Total Newbie to Chickens

[KatieKitt]

Hi! My name is Kate and I am a total newbie to the world of chickens. I've long since ooh and ahh'd over the baby chicks at TSC and now that I live in the country with a big yard and no appreciable neighbors, I decided to take the plunge. I got 6 straight run bantam chicks. I think 5 are either cochin or brahma, as they have feathered legs. Two of these are frizzled. The sixth chick has clean legs and has me completely stumped as to what it could be. It's this lovely shade of light lavender purple. Not grey. And it's wings are coming in the same shade. What breed could this little guy be?

I am brooding these guys in the living room for now and am coop shopping. What are your recommendations for a store bought coop? I'd like something easy to clean and easy to retrieve eggs from. Some of the home built coops on this site are beautiful but well beyond my handywoman capabilities.

I'm enjoying learning all about chickens and really thankful a resource like this website exists!

 

[teach1rusl]

Welcome! Congrats on your new chicks! You could also have d'uccles, as they have feathered feet. I wonder what your clean legged bird is...maybe a blue oegb?? We built all of our coops, so I don't know about prefab coops - other than the amish type ones, but those are really pricy. Enjoy your babies!

 

[annav410]

Welcome! We are building our own right now so not sure the quality of premade coops. I know someone that got a coop from Chicken Saloon and she seems pleased. They don't seem that expensive but are on the small side so depending what you are looking for, this might be a good idea.

http://chickensaloon.com/

Have you checked out Craigslist for your area? I have noticed quite a few good looking coops for sale that seemed pretty reasonable in price.

 

[KatieKitt]

Well... I found this exact Little Tykes Playhouse for free on my local craigslist and have made arrangements to pick it up tonight: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/little-tykes-castle

I'm thinking about replicating this design and recruiting my father and my brother to come over and construct (They work for food and coffee. I can handle that!)

Because I live in the north, I would put removable plexiglass windows on the openings to keep snow out and am curious about doing a heated floor for the winter. I have a small heated floor grid that I was going to put in the bathroom when I remodeled but decided against it and I have the heated floor kit just sitting there.... Would this be smart or totally stupid?

 

[annav410]

Well... I found this exact Little Tykes Playhouse for free on my local craigslist and have made arrangements to pick it up tonight: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/little-tykes-castle

I'm thinking about replicating this design and recruiting my father and my brother to come over and construct (They work for food and coffee. I can handle that!)

Because I live in the north, I would put removable plexiglass windows on the openings to keep snow out and am curious about doing a heated floor for the winter. I have a small heated floor grid that I was going to put in the bathroom when I remodeled but decided against it and I have the heated floor kit just sitting there.... Would this be smart or totally stupid?

Great! I have seen some wonderful and creative ideas on how to convert those into coops. I think if you need ideas, there are plenty on this site. Can't wait to see photos.

 

[teach1rusl]

Will you be using a dropping board or cleaning droppings daily? That might be an issue with heated flooring, if the poo is warming up/stinking worse. But daily cleanings or a dropping board would help solve that issue. Also, I'm not certain how warm those things get??? I did buy a heated mat for my serama chickens (it's actually a boot/foot warmer mat I believe). I figured they would like it a lot, but they rarely got on it. I guess that didn't really answer your question...lol.

 

[KatieKitt]

I will be putting down linoleum and using sand as a bedding and cleaning daily.

 

[rehric00]

My suggestion, watch for sheds on craigslist. Just be wary of the all metal/tin ones, they're are a lot of those for sale on they're, my fiancé used to sell those and they are junk. He said they are not meant to be moved and you will not be able to put it back together properly. Anywho, you should be able to find a decent coop-quality shed for a low price. You have a little while to think about it. My coop in an old shed from my neighbors. Works great for the purpose!