In the new coop I have 9.....2 are obvious EE, then 3 RSL and 4 BSL... The 2 EE's are older ladies. Goldilocks is the older lady, then the black/gray was picked up at TCS in March..(she started laying late Sept.), the rest of the crew was presented to me by a friend of ours who knew they were young but didn't have any idea of age...they started laying about 3-5 wks ago....they all started at different times (about a wk apart). Still have one non-layer.. They were all trying to get used to a new coop, new owner, new run etc at the time they might have started laying so I've just sat back and pampered them and talked to them. I have 4 older hens in my first, 3 sided open coop. Its 4x10 run underneath and in front of the coop. That coop was meant to be sitting on the ground with a garden on top but the roof part had warped over time to I just raised the entire coop about 18".
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Since the top wouldn't drain right .. I didn't use it to plant things on. In the spring, I'm going to put the ladies in a tractor and take a reciprocating saw to the warped roof and use that 6" to "raise the roof. This was built to plans but it does not give the hens enough head space. I have a GLW, 2 RIR, and 1 dark brahama and they just don't have a nice place to roost. And of course the "roost looks like its a 2x2 instead of a 2x4.. that will change also!! It came with chicken wire but I completely got 1/4"hardware wire over all of it before the pullets arrived. Buried 12" and put pavers around circumference..My little Ft. Knox.! Since I slid it under the front side of the shed, it has 2 roofs/2 south facing walls, one inside room on the north and have shade at some part of the run at all times.
This is the new one I built over the summer...
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