What age should I get?

[SueAndHerZoo]

I think something to keep in mind is that just because this coop may not hold as many birds as you might hope for, you can always treat this as a starter set up and expand down the line for a bigger flock if you decide it's something you enjoy and want to invest more time/money in.

Just as an example, my starter coop is the wood structure on the right. My current coop is the purple shed on the left. We had 4 hens for 2 years and expanded to house 12 after that.

View attachment 3845953

Wow, I LOVE this and I love how nice it looks! So many local people who have chickens seem to have very dilapitated, run down, beat up, "ugly" coops that make the entire yard and house look trashy. I am trying to avoid that at all costs - this is a nice neighborhood with a nice house, nice yard, manicured lawn and gardens, a pond, etc. so I want, as much as possible, for the yard to still look nice after the chickens join the family. I see from your photos it IS possible! Thank you for the inspiration.
Sue

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

I would get the coop sorted first and then get day olds. Up to you whether you brood inside or outside but I would make sure the coop is 100% predator proof regardless and I would also suggest making a larger coop than you think you'll need as you'll probably want more birds later and will have to integrate them and that takes even more room. If you want 8 birds, plan for 16. Chicken math is very real

Yup, exactly what will happen so I will plan accordingly as best I can. Unfortunately I'm not sure the hubby will want me taking up much more of the yard than I already am but he'll come around, he always does. It's exactly what happened when i started with one, small, saltwater tank. Next time you look, there are 90 and 120 gallon tanks in every room!
Sue

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Unfortunately, they don't lay year round, nor year after year indefinitely. They need 12 to 14 hours of daylight to lay, so in the winter, with short daylight hours, they will take a break, sometimes for months, unless you provide supplemental lighting, which has its own set of problems. Some won't lay in the hottest part of summer, and they don't lay while molting. Finally, they don't lay while broody, or setting on eggs to hatch them (which some breeds are more likely to do than others; some never do) or while raising the chicks. And most hens lay really prolifically only for two or three years and then slow down or even stop. So many of us purchase or hatch a new crop of layers every year or two, which means you have to decide what to do with your "retired" hens.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, these are just practical matters every chicken owner needs to consider. Some people keep their hens as pets until they die of old age. I've heard of some that live to 8 or 10 years or longer.

I had heard that there are times of the year they will slow down or not lay at all, and also read that with supplemental lighting you can keep the production up a bit. But as we all know, this is more about the hobby and adding more pets than it really is about the eggs.... the eggs were just my excuse for getting hubby to go along with yet another set of animals to my zoo! I appreciate you pointing out the "debbie Downer parts, planning ahead goes much better if you know the downsides and pitfalls, too.
Sue

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

So since I am now convinced that the coop that I just acquired is MUCH too small for the number of chickens they advertise, what if I purchase a another coop to put inside the run area? That way when it gets too crowded in the original one someone can go have some "alone time" in another one and everyone can have some space. I wouldn't add an additional run, I'd just add a coop at the end of the run that came with this set up. Any downsides to that?
Sue

 

[FrostRanger]

Generally flocks like to roost together, it certainly *can* work in some flocks but for most flocks it won't work particularly well 'cause they'll want to be in the same coop

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wow, I LOVE this and I love how nice it looks! So many local people who have chickens seem to have very dilapitated, run down, beat up, "ugly" coops that make the entire yard and house look trashy. I am trying to avoid that at all costs - this is a nice neighborhood with a nice house, nice yard, manicured lawn and gardens, a pond, etc. so I want, as much as possible, for the yard to still look nice after the chickens join the family. I see from your photos it IS possible! Thank you for the inspiration.
Sue

Thank you - in full disclosure we did not build either the large coop or the run so the actual structures are professionally built (and cost accordingly). But since it sits on the front lawn in direct view of the living room, I wanted something decent to look at.

So since I am now convinced that the coop that I just acquired is MUCH too small for the number of chickens they advertise, what if I purchase a another coop to put inside the run area? That way when it gets too crowded in the original one someone can go have some "alone time" in another one and everyone can have some space. I wouldn't add an additional run, I'd just add a coop at the end of the run that came with this set up. Any downsides to that?
Sue

If it's inside the run area you'll need to subtract the amount of space it's eating up inside the run - i.e. with my coop set up, because it's sitting entirely inside the run I lose 60 sq ft of run space. It's only not an issue since my total run space is 20x25 for 12 birds, so I far exceed the recommended minimum.

Also you'll probably see varying answers on this, but while some flocks are fine with splitting up with some birds staying in one coop and some in another, there'll be flocks that don't want to stay separate and all the birds will crowd into one coop or the other regardless if they comfortably fit.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

You will want to go out about 18-24" horizontally and pin the wire in place. You can cover it with sand, gravel, mulch or let grass grow back in over it, but do not add large items like pavers or large stones as that reduces the effective width of coverage.

Thanks for that info, but curious how putting large items or rocks (I have a thing for rocks) would reduce the effective width of the hardware cloth coverage?
Sue

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for that info, but curious how putting large items or rocks (I have a thing for rocks) would reduce the effective width of the hardware cloth coverage?
Sue

What happens without the large rocks/pavers is a digging pest or predator will start at the fence, try to dig, hit wire, back up, try again, and then hopefully give up.

Let's say you add pavers that are 12" wide on an apron of 18", the digger may start instead at the edge of the paver, try to dig, hit wire, back up... and now with only 6" of coverage the chance that it finds the edge of the wire and starts tunneling under is greater. Even if it doesn't dig all the way into the run you really don't want critters to start undermining security.

I've personally seen a rat tunnel about 10" under my apron, but they certainly can go further than that. If they can make it into the run, then other things can follow: snakes, weasels, other rodents.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Generally flocks like to roost together, it certainly *can* work in some flocks but for most flocks it won't work particularly well 'cause they'll want to be in the same coop

So glad I asked (and even more glad that you replied) because I was just looking at possible options for a coop to purchase tomorrow. Yes, I do research and plan ahead, but I also move quickly so you may have just saved me $300.
Sue

 

[The Welch Chickens]

If you want pets that are more attached to you, I would go with young chicks. If you want laying hens right away, go with adults.