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WendyPollo

Chirping
Mar 22, 2024
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Hi Everyone,
I'm a new member from Mass. I'm interested in raising chickens for eggs. I've done some research, helped out a little with someone else's flock, and took a couple intro. classes. I feel I'm ready to get started. I joined this forum for guidance and to share my chicken journey. I'm hoping to (start) building a coop this weekend, but there are so many different designs it's overwhelming.
 
Last edited:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

JoubertHomestead said:
I'm hoping to build a coop this weekend
Click to expand...
If you think you can build a proper chicken coop in a weekend, you've got a bad design.

Chickens need 3.5-4 sq ft, 1 linear foot of roost space and as close to 1 sq ft of permanently open ventilation PER BIRD in the coop. The nest box space is not included in the square footage and you need one box per 4-5 birds.

The run should offer another 15 sq ft or more per bird and you need to have lots of things to scratch around in, perch on, hide behind and basically climb around on for enrichment in the run.

To ensure nothing can break in, consider your predator cast of characters. At a minimum, you need to have no openings into the closed off coop that are greater than 1/2". Chicken wire does NOTHING to secure birds. Anything, including me having a snit fit, can break through that stuff. Invest in 1/2" hardware cloth. To prevent digging under the wall, install a 1.5-2' predator apron very well secured to the base of the structures and pin the outer edges with HD landscape staples. You can leave it like that and the grass will grow right through the cloth.
 
DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.


If you think you can build a proper chicken coop in a weekend, you've got a bad design.

Chickens need 3.5-4 sq ft, 1 linear foot of roost space and as close to 1 sq ft of permanently open ventilation PER BIRD in the coop. The nest box space is not included in the square footage and you need one box per 4-5 birds.

The run should offer another 15 sq ft or more per bird and you need to have lots of things to scratch around in, perch on, hide behind and basically climb around on for enrichment in the run.

To ensure nothing can break in, consider your predator cast of characters. At a minimum, you need to have no openings into the closed off coop that are greater than 1/2". Chicken wire does NOTHING to secure birds. Anything, including me having a snit fit, can break through that stuff. Invest in 1/2" hardware cloth. To prevent digging under the wall, install a 1.5-2' predator apron very well secured to the base of the structures and pin the outer edges with HD landscape staples. You can leave it like that and the grass will grow right through the cloth.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I misspoke. I meant, I'm hoping to START building this weekend not that I'm hoping to complete everything in two days.
 

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