Help! Inherited Two Hens and Neglected Coop. Pics!

[DeezyPeasy]

Thank you! I am 100% rural/agricultural!

We do want to raise meat birds. I’ve been reading a lot. Not sure what we want to do yet. I eat a lot of eggs. Previous owners had giant exterior fridge with honor system egg sales so that’s a possibility.

Whole farm needs a lot of work which means some planning and careful consideration of goals. We have been here since Sunday. Only goal I can get my mind around this week is: kill the things that need killing ( millions of fire ants, multiple castor bean trees, and about a thousand pigweed plants growing wild everywhere), and make life a little nicer for my two lonely hens.

Oh and they left behind a cat who hates us. I’m working on that, too.

Thanks for the much-needed advice!

 

[DeezyPeasy]

2 chickens is an absolute minimum since they are flock animals. More would be better, but there is a complication. Introducing new chickens can be a problem because the existing 2 will likely fight the new ones if done incorrectly. There is always some pecking order disputes (that is normal), but a bad introduction can be much worse.

Probably the best method to introduce new birds is "see but don't touch". Here is a good article on it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/

PS- I recommend you add your general location to your profile. Many questions depend on climate and location.

Just read the article. Thank you. I can def try that!
Also amended my profile to indicate Upstate South Carolina.

 

[Gax000]

Just wanted to say welcome to BYC and congratulations on your new digs!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Another challenge to introducing new chickens at this point is that they should be quarantined for at least 30-days to make sure you aren't introducing diseases into your flock. Not to sound 'flippant' but if you are going big and only have 2 now, then adding 2-4 more might not be that big of a deal at this point. If it 'doesn't work,' you can start over in the Spring.

x2. I'd hold off on expansion for now until weather starts warming back up, and you have a more solid plan on how many birds you'd want and types. If the 2 hens have been living there their whole lives they'll manage with just the 2 of them for now.

For now I'd see about securing that coop best as you can with HWC instead of chicken wire, taking care of anything potentially dangerous like nails and wire sticking out, scraping off any poop (paint/putty scraper works well, remember to mask up against the dust and dander!) and pushing all that out with the old litter (and replacing with new), and cutting back the surrounding weeds. Otherwise it looks like a nice roomy structure to work with.

 

[KyCoop]

You could wall off a little smaller area in the coop were the ladies like to roost. Make it a little cozier and warmer for them to cuddle up.