Veteran ranch girl but new to chickens! Hi from nor cal!

[featherhead007]

Common practice for happy hens is: 4 sqft per bird in coop. 10 sqft per bird in the run.

 

[Riv-6]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! Many helpful people here who should be able to answer your questions! Best of luck

 

[Texas Transplant]

Welcome! I'm a new to BYC too....it has all the info you've requested, just type in the search bar or look through articles, best of luck

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[Jackie U]

Welcome! Our hen house was cheap as it is made out of pallets, but it was fairly time consuming. We have a small house that the hens only sleep and lay eggs in, as they have a large run. Two houses will work until you have a more permanent set-up, but you'll want an actual house as they need to roost at night. If you're not already, I would greatly recommend that you lock them in their house(s) at night to keep predators from getting to them. As far as free-range...well, you won't be able to do that and make sure they come back. You could construct a large yard for them. It doesn't have to be covered if you lock them up at night and you can keep hawks out during the day by stringing fishing wire with shiny things across it. Good luck with your new girls (so much fun!) and once again welcome!!!

thank you! how many hens do you have? i'd love to see photos of your coop! I lock the girls up at night in my current coop but i think its a little small for 3 more hens. im going to post pics of the old dog house im looking to convert and would keep both enclosed in a larger pen/run for them to be out during the day. thanks again!

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Hopefully you can see these, they didn't seem to be uploading correctly. Sorry my coop is a bit of a mess, time for spring cleaning! I know it's not the most professional coop, but it works for us. Our chickens are happy and healthy. I currently have 11 hens and my sister's four ducks (small repurposed dog house). Just a few weeks ago had 12 hens a rooster and 5 ducks, but the rooster died of we believe old age and we believe the hen and duck were caught by a mountain lion. If you have any questions about my coop or anything else, I'm happy to help!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi and welcome to BYC! We're glad you joined us!
If you browse around through the coop pages you can find lots of great ideas for DIY coops that aren't too expensive. Good luck and have fun with your new chickens!