Newbie here

[freebirder]

Central Texas' newest chicken farmer.
8 chicks now 2.5 weeks old.
Our girls love playing outside (in their cage no less) all day.
Attracted a quail yesterday. He kept coming back hanging just outside the cage. Chasing my blonds I think. So this is what it is like to have girls. We raised 2 boys.

Working on converting a playset/now storage shed into a coop. At least part of it.

I have some plastic store displays that look like they would be excellent nesting box removable floors.

How may nesting boxes do I need for these 8 ladies?
How much protection do I need at night. Can I leave them in a cage or fully netted and enclosed area off the back of my shed or must they go inside a closed building? We have raccoons, cats, skunks ring tail cats, owls, hawks...
Do the need grass. Will mostly shaded areas under cedar trees work for them 18x12 area/

Thanks

 

[kyeschicks]

from the same state!!!

im glad another texan is here =]

 

[KattyKillFish]

from ALASKA!

 

[ZepChick]

welcome! I would have them fully enclosed at night. if a coon finds out where they are they will be back, and they are pretty flippin smart. we had one open a door! needless to say, our girls are locked at night. we also buried hardware cloth around their run to deter predators. our girls also killed the grass they were on, i think it's the nitrogen in their poo and probably depends on number of birds/area of pen

 

[gpamela3499]

From California

 

[lunkerchicken]

Welcome from Cape Cod, MA!!!

 

[babymakes6]

from Ohio!

 

[Highlander]

 

[mullers3acers]

 

[Lil_Chickadee]