Newbie From PDX

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jwebb418

jwebb418

Songster
8 Years
Oct 20, 2015
40
12
120
Portland, OR
My Coop
My Coop
Hello from SE Portland, Oregon! I'm looking to get chickens in the spring. Living in the city means I'm only allowed 3 hens, and renting a house on a corner lot with no privacy means I'm looking for a low-to-the-ground coop that won't stand out or attract attention. Right now I'm trying to decided from buying coop plans off eBay or buying a coop locally from Northwest Redworms. Neither my husband or I have ever built anything like a coop and the only tool we own is a screwdriver. I got the idea of owning chickens from my preschooler's classmates who own chickens. Their parents rave about them and we save all the uneaten food from the school for the chicken owners. I've also been told that certain stores up here will give or discount their un-sell-able veggies for chicken owners, but I haven't confirmed it. As for the chickens, we'll either go expensive and get a Lavender Orpington, Blue Orpington, and a Blue Ameraucana, or go cheap and get a Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, and a Speckled Sussex. I do intend to free range the chickens as much as possible but our closest neighbor keeps feral cat families under his deck so it will have to be supervised.


eBay Coop Plan 1: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111826285198
eBay Coop Plan 2: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111826296766
Northwest Redworms Coop: http://www.northwestredworms.com/Pages/Chickencoopsandchickens.aspx
 
welcome-byc.gif


No matter what breed of chickens you go with, they'll be fun. Since your neighbor keeps wild cats around, I wouldn't risk letting them free range but keep them in an enclosed run. And even in town, other predators can present a threat to the chickens.

As for a coop, you might want to see the coop reviews written by members that purchased coops:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/coops-runs-housing
Most often, you can build a better coop than buy one. Maybe you can find a local handyman or hobbyist that could build it for you?

If you would like to chat with other members from OR, you can find them here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread

Thanks for joining us and good luck with your upcoming flock!
 


Before you spend good money on plans you might check out the coops pages here a lot of people have included plans and step by step directions on their coops.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

keep in mind you will want at least 4 sq ft. of floor space in your coop and 10 SQ ft of run space PER BIRD.

Either way you decide to go on your Ladies will be great you will never regret having Chickens they are amazing animals with neat personalities and quirks.

Good Luck!
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Australorps, Orpingtons, and Sussex are great breeds no matter what color variety they are. All three of these breeds are calm and gentle, good lap pets, and good layers of brown eggs. If high egg production is a priority, Australorps are the best layers on your list. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
I would recommend a wire top over your chicken run, to keep out cats. Too bad you can't use a few strands of electric fencing around coop and run, TH would teach them your birds are OFF LIMITS. You may also want to check out the predator threads for more suggestions of keeping them away.
 

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