Silkie Coop and Run

[KansasSilkie]

Hi all. I've been wanting to raise chickens for years, and I'm finally starting to get serious about it. After researching breeds my family has landed on silkies for their temperament, size, cold hardiness, etc. We'd like to get 6-8 birds. I plan on altering an existing kids playset for the coop. Building off the existing 4 corner 4x4 posts would give me a coop around 7' x 5'. My plan is to build the coop 2' off the ground to give some run area below it, and also to extend the run an additional 7' off to the side. That'd give them a 14' x 5' run. My first question.... Should I make the portion beside the coop higher than 2'? Or is that sufficient for silkies? I'll be fine cleaning it either way, so without factoring that in is 2' tall enough? It'll be enclosed in hardware cloth on the top and sides to keep them in and predators out. The coop size itself seems plenty big. I plan on hanging three nesting boxes off of one side, and having a couple low roosts (6" and 18"?) near the other end. I'm leaning towards having it 4' tall on the front (7') side sloping down to 3' on the back end. My hope is that gives me plenty of room to put a door on the front for cleaning and such, as well as plenty of ventilation up high. After reading here and other sites I plan on not keeping food/water inside the coop. Instead I'll hang it under the coop in the run where it will be protected from rain and snow. Are there any glaring problems with my idea? I plan to play around with building the coop and run as time allows. I initially thought I'd wait until next spring to get silkies, but my wife mentioned potentially getting them later this summer if we have things ready. I mainly just don't want to get them right before winter. I'd like to get somewhat used to the daily ins and outs before having to do it in freezing temperatures. Are there pros and cons to getting all the birds at once vs at different times? I like the idea of getting the chicks all at once, but knowing my luck I'd end up with 8 roosters! Is it okay or advisable to get say 4 chicks and 4 older (6mo plus) hens separately? Do they tend to get along okay if they're all silkies?

Thank you in advance for any help! I'm trying to plan as well as I can to make this a success long-term.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't have experience with Silkies but as a general rule chickens can eventually get along with new additions if you provide them ample space and give them time to get used to one another. And Silkies are known for being more docile. However to start out, I'd advise either getting all chicks or all pullets, and not messing with integration.

One possible thing to consider, is to start off with let's say 4 pullets now, then next year add 4 chicks. Silkies go broody quite readily so good chance that one of your hens will be able to raise the chicks and integrate them into the flock for you.

Your coop size is very good. Silkies may or may not roost but putting in roosts isn't a bad idea to give them the option.

My first question.... Should I make the portion beside the coop higher than 2'? Or is that sufficient for silkies? I'll be fine cleaning it either way, so without factoring that in is 2' tall enough?

By this do you mean you want to make the run 2' tall? Or part of it? It's tall enough for the chickens.

 

[KansasSilkie]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, right now I'm thinking of having the whole run 2' tall with half of it being under the coop and the other half just covered with cloth. I was worried that might be too short for the chickens, but maybe not with silkies being smaller. I'd put an access door under the coop to clean there and deal with the food/water and another further along the run for cleaning.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Only issue with having a short run (other than human access issues, but you already said you're fine with it) is that it's hard to put stuff into it. If you do end up getting chicks or new birds at some point, having clutter to break up the space and provide hiding spots is ideal, but harder to get clutter that's only 2' tall or shorter.