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Notachickendoctor said:
I am 55yo animal/outdoor/gardener/gonna do-it-myself person with 3 kids (20, 16, 15), husband, 2 dogs on 3 acres in kinda suburbia St. Louis. Have been thinking chickens for a couple of years, decided to pull the trigger. Was going to get chicks next spring, but due to a minor surgery, found myself with a month off in October and thought what better time to get the chicks. Ordered 6, received them less than a week ago (Oct 5th to be exact), 4 still with us and seem(?) to be thriving. Nobody told me how stressful this baby chick phase was going to be??!! So, zone 6, looking at mid-end of Nov for them going out into the coop and feeling nervous about it already. Have learned LOTS in the past 4 days, BYC has been a huge benefit.

Am building the coop myself--now with the help of my husband/father and should be finished within a couple of weeks. I am rather slow with uploading pics, so sorry nothing to show here.

I keep reading that chickens are sturdier than we think here goes
Click to expand...
Welcome to BYC!!
 
Hi, glad to meet you! It's kind of heart stopping sometimes, in the beginning, but you get the hang of it. Also, think of all the birds that spend the winter outdoors.

Now fixing the coop for winter. I lived 10 years in St. Louis and remember winter camping with the boy scouts one night it was -17F! Winter doesn't last as long as up here in Massachusetts, but while it's there, it is a DOOZY. Of course, in the summer, you get all that nice Gulf air streaming up the Mississippi to make up for it! ;)
Article one (short, but helpful links)
Article two (also short)

Ventilation is the key, along with preventing drafts. Here is a charming and very useful article on coop ventilation. This article includes terrific links about all kinds of coop designs.

All these articles have been written by members of BYC, and usually have reviews by other members that follow each article, sometimes with comments. I find that very helpful as a newbie, to decide which articles are most helpful and reliable.
 

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