Newbie needs help

[tkdmommy]

Hi everyone. We adopted our 6 older (4 yrs) gals last week & they came with their coupe. I know it's not a beauty but we plan on revamping it come spring, however if you think anything needs improvement right away we will gladly hear all suggestions! We added the plastic roofing to keep the run dry & I was told to just cover everything w/a tarp when it gets cold. Each hutch has the attached laying box w/hinged lid. We get in the teens here so I want to be prepared. 1st question- I was thinking of getting my daughter 2 Jersey Blacks this weekend as a reward for her competing (I'm hoping $20/chick isnt crazy) & to have a source for eggs. The smaller hutch area on the right can be blocked off from the left side for introducing new chicks. Is this ok for the Jersey blacks for the introduction period? Also we plan on converting our tool shed into a coupe as well. Its 5'wx6.5'deepx5.5' tall. How many birds can be housed in here w/a 15'x6' enclosed run & they can free range in my backyard as well.

 

[tkdmommy]

Sorry- I thought the picture was attached. The coupe is in what used to be my garden so we still have to remove the fence.

 

[nchls school]

Pictures of coop??

 

[tkdmommy]

It's in my reply under the original post. Im still learning to navigate everything

 

[dekel18042]

Hi everyone. We adopted our 6 older (4 yrs) gals last week & they came with their coupe. I know it's not a beauty but we plan on revamping it come spring, however if you think anything needs improvement right away we will gladly hear all suggestions! We added the plastic roofing to keep the run dry & I was told to just cover everything w/a tarp when it gets cold. Each hutch has the attached laying box w/hinged lid. We get in the teens here so I want to be prepared. 1st question- I was thinking of getting my daughter 2 Jersey Blacks this weekend as a reward for her competing (I'm hoping $20/chick isnt crazy) & to have a source for eggs. The smaller hutch area on the right can be blocked off from the left side for introducing new chicks. Is this ok for the Jersey blacks for the introduction period? Also we plan on converting our tool shed into a coupe as well. Its 5'wx6.5'deepx5.5' tall. How many birds can be housed in here w/a 15'x6' enclosed run & they can free range in my backyard as well.

What are the dimensions and square footage of your coop? Going by the run size alone you could probably have up to 9 hens, eight would probably be fine depending on the size of your coop.
Poultry costs different amounts in different areas. When you say Jersey Blacks are you talking about Jersey Giants or black Jersey Giants or sex links or production blacks? If the birds are at point of lay $20.00 wouldn't be too bad, I guess, but from a hatchery they would be under $5.00 apiece plus shipping and a few years ago I got some pullets privately for $4.00 each. They were in the 6-8 week range.
If they are near point of lay you could introduce them to your birds after three weeks of quarantine. If you're getting peeps you would have to keep them separate until older then introduce them.

 

[tkdmommy]

They came w/a 10x4 run w/ two 2x4 coupes w/attached nesting areas of 1x4 with flip-up lids. They were free-range & only went to their coupe at night. I was told by the previous owner to give them between one & two weeks for adjustment & then I can allow them free-range in my yard. Once spring comes we plan on converting our tool shed (w/above measurements) & increasing the run size to the above measurements. I would eventually like to add between 4-6 birds so that I have a source of eggs. (I've been told by people that these girls are too old to lay eggs but the previous owners said they are still egg-layers).
The chicks are being sold as black Jersey Giants & are 10 wks old. The person selling them said they would be fine for winter & as they are from North Jersey I know they have colder temperatures. I planned on keeping the little girls in the area w/one coupe & a smaller run seperated from the big girls

 

[dekel18042]

They came w/a 10x4 run w/ two 2x4 coupes w/attached nesting areas of 1x4 with flip-up lids. They were free-range & only went to their coupe at night. I was told by the previous owner to give them between one & two weeks for adjustment & then I can allow them free-range in my yard. Once spring comes we plan on converting our tool shed (w/above measurements) & increasing the run size to the above measurements. I would eventually like to add between 4-6 birds so that I have a source of eggs. (I've been told by people that these girls are too old to lay eggs but the previous owners said they are still egg-layers).
The chicks are being sold as black Jersey Giants & are 10 wks old. The person selling them said they would be fine for winter & as they are from North Jersey I know they have colder temperatures. I planned on keeping the little girls in the area w/one coupe & a smaller run seperated from the big girls

Our climates are probably similar and we've had Jersey Giants and they did fine in our coldest weather. If they're already 10 weeks old, once they've gone through quarantine you could probably allow them to free range together and put them together with no problem. JG's are pretty big birds.
I've some 3 month old bantams that are pretty well introduced to the flock. They're in the grow out pen and I have adult bantams in another coop and pen and then the main large fowl flock and all free range together then go back to their separate coops at night. One of these days we'll move the young bantams to the older bantam pen. Already the bantams are in and out of the main coop and some of the LF hens go into the bantam egg boxes to lay their eggs. Sometimes I wonder if I should just put them all together.