to move it around my yard myself by simply standing inside of it, pressing on the beam in a balanced area, and walking with it, unless it's much over 200# of the weight is skewed toward the rear. I could still give it a good drag regardless using that method. It looks really movable, and big enough for a 4-6 hens maybe? I could free-range them on days I don't work, and keep t hem in on days I do, since I would not be present to lock them away safely at night.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Glad you’re here!

 

[Dayrel]

Welcome to BYC, Unobtanium.

Some thoughts on that coop:

• The basic structure looks good, but it would need at least $100 of additions to get it to a reasonable state to care for your girls.
• If you want to move it, then I'd strongly recommend 8" wheels on the back, possibly lowerable wheels on the front, and likely some additional bracing to handle the stress of movement.
• If you keep it as a static coop, none of that applies and you might want to look into "deep litter" bedding to handle the lack of grass.
• I can't really see the front of the coop area very well, but it looks like it has pretty much no ventilation. That is a serious problem. You'll want to add ventilation to vent moisture, even in winter. Chickens are naturally insulated and can handle cold weather surprisingly well.
  
• While the chicken wire covering is good to keep out hawks and keep in chickens, raccoons can reach through and/or tear up the chicken wire to get to a tasty meal. I'd add hardware cloth on the lower half and if you are keeping a static coop, bury it about a foot into the ground.
• I have no idea why that coop is on blocks, possibly just for display purposes. You would want the coop to be flat on the ground to prevent things from getting under it.

 

[Teila]

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

Including your general location on your profile will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.

You may also be interested in this article: How Much Room Do Chickens Need