LouNeo
In the Brooder
So we are somewhat new to Chickens but chicken math has already taken over as we discover new cool breeds... So my flock has quickly become supersized, leaving my "coops" undersized. Long story short (I typed out the long story and decided to shorten it) we quickly have ended up with too many chickens and not enough coop space to keep them comfortable and separated how id like. We do allow them to free range most of the day though.
Here is what I am hoping for, im hoping someone will let me leverage their experience and tell me how they would make this setup work. I think im over thinking it but here goes and remember... I dont have much of a clue of what im doing, im trying to do it in the most "value" oriented way that makes sense, and I rent so I cant tear up too much of the yard.
We have 13 laying hens:
Barred Rock, (2) Black Australorps, Leghorn, Easter Egger, Blue Cochin, Silver Laced Cochin, Buff Orpington, Swedish Flower, (2) Araucana, Barred Rock / Orpington Mix, Golden Laced Wyandotte
We have 2 Roosters:
Easter Egger, Ayem Cemani (with a lot of color leakage)
We have 2 Appenzeller Spitzhauben
1 hen, 1 rooster
We have 5 Silkies:
2 silkie hens, 1 looks to be a silkie / polish hen, and 2 silkie roosters
We have 1 Frizzle:
Hen, I will be picking up a rooster at some point but will not keep them together (no frazzles will be hatched)
We have 3 Blue Cochins:
They hatched a week ago from our Blue Cochin.
GOAL:
I want mostly unfertilized eggs for the house and to sell (hopefully covering some food costs). I want to be able to selectively breed just for fun and to see what I can end up with offspring wise. I want happy chickens and my girlfriend will want the setup to look cute.. window boxes, window frames, etc (think pinterest).
So my thought was:
(1) main coop for the laying hens
(1) smaller coop for the silkies
(1) smaller coop for the Spitzhaubens
(2) bachelor pads for the roosters and for the purpose of breeding.
Does that make sense or should I be doing this a completely different way? Do I need a separate space for the hens that are fertilized?
I currently have a Precision Coop purchased from Tractor Supply that supposedly holds 4-5 chickens. I have a rectangle 6x4 frame with chicken wire, and a half build hutch setup that I was going to make into the 2 bachelor pads. That is where im at currently. Again im trying to do this with a balance of doing it right and still being somewhat price conscious.
I hope im not asking for too much help and I appreciate you bearing with my newness and apparent eclectic collecting habits.
-Lou
Here is what I am hoping for, im hoping someone will let me leverage their experience and tell me how they would make this setup work. I think im over thinking it but here goes and remember... I dont have much of a clue of what im doing, im trying to do it in the most "value" oriented way that makes sense, and I rent so I cant tear up too much of the yard.
We have 13 laying hens:
Barred Rock, (2) Black Australorps, Leghorn, Easter Egger, Blue Cochin, Silver Laced Cochin, Buff Orpington, Swedish Flower, (2) Araucana, Barred Rock / Orpington Mix, Golden Laced Wyandotte
We have 2 Roosters:
Easter Egger, Ayem Cemani (with a lot of color leakage)
We have 2 Appenzeller Spitzhauben
1 hen, 1 rooster
We have 5 Silkies:
2 silkie hens, 1 looks to be a silkie / polish hen, and 2 silkie roosters
We have 1 Frizzle:
Hen, I will be picking up a rooster at some point but will not keep them together (no frazzles will be hatched)
We have 3 Blue Cochins:
They hatched a week ago from our Blue Cochin.
GOAL:
I want mostly unfertilized eggs for the house and to sell (hopefully covering some food costs). I want to be able to selectively breed just for fun and to see what I can end up with offspring wise. I want happy chickens and my girlfriend will want the setup to look cute.. window boxes, window frames, etc (think pinterest).
So my thought was:
(1) main coop for the laying hens
(1) smaller coop for the silkies
(1) smaller coop for the Spitzhaubens
(2) bachelor pads for the roosters and for the purpose of breeding.
Does that make sense or should I be doing this a completely different way? Do I need a separate space for the hens that are fertilized?
I currently have a Precision Coop purchased from Tractor Supply that supposedly holds 4-5 chickens. I have a rectangle 6x4 frame with chicken wire, and a half build hutch setup that I was going to make into the 2 bachelor pads. That is where im at currently. Again im trying to do this with a balance of doing it right and still being somewhat price conscious.
I hope im not asking for too much help and I appreciate you bearing with my newness and apparent eclectic collecting habits.
-Lou
