Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[BGMatt]

I don't know how run space is calculated, but I figure it's big enough if the grass can keep up with the population of chickens foraging and scratching. If they turn it into a barren wasteland... Too small!

General rule of thumb is 4 sqft per bird in coop, 10 sqft of run per bird (you can do less, I have used anywhere from 8-10 sqft total for birds depending on their size). Even at those first larger numbers they're still turn it barren. It's been a while since I looked into it but I want to say for them to not destroy it the requirement is something like 200 sqft of pasture?

Edit: I currently have three rescued hens in a 16x24 area, which works out to 128 sqft per bird and it is barren dirt. Just as an FYI

 

[walady944]

Congrats on your new chicken plans! I am new to this also. I found out that more space than you think you need is the way to go. You will hear
everyone talking "chicken math", which means the number of chickens you planned on usually turn out to be more. I started like you wanting
good layers with nice brown eggs, then found out there are a couple breeds giving chocolate brown eggs(French Marans), and of course, that sounded lovely, so
added a couple of those. Then my whole world changed when I found the Cream Legbars who lay blue eggs and are auto-sexing (meaning you can
tell for sure which is chick is pullet and which is roo) so how could I not have blue eggs?? And then there are green, pink, etc. And throw in a white one
just for tradition.
My girls are not laying yet but by summer's end I hope to be seeing a nice assortment of colors.
Good luck with your chickens. They are really so much fun.

 

[catelb]

Hi, and Welcome! I hope you'll love your birds as much as all of us do!
Based on the dimensions you've given, I'd suggest starting with 5. I'd also suggest that if there is ANY way for you to make a larger run, do it now. I ended up increasing the run 2 times in 2 years. Although my original pen was technically the "right" size (10 sq ft per hen) it made ME feel like they were too cramped. It would have been so much easier and cheaper to do it the first time. Taking an extra week in the beginning can save you a LOT of hassles later on. We hear that over and over again as people are getting started.

I have an EE, Blue Wheaten Ameraucana, Gold Sex Link, Barnevelder, and Swedish Flower Hen. I recently lost my BSL who was my favorite; she was a good layer and had the nicest personality. The suggestions you've gotten here have all been really good. You're smart to get birds from reliable non-hatchery sources. Rainwolf is definitely a good resource, and going to visit her and others can be a great experience. Be sure to ask lots of questions, we always have lots of opinions around here.

ETA: Jersey Giants from Chickielady!

I am super new to all of this as well, but just wanted to echo the sentiment that you will probably want to add more chickens in the nearer future than what you think right now.

We started with seven in September, thinking a couple might not make it and that five hens would be more than enough for the two of us. Boy were we wrong! All seven made it (we did end up with one roo though). I think six hens and a roo would be enough if we were the only ones eating the eggs, but we are totally overwhelmed by the demand from friends and neighbors to buy our eggs! So here we are, less than a year later ... planning to essentially double our flock. Luckily for us, our ladies free range in our big backyard and we built our coop to accommodate 11-12 birds, so doubling shouldn't require any expansions / new structures, etc. We have a pretty big run too, just in case, but really only use it for when we are out of town, etc.

All of that to say, as big as you can manage from the get go is probably best!

 

[fikeyismybaby]

Anyone near spanaway? If so come on down to the Del's on Sunday and support your local 4-hers by buying a paper clover for a dollar a peice. Tey will also be there with their animals including chickens!

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Hi Matt.... not wanting to be argumentative, just discussing....

I've more often seen/heard 3 sq. ft. per bird for the coop. And I would agree and even go a bit less if necessary based on my experience because....
my birds are inside only to lay and sleep. They never go inside otherwise, so they are never milling around on the floor. My nest box is even taking up some of that sq. footage.

My pen is covered so there is no need for them to go inside during the rain or snow.

Also, we should mention for newbies, the 10 sq ft per hen outdoors is the minimum recommended, just to keep them from pecking each other, etc. And coop space doesn't substitute for run space. (Suggestion.... lift the coop off the ground 3' and let the girls use that ground space.)

 

[hennotrooster]

I was given 3 chickens in need of help here is a couple of pics of their feet. I read that cooking oil helps and this could be mites

Will the more experienced please help me help them?

This is the roo.

This is the hen. Poor baby picks up that left foot, I can imagine that she must be in some pain.

Help please. I will be leaving shortly but will be back. This is the fastest moving thread I thought of to get a response from. Thanks in advance.

 

[BGMatt]

The reason I consider the 4 sqft minimum is a lot of large fowl can fill that pretty good. That's only 2'x2' Square, a Rhode Island Red (a real one) should be 2' long...a standard Cochin will also almost fill that space, let alone a Brahma, Jersey Giant or many other breeds, so even just for "coop" space it's just not very practical to go smaller with some breeds where it might with others. (Which I guess is why there's so many answers.) I think that a 4 sqft combined with 10 sqft for the run is slightly generous though.

I was just trying to give a general answer. I have always done things differently, the whole coop/run model only lasted about 6 months for me before I decided I wanted to focus on more efficient setups for breeding birds. The majority of my adult chickens have throughout my years lived in "coops"(no distinction between coop and run here, similar to the breeding pens in the thread linked in my signature but smaller) ranging from 4'x8' to 6'x6' which would house 3-5 breeding birds full time depending on size of the breed (Langshans? 3 birds. Sumatras? 5 Old English Bantams? More.)

Housing is a fascinating discussion, and I always love seeing what works for different people. Love living in an area where I don't have to worry about climate extremes, there's so many options.

 

[BGMatt]

I was given 3 chickens in need of help here is a couple of pics of their feet. I read that cooking oil helps and this could be mites

Will the more experienced please help me help them?

This is the roo.

This is the hen. Poor baby picks up that left foot, I can imagine that she must be in some pain.

Help please.

Definitely looks like scaly leg mites. Dipping in oil daily works, because it suffocates/drowns the mites. You could use frontline if you're not opposed to chemicals.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Other than making the legs look and feel awful, what affect does leg mites have on the hens?

 

[BGMatt]

Pain and discomfort mainly. I've heard of folks having more severe issues due to the damaged legs getting infected.