Official BYC Poll: Which Challenges Did You Face in Getting Backyard Chickens?

[HKG]

My parents got them for my sister and I as a surprise, so I guess it was easy?

 

[Regina Larsen]

We went big with the coop, renovating the old hay/feed barn. Skyrocketed lumber prices and several injuries slowed us down. But we are happy with the result

 

[froggyphore]

i’d be interested to hear some law changing stories! thats quite impressive.

 

[froggyphore]

A nasty neighbor discovered a gray area in the zoning law that didn't strictly define the laws around chicken-keeping, and he tried to exploit that to get the town to take my chickens away. After a prolonged battle that turned ugly, the town took my side and rewrote the laws to make it explicitly clear that chickens are not to be regulated. I haven't heard from that neighbor since (knock on wood... I still have PTSD and am too afraid to celebrate, because you never know with people like that). That's it though, everything else has been smooth sailing.

how awful, sorry that happened. i think mean spirited nosy neighbors are one of the worst things you can encounter as a chicken owner. its cool that the town took your side! a lot of places seem almost anti-byc haha.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Getting fresh feed & supplies .. Here in Hawaii shipping is an issue

 

[kurby22]

I picked buying a coop and keeping the numbers down. I am the handy one in the family, and I got a D in Home Ec haha…so building our own was not possible. Thus buying one became the option but cost was very prohibitive! So we started with a prefab, but I knew that wasn’t gonna work once everyone was full sized. So we had to start saving and figuring out the best fit for our backyard. We also don’t have a huge amount of backyard that’s available for chickens and we live in the suburbs so finding the right coop, the right amount of chickens and the right breeds for containment was definitely the most difficult part of getting set up for chickens! We are all set now and I’m super happy!

 

[BlondieSoup]

I picked buying a coop and keeping the numbers down. I am the handy one in the family, and I got a D in Home Ec haha…so building our own was not possible. Thus buying one became the option but cost was very prohibitive! So we started with a prefab, but I knew that wasn’t gonna work once everyone was full sized. So we had to start saving and figuring out the best fit for our backyard. We also don’t have a huge amount of backyard that’s available for chickens and we live in the suburbs so finding the right coop, the right amount of chickens and the right breeds for containment was definitely the most difficult part of getting set up for chickens! We are all set now and I’m super happy!

What prefab coop ended up working for you? I also have a small suburban backyard and lack the time/desire it would take to build something I'd be happy with long term. It's hard to find a quality coop for sale that's big enough in the right ways but also fits well into a smaller space.

 

[kurby22]

What prefab coop ended up working for you? I also have a small suburban backyard and lack the time/desire it would take to build something I'd be happy with long term. It's hard to find a quality coop for sale that's big enough in the right ways but also fits well into a smaller space.

I started with the coop in the link below - and it’s worked great despite the lack of quality haha (I paid $250 for it though—TSC is pricier—not sure it’s $420 good). I am not sure it would be great in wet or cold climates, but I live in a hot mostly dry part of CA and it has handled the weather here pretty well! I did have to reinforce the hardware cloth with more staples, and I would not have really big chickens in it. It’s a great coop for bantams or small-er chickens. I ended up finding a local guy that builds bigger more sturdy coops right in your yard for you. So now I have 2 coops, one for bantams and one for big chickens

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...lYAt02I30HbefMf_0ZnzGgOd-8z9GTMxoCWBYQAvD_BwE

 

[BlondieSoup]

I started with the coop in the link below - and it’s worked great despite the lack of quality haha (I paid $250 for it though—TSC is pricier—not sure it’s $420 good). I am not sure it would be great in wet or cold climates, but I live in a hot mostly dry part of CA and it has handled the weather here pretty well! I did have to reinforce the hardware cloth with more staples, and I would not have really big chickens in it. It’s a great coop for bantams or small-er chickens. I ended up finding a local guy that builds bigger more sturdy coops right in your yard for you. So now I have 2 coops, one for bantams and one for big chickens

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...lYAt02I30HbefMf_0ZnzGgOd-8z9GTMxoCWBYQAvD_BwE

Ahh I had my eye on that one for a while! Went with a coop from Urban Northern thinking it would give more space, but it's clear now that won't be a long-term solution for four standard hens. Luckily, no snowy winters here in ATX and the coop sitch isn't causing drama for now. Looking for my trade-up! Thanks for sharing!

 

[kurby22]

Ahh I had my eye on that one for a while! Went with a coop from Urban Northern thinking it would give more space, but it's clear now that won't be a long-term solution for four standard hens. Luckily, no snowy winters here in ATX and the coop sitch isn't causing drama for now. Looking for my trade-up! Thanks for sharing!

You’re welcome! Good luck on your hunt! This is my new one, and it was close to $900…but this thing ain’t going anywhere haha. It’s a solid wood beast and the chickens love it.