Will soon have 9 mo old chickens given to me ...

[PirateGirl]

Since you have a shed maybe position the coop near the side of the shed so it will block some of the wind/rain/etc.

 

[lazy gardener]

Depending on the style of your coop, you might be able to easily put plywood sides (including windows and ventilation on the run), and build a separate fence post style run with cover to keep hawks/and 4 legged predators at bay. Best if any run, including the existing one on your mini coop has a skirt to deter diggers.

My dog has a huge prey drive, so I bought and used a remote control training collar. It worked like a charm. She was already trained to a transmitter style boundary collar.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Thanks, Lazy gardener. I am planning on adding a skirt. Thanks for the suggestions too.

I have a smaller older dog that has a strong prey drive (weird, but true that the larger dogs are not as prey driven). He will most likely just not be allowed out when the chickens are out. I will be sure to slowly introduce the other two once we get the chickens.

 

[PirateGirl]

At first I would hang out in a lawn chair near the coop a lot and have the dogs out with me, just being calm, sitting there, near the birds but separated by fence, and getting pet and/or treats, just practice being still and calm, and I would sit still and calm.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Good suggestion, PirateGirl.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd also have the dogs on a leash for introductions, and introduce them one at a time. Dogs tend to get each other wound up.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How early do you need to let them out of the coop in the morning? Is 6am considered late if it’s still dark out?

I don't wake up until around 9 AM, so that's when my chickens get out and get fed. They'll adjust to your schedule as long as it's not too unreasonable.

 

[venymae]

I'd say put up a quicky run attached to your prefab with some t-posts, fencing, and netting (bird or tennis should work!) over the top (zip tied on!). It's not going to stop a determined predator but should keep the chickens in, and deter hawks. At night when you have the biggest predator load they should be locked up in the coop for safety. That will give you time to hash out a more permanent plan, and you can probably reuse a lot of the supplies.

 

[Arya28]

Hello!

As far as weather to free range them or not, if you decide to, you should keep them locked in their coop for a couple weeks so that they will start to think of it as "home". When I first joined BYC, I wanted to know more about free ranging so I started this thread. A lot of people chimed in and gave some great opinions/experiences on it! Right now, we let our free range part of the time, but only when we are paying attention. We plan on letting them do more so in the future, but we are still working on securing up their winter coops right now. We also have hawks, bears, coyotes, foxes, etc, etc, etc. We haven't done it all day yet, we have started with a couple hours at night so that they don't go too far, and it is easier to keep an eye on them. They have done great with it so far though (though... I have had two chickens land on our house! ) If you let them free range, and you have a garden, make sure you have your plants protected or they will eat the leaves and fruit of EVERYTHING! They are pigs.

How far are the chickens from you now? If they are from another state, or even on the other side of the same state, the soil from where they are now is different... which means the coccidiosis in the other soil is slightly different, and even if they are immune to that, you will want to build up their immunity to the cocci in your soil. What we do to do this is not put them immediately outside when we get new ones. We keep them in their coop for a few days and give them herbs to build their immunity to it (oregano, garlic, and aloe juice). And then we start giving bits of dirt and grass to eat, so they can slowly work up their immunity and it won't be too much of a shock to them. Not everyone does this, but we have just to be safe. If you want to learn more about treating chickens and keeping them healthy with herbs, I have an article on it. I'm not an expert or a vet, but these things work for us!

Good luck with your chickens! This is a great community for learning more about them and how to care for them!

 

[Arya28]

And I agree with @venymae about the coop for right when you get them!