- Aug 4, 2010
- 10
- 0
- 22
Hi everyone, I am new to BYC, and new to chickens in general! We brought home our first chicks March 25:
3 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhode Island Reds, and 1 White Leghorn
and
15 Cornish Crosses
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We got our chicks moved out to the coop last night! They were really starting to stink up the basement..and the house! The hens weren't bad at all--but the meaties, blech! I snapped a few pics of the coop while we were working, and thought I would share.
Outside (We purchsed our house last August, and I actually took these two pics then)
All the fencing on the front we will be removing this spring. Each side has 2 runs attached--those will be staying. (We have hens on the left, meaties on the right)
To explain our coop a bit--the previous owners used this building as a dog kennel--they raised basset hounds. The building is divided into 4 pens--each pen is 6'x8'. And there is a center walkway that is 12'x16'. The whole building is 24ishx16. We need to do some reconfiguring, but for now we disinfected two of the pens to use--when the weather warms up we will get it how we want it. Also, each pen has an outdoor run, and the hens will also have access to a large penned in area to forage during the day (that is roughtly 75'x150').
This is one of the pens as they looked before:
And this is what the hens pen looked like after...
We still have a ton of work to do--and 2 more pens to clean--I disinfected the floor throughout, but the walls and stuff in the other pens are gross. Eventually we want to tear down the middle wall--in the hens pen for sure, to make one big section that will be 8x16--we have plenty of room to extend the pens out too, so that is nice! And my husband is working on a roost and some nesting boxes--so we'll have those soon!
Some pics of the meaties right after moving to their side:
4 weeks old--I can't believe how they've grown!
They were each weighing around 2.5 lbs a few days ago--I need to go out and weigh them again! Only a few more weeks until they are ready!
Now that the brooder's are empty--we will be getting more chicks too I think--probably another 15 meaties, and 8 more hens--1 RIR, 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 2 more White Leghorns, and 3 Black Australorps, and 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster--bringing our total to 15 hens, and 1 roo!
Quick question about the outdoor runs--since they were originally used for dogs--they are cement bottomed--will that be ok for them? Also, the doors that are on there, are basic doggy doors--right now we have them screwed shut so no predators can get it--but we need to get new doors soon--any recommendations for the best system? Thanks so much in advance--this board has been so informative!
3 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhode Island Reds, and 1 White Leghorn
and
15 Cornish Crosses
____________________________________________________________________
We got our chicks moved out to the coop last night! They were really starting to stink up the basement..and the house! The hens weren't bad at all--but the meaties, blech! I snapped a few pics of the coop while we were working, and thought I would share.
Outside (We purchsed our house last August, and I actually took these two pics then)
All the fencing on the front we will be removing this spring. Each side has 2 runs attached--those will be staying. (We have hens on the left, meaties on the right)
To explain our coop a bit--the previous owners used this building as a dog kennel--they raised basset hounds. The building is divided into 4 pens--each pen is 6'x8'. And there is a center walkway that is 12'x16'. The whole building is 24ishx16. We need to do some reconfiguring, but for now we disinfected two of the pens to use--when the weather warms up we will get it how we want it. Also, each pen has an outdoor run, and the hens will also have access to a large penned in area to forage during the day (that is roughtly 75'x150').
This is one of the pens as they looked before:
And this is what the hens pen looked like after...
We still have a ton of work to do--and 2 more pens to clean--I disinfected the floor throughout, but the walls and stuff in the other pens are gross. Eventually we want to tear down the middle wall--in the hens pen for sure, to make one big section that will be 8x16--we have plenty of room to extend the pens out too, so that is nice! And my husband is working on a roost and some nesting boxes--so we'll have those soon!
Some pics of the meaties right after moving to their side:
4 weeks old--I can't believe how they've grown!
They were each weighing around 2.5 lbs a few days ago--I need to go out and weigh them again! Only a few more weeks until they are ready!
Now that the brooder's are empty--we will be getting more chicks too I think--probably another 15 meaties, and 8 more hens--1 RIR, 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 2 more White Leghorns, and 3 Black Australorps, and 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster--bringing our total to 15 hens, and 1 roo!
Quick question about the outdoor runs--since they were originally used for dogs--they are cement bottomed--will that be ok for them? Also, the doors that are on there, are basic doggy doors--right now we have them screwed shut so no predators can get it--but we need to get new doors soon--any recommendations for the best system? Thanks so much in advance--this board has been so informative!
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