Hi! We just bought a house on several acres and planned to do a coup and chickens. The woman who owned the home before had a coup and 1 lonely chicken (the others were picked off by predators). I planned to learn as I went but I got thrown in to the middle of it with an existing coup and chicken and I want to keep Henrietta happy lol. The coup is small and not able to be entered so I have no clue how in the world I would clean it. I don’t know what kind of chicken she is either not that it matters. I do know from previous research that I should not add chickens to her coup bc she will kill them. But I also don’t love the idea of having one run down coup with one chicken and a separate new coup that’s nice. I don’t know what I’m asking but rather just introducing and opening up a discussion if anyone wants to weigh in on ideas! Thanks!!
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- Thread starter Katy L
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Hello, Katy, and welcome to BYC! 
Glad you joined.
She may be an Easter Egger. What color are her legs?
My suggestion is to build a walk-in style coop with attached run and move her to the new setup then set fire to that structure she is in.
You can absolutely add new chickens!
Ideally, I would create a brooder space in the new coop that has hardware cloth attached to framing. Lots of people build coops with built-in brooders under the poop boards. You build them with small doors, about 2"x4" that only 3-4 week old chicks can fit through. You brood day old chicks with a brooder plate. When they are about 3.5-4 weeks old, you open the chick doors after letting Henrietta out of the coop and locking her out so the chicks can go explore the coop for a couple of hours and learn how to get back and forth from their safe spot in the brooder. Then let Henrietta back in to see the chicks. Even if she does chase them, they are zippy little things and can run back into the brooder. They will eventually just start roosting with her at night and once they start laying they will integrate and you will have a very happy Henrietta who will once again be part of a flock.
As for the predator issue, build a very large completely predator proof run attached to the coop where you never have to close the pop door between the coop and run. That way they don't have to come out. You can visit the Coop article pages for ideas. You can click on the My Coop link under my name and it will bring you to the article I wrote on my shed conversion. I have a black bear among the normal cast of characters that could kill my birds. I've never lost a single bird that was inside my set up.
Good luck and have fun!
Glad you joined.She may be an Easter Egger. What color are her legs?
My suggestion is to build a walk-in style coop with attached run and move her to the new setup then set fire to that structure she is in.
You can absolutely add new chickens!
Ideally, I would create a brooder space in the new coop that has hardware cloth attached to framing. Lots of people build coops with built-in brooders under the poop boards. You build them with small doors, about 2"x4" that only 3-4 week old chicks can fit through. You brood day old chicks with a brooder plate. When they are about 3.5-4 weeks old, you open the chick doors after letting Henrietta out of the coop and locking her out so the chicks can go explore the coop for a couple of hours and learn how to get back and forth from their safe spot in the brooder. Then let Henrietta back in to see the chicks. Even if she does chase them, they are zippy little things and can run back into the brooder. They will eventually just start roosting with her at night and once they start laying they will integrate and you will have a very happy Henrietta who will once again be part of a flock.
As for the predator issue, build a very large completely predator proof run attached to the coop where you never have to close the pop door between the coop and run. That way they don't have to come out. You can visit the Coop article pages for ideas. You can click on the My Coop link under my name and it will bring you to the article I wrote on my shed conversion. I have a black bear among the normal cast of characters that could kill my birds. I've never lost a single bird that was inside my set up.
Good luck and have fun!
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Welcome to the BYC Family!!!
It looks like an Easter Egger chicken. Is she laying eggs?
I personally would build a different bigger coop... I'm not a fan of the wire flooring of a coop and I love my walk-in coop. Coops also should have about 3 square feet per chicken.
Depending on where you live, if it is winter time, you could research and plan for a coop build in the Spring.
Chickens truly need more than one in a flock. Since you know the others were picked off by predators, you will also want to make a larger run and research or ask us about predator proofing your run and coop.
It looks like an Easter Egger chicken. Is she laying eggs?
I personally would build a different bigger coop... I'm not a fan of the wire flooring of a coop and I love my walk-in coop. Coops also should have about 3 square feet per chicken.
Depending on where you live, if it is winter time, you could research and plan for a coop build in the Spring.
Chickens truly need more than one in a flock. Since you know the others were picked off by predators, you will also want to make a larger run and research or ask us about predator proofing your run and coop.
Hello and welcome to BYC!
I agree I would build another coop if you can. You might convert a shed into a coop too. And definitely add some friends for her. Integrate new birds slowly from a cage or fence for about 2 weeks, everybody sees, nobody touches. Watch for too much aggression after mixing for the next week or so.
Make yourself at home here and feel free to ask as many questions as needed.
I agree I would build another coop if you can. You might convert a shed into a coop too. And definitely add some friends for her. Integrate new birds slowly from a cage or fence for about 2 weeks, everybody sees, nobody touches. Watch for too much aggression after mixing for the next week or so.
Make yourself at home here and feel free to ask as many questions as needed.
First, welcome to BYC, Katy L. It's great that you want to take care of Henrietta.
If she's lived with other chickens before, she may or may not immediately take to company. When a mink killed three of the four hens in my original coop, the survivor didn't like her first new "roommates," but eventually warmed up to some chickens in another coop (yes, I have a problem with chicken math and coop addition) and they are now a happy hen foursome. On the other hand, I have a house chicken who never made friends and may spend her nights -- and winters indoors forever.
No idea what kind predators you have to deal with, but it's always a good idea to protect against ANYTHING that's possible. I had no idea that minks could get through teeny, tiny fence openings and it cost me three hens.
I agree with @CluckerFamily that Henrietta could be an Easter Egger -- which means she MAY lay pretty green eggs or like one of mine, lovely cream-colored eggs.
In any case, you can find plenty of friends and information here to help you on your chicken adventure!
If she's lived with other chickens before, she may or may not immediately take to company. When a mink killed three of the four hens in my original coop, the survivor didn't like her first new "roommates," but eventually warmed up to some chickens in another coop (yes, I have a problem with chicken math and coop addition) and they are now a happy hen foursome. On the other hand, I have a house chicken who never made friends and may spend her nights -- and winters indoors forever.
No idea what kind predators you have to deal with, but it's always a good idea to protect against ANYTHING that's possible. I had no idea that minks could get through teeny, tiny fence openings and it cost me three hens.
I agree with @CluckerFamily that Henrietta could be an Easter Egger -- which means she MAY lay pretty green eggs or like one of mine, lovely cream-colored eggs.
In any case, you can find plenty of friends and information here to help you on your chicken adventure!
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