want to get chickens

[chicken51515]

i am thinking about getting chickens. any advice for a cheap and good way to get a hen house? we already have a large chicken wire lined run, but I know we woudl need a hen house for them to lay eggs and sleep. also, any advice on beginners, friendly chickens? thanks!

 

[chickenlittle21]

You could build the hen house out of pallets and scrap boards

 

[black_cat]

i am thinking about getting chickens. any advice for a cheap and good way to get a hen house? we already have a large chicken wire lined run, but I know we woudl need a hen house for them to lay eggs and sleep. also, any advice on beginners, friendly chickens? thanks!

The cheapest way to get a henhouse is generally to build one yourself. Prefab coops are very expensive, very tiny, and made of very poor quality materials. You will probably want to either replace the chicken wire with hardware cloth, or add hardware cloth over it. Chicken wire does a great job at keeping chickens in, but is not so great at keeping predators out! How large is your run, in feetxfeet? How many chickens do you want? Do you want standards (regular sized chickens, regular sized eggs) or bantams (1/2 size of standards, smaller eggs) Beginner friendly breeds:
-Orpingtons
-Barred Rocks
-Sussex
-Easter Eggers
-Australorps

 

[chickenlittle21]

also, any advice on beginners, friendly chickens? thanks!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-10-friendliest-chicken-breeds.75737/

 

[CluckerFamily]

I built my own coop but I also got a pre-made coop for $100. I went to Tractor Supply in the fall and they had their coops marked down but they had some issues (dents, nicks) with the structures so I went to my local farm store. They had the same exact coops as Tractor Supply and the farm store matched Tractor Supply's prices. So I use the pre-made coop as a Chicken Hospital.
I'm not sure where you are from, but in Wisconsin we also have a lot of Amish citizens in the area that build coops for a decent price.

 

[chicken51515]

I built my own coop but I also got a pre-made coop for $100. I went to Tractor Supply in the fall and they had their coops marked down but they had some issues (dents, nicks) with the structures so I went to my local farm store. They had the same exact coops as Tractor Supply and the farm store matched Tractor Supply's prices. So I use the pre-made coop as a Chicken Hospital.
I'm not sure where you are from, but in Wisconsin we also have a lot of Amish citizens in the area that build coops for a decent price.

I live near Los Angeles, so not many Amish here, but a farm store is a good idea. How did you build your coop? I'm not super handy but if there's an easy way you suggest that would be great!

 

[black_cat]

I live near Los Angeles, so not many Amish here, but a farm store is a good idea. How did you build your coop? I'm not super handy but if there's an easy way you suggest that would be great!

There are lots of building plans out there on the internet. I"m preparing to build one and I have been looking at how to frame walls properly (looking at shed tutorials works very well) how to frame doors, floors, how to properly attach things, etc...lots of tutorials and research before building. If you find plans that you like or design your own, you also may be able to hire someone to build it for you.

 

[chicken51515]

The cheapest way to get a henhouse is generally to build one yourself. Prefab coops are very expensive, very tiny, and made of very poor quality materials. You will probably want to either replace the chicken wire with hardware cloth, or add hardware cloth over it. Chicken wire does a great job at keeping chickens in, but is not so great at keeping predators out! How large is your run, in feetxfeet? How many chickens do you want? Do you want standards (regular sized chickens, regular sized eggs) or bantams (1/2 size of standards, smaller eggs) Beginner friendly breeds:
-Orpingtons
-Barred Rocks
-Sussex
-Easter Eggers
-Australorps

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm not sure how big the run is because I've only just started looking into getting chickens but probably about 20 ft ish long, 6 ish ft wide, and 8 ish feet tall?Also, the chicken wire in there is pretty small, and I don't think any of our local predators could get through it. How many chickens would you suggest to start, and what size? my school has a farm and about 10 chickens, so I know a little about chicken care, but these would be the first ones I would have, so I'm definitely a beginner. thanks!

 

[CinnaBun]

A lot of folks convert a shed or playhouse into a coop.

Maybe start with 4-5 hens?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm not sure how big the run is because I've only just started looking into getting chickens but probably about 20 ft ish long, 6 ish ft wide, and 8 ish feet tall?Also, the chicken wire in there is pretty small, and I don't think any of our local predators could get through it. How many chickens would you suggest to start, and what size?

Start with a tape measure and get exact measurements.

Also what predators do you think you have? Even in a city stray dogs, hawks, raccoons, rats are all common. Dogs and coons can easily tear apart chicken wire, rats can simply climb through. Measure the openings in the wire and if it's anything over 1/2", they'res too big.