Marlinmabel
In the Brooder
- Mar 31, 2025
- 11
- 72
- 46
Hi! Our family just got 12 chickens and I really want them to be happy. We are in Southern Pennsylvania near the Maryland line and I have been up late researching all there is to keeping chickens happy. Their well-being is my goal. It makes me so sad to think about the lives of commercially farmed animals. Having happy chickens helps me feel better about it. I'm also looking forward to the nutritious eggs that backyard chickens can provide. Our family eats a lot of eggs.
Since I have had these young hens I have fallen in love and want them to be able to free range in my yard as much as possible but I am in the suburbs on less than 1/4 acre.
Initially I got 5 Columbian Rock chicks but then we decided to get 7 more about 18 days later. I got 3 Barred Rocks and 4 Rhode Island Reds. I didn't know much about these breeds and the manager of the feed store in my town helped me to decide. The Columbian Rock chicks were born on Feb 27 and the barred Rocks and Reds were born on March 17.
I have been trying to figure out a good housing/run/free range situation for them for a very long time so I'm hoping that you can help. Initially I had a coop maker make a coop for the first 5 hens that is 51" x 51" excluding the nest box. That was for 5 hens. It is solid and heavy, made of wood. Then I got 7 more hens and had to figure out what to do with this inadequately sized coop. I decided to add two prefab children's playhouses to it, one house on each side so the main coop is sandwiched between the two playhouses for a total of 40 sq feet. I plan to keep the 3 houses open to each other with the option of closing one or two off in case I need to separate them or keep them warmer for the winter if they all sleep together in the main coop. I will put 1/4 inch hardware cloth over all their playhouse windows and put plexi-glass covers over the windows that can be removable in hot weather. Those two play houses are made of fir wood and are not as sturdy as the main coop in the middle but they have a lot of ventilation from lots of windows. To make them sturdier I will put plywood on the inside of the walls of the playhouses, perhaps 1/4 hardware cloth in between the original house walls and the plywood, to make them more sturdy, secure and warmer for the winter.
I know this may still be small but I spoke to the feed store manager about securing their run and having it available to them 24x7 with possibly some plastic surround all or part of it. Their run is a 20'x10' chicken coop cage that I can fully wire with 1/2 inch hardware cloth including the bottom. So their run is 200 sq feet minus the size of the coop which will be inside this cage, with the exception of the nesting boxes. During winter I can put a plastic greenhouse cover over the entire wired cage for more protection from the weather and during the summer I can put a tarp cover over all or part of the top for shade.
I am really hoping to free range them from dusk until dawn in my yard which is surrounded by a chain link fence but I want to make sure they are protected from predators when I am not there to watch over them. The perimeter of my yard is lined with very tall spirea bushes about 9 or 10 feet tall depending on how much I cut it down every year so I am planning to have a two foot metal fence all along the perimeter under the bushes about 5 feet from the main fence so they can graze under the bushes with bird netting above them attached to the two fences. That border run leads from their secured run to another open area at the side of my house that is about 250 square feet. That part of the yard I plan to put another 20'x10' chicken cage that I will cover with bird netting, not hardware cloth. There will be a total of 900 sq feet of free range area excluding their caged run. The free range area will be entirely covered with bird netting on the top and wire fences on the sides but not hardware cloth. I am wondering if all this sounds adequately protected from predators and weather for them and if their coop setup seems adequate? They seem to be getting along well with each other so far in their brooders but they are housed next to each other in separate cages. I have not put the two groups together since they seem so different in size even though they are only 2 1/2 weeks apart in age.
Does 1/2 inch hardware cloth around their caged run seem adequate especially since they will have 24/7 open access in that area? I already bought the hardware cloth but have since learned that stoats and mice are in Pennsylvania and can squeeze between this 1/2 inch hardware cloth and it was expensive. I'm wondering if I should buy the 1/4 inch to be sure.
Thanks for any/all your advice!
Best Regards,
Catherine
Since I have had these young hens I have fallen in love and want them to be able to free range in my yard as much as possible but I am in the suburbs on less than 1/4 acre.
Initially I got 5 Columbian Rock chicks but then we decided to get 7 more about 18 days later. I got 3 Barred Rocks and 4 Rhode Island Reds. I didn't know much about these breeds and the manager of the feed store in my town helped me to decide. The Columbian Rock chicks were born on Feb 27 and the barred Rocks and Reds were born on March 17.
I have been trying to figure out a good housing/run/free range situation for them for a very long time so I'm hoping that you can help. Initially I had a coop maker make a coop for the first 5 hens that is 51" x 51" excluding the nest box. That was for 5 hens. It is solid and heavy, made of wood. Then I got 7 more hens and had to figure out what to do with this inadequately sized coop. I decided to add two prefab children's playhouses to it, one house on each side so the main coop is sandwiched between the two playhouses for a total of 40 sq feet. I plan to keep the 3 houses open to each other with the option of closing one or two off in case I need to separate them or keep them warmer for the winter if they all sleep together in the main coop. I will put 1/4 inch hardware cloth over all their playhouse windows and put plexi-glass covers over the windows that can be removable in hot weather. Those two play houses are made of fir wood and are not as sturdy as the main coop in the middle but they have a lot of ventilation from lots of windows. To make them sturdier I will put plywood on the inside of the walls of the playhouses, perhaps 1/4 hardware cloth in between the original house walls and the plywood, to make them more sturdy, secure and warmer for the winter.
I know this may still be small but I spoke to the feed store manager about securing their run and having it available to them 24x7 with possibly some plastic surround all or part of it. Their run is a 20'x10' chicken coop cage that I can fully wire with 1/2 inch hardware cloth including the bottom. So their run is 200 sq feet minus the size of the coop which will be inside this cage, with the exception of the nesting boxes. During winter I can put a plastic greenhouse cover over the entire wired cage for more protection from the weather and during the summer I can put a tarp cover over all or part of the top for shade.
I am really hoping to free range them from dusk until dawn in my yard which is surrounded by a chain link fence but I want to make sure they are protected from predators when I am not there to watch over them. The perimeter of my yard is lined with very tall spirea bushes about 9 or 10 feet tall depending on how much I cut it down every year so I am planning to have a two foot metal fence all along the perimeter under the bushes about 5 feet from the main fence so they can graze under the bushes with bird netting above them attached to the two fences. That border run leads from their secured run to another open area at the side of my house that is about 250 square feet. That part of the yard I plan to put another 20'x10' chicken cage that I will cover with bird netting, not hardware cloth. There will be a total of 900 sq feet of free range area excluding their caged run. The free range area will be entirely covered with bird netting on the top and wire fences on the sides but not hardware cloth. I am wondering if all this sounds adequately protected from predators and weather for them and if their coop setup seems adequate? They seem to be getting along well with each other so far in their brooders but they are housed next to each other in separate cages. I have not put the two groups together since they seem so different in size even though they are only 2 1/2 weeks apart in age.
Does 1/2 inch hardware cloth around their caged run seem adequate especially since they will have 24/7 open access in that area? I already bought the hardware cloth but have since learned that stoats and mice are in Pennsylvania and can squeeze between this 1/2 inch hardware cloth and it was expensive. I'm wondering if I should buy the 1/4 inch to be sure.
Thanks for any/all your advice!
Best Regards,
Catherine
