QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW COOPS

[minifarmgurl1]

I am going to start planning the building of my coops today. I need help from any of you/all of you...HEHE... Heres whats up first that you should know..last week i told the hubby i wanted chicks..so i came home saturday and he was putting up coated chicken wire fence and told me i had chicks on there way to the house. AHG!!! i had no idea what to do with them..i knew keep them warm and feed...duh thats all my animals...but thats all i knew..so after they came i saw that they were bigger than i thought..not the tiny chicks like at TSC..so i let them spend time outside in the sun pecking away then i filled up a dog cage in the garage with straw put a flat water dish in and put a box laying sideways in there. another thing i do is cover the cage every night with horse blankets to keep heat in. oh by the way there were 14 chicks!! so every day for this week i have been putting them out and feeding them chick food i bought and water..they have a big doghouse out there to rest in during the day then i put them up at night. so far they love it and are doing great! but im finally done with my final essay for school and i need to start planning coops... the way the fence is put up i can build my coops inside this garage (its an old garage we dont park in there) and i can cut an opening into the wall for a door, one i can lock every night then they can go in and out on their own during the day . does this sound ok to build coops in there?? i can even make it where if its raining or snowing they have room to roam inside the garage (behind fencing of course). also i think the chicks will all sleep together now but when will they start sleeping in their own coops? Got any advice?? how does this sound?

 

[aidenbaby]

A lot of people here keep their hens together at night. They roost together on cold nights for warmth.

Each chicken doesn't need their own coop.

 

[flopshot]

i think you're mistaking "coops" for nest boxes. several birds reside in a coop and will share a nest box for laying so you don't need one box per bird. at night they usually sleep on a roost for the security of height within the coop. right now the security of your birds is an issue so make sure your run is safe for them. look around this site for coop building ideas and for your first coop try to keep it simple, secure and functional.

 

[minifarmgurl1]

okay, but for when they grow up into hens....hummm....so even if they are laying eggs i might have 2 hens in one coop?... if i make it big enough...sorry im thinking as i go..i really got to start this and finish it..im wanting to get some laying hens soon too, and my school will start back up in june so i want to get my chick stuff done. another thing is im not for sure if im going to keep a rooster (maybe) idk cuz i dont need one but i also have these 14 chicks and dont know how to sex them..so idk what they are and if im only gonna keep hens then im gonna be waiting along time. although there is one of my chicks that stand out to me...its bigger than the rest and brighter in color and pushes everyone around..wonder what sex that chick is i think its beautiful!!! maybe even if its a rooster ill keep him..okay thanks im going to draw up some plans now..

 

[minifarmgurl1]

OH NO YOU ARE RIGHT!!! OK LOL I TOLD YOU I DIDNT KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING!! how about if ya just tell me what i will need as far as daytime and nighttime for my chicks now that you have heard the story..i gotta get something built while im off school..

 

[lelisabeth]

You can have ALL of them in one coop, and they will probably appreciate the company. As long as that coop is big enough. search on here for coop designs, many of them say how many chickens they keep in one coop. Check out this site for some basics:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/eBook.aspx

You don't need a rooster, but you may end up with one anyway if you bought a straight run of chicks. Do you know how old they are? I have a 9 week old pullet (female chick) that pushes the other two around. She's the same age, but definately bigger, and definately female. There is a good chance that your larger chick is a rooster, but it might also just be a bossy pullet!

 

[minifarmgurl1]

okay im getting it now...thanks for that website...i went on there. so now my only question is..after i build a coop for them all to sleep in...i do have to build seperate boxes for nesting right?

 

[minifarmgurl1]

I believe the box said my chisck are: BUFF ORPINGTON CHICKS

 

[lelisabeth]

Quote:
Yes, seperate boxes for nesting, which they will only use for laying eggs. For 14 birds, assuming they are all female, you should only need 3-4 nest boxes (someone else chime in here). They don't mind sharing a bit. a good size nest box is about 12"x12" to 15"x15". You won't need these until they get closer to laying age, at about 18-20 weeks old.

Great chicks! You will be very happy with them, I'm sure, It's a very popular breed.

 

[minifarmgurl1]

Yah i just got done looking around on the internet about buff's and they are used for meat and laying..very hardy...GOOD!!! thank you for the info ..i had no idea..i now know what to do..also it looks like from the pics on the net that my chicks are 7 weeks old now!!
i dont know if im going to keep all 14 of them im sure theres probably a male or two in there...ill probably sell off what i do not have room for or need..a friend of ours got the other 14...they had bought the 28 of them at an auction and it cost like 70 bucks for 28 chicks!!! god! is that exspensive??