New to the forum, and new to chickens

[Wyrd]

Hi everyone I am new to the forum

For quite a while now my mother and I have been mulling over whether to get ducks and/or chickens, our dream is to have our own smallholding and whilst we are on our way to achieving this we are tired of waiting and so we have booked 6 ex battery hens which we will be picking up at the end of the month hopefully

We are both very excited (my mother is over the moon to be getting her chickens finally). We are finding it hard work deciding on a coop for them as they all seem so small, so I may well be asking a lot of help from you all on that front

 

[Marigold]

Hi Wyrd, lovely to have you on the forum, welcome. We shall all be very interested in your posts as you prepare for your new girls, and you'll get lots of help and advice from the folk on here. There are quite few threads on coop design and what to look out for, so have a browse and then ask more questions about what you want for your own setup. Good for you to be taking on ex-batts, it'll be lovely to see them blossoming in the spring sunshine!

 

[foxy]

Hello Wyrd and a warm welcome from me! 99 99

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Wyrd and welcome.

General guide is halve the smallest number of claimed hens for imported coops, so 8 -12 would be 4 maximum. For UK manufactured coops I would say they are more honest in their claims and 8 -12 means 8 maximum. Hens are not all the same size so for an 8 -12 UK I would have perhaps 6 Large Fowl Orpingtons maximum or 12 bantams. Just imagine what it's like for them when they are all waiting eagerly to be let out in the morning and its hot Summer.