Hi from Halifax

[Riders Of Rohan]

Hi all. I'm Richard from Halifax. Today has seen the first real steps in starting poultry keeping.
I had the wood delivered this morning for building a run and then we set off to pick up my ebay purchase of a chicken coop from a place near York.
The coop hasn't been used and was built for the seller locally.
I think it will easily cope with my planned four birds. It also comes with a five foot run, so it does mean I could get the chickens before the main run is completed.
I have a Land Rover Discovery 2 and miscalculated the dimensions of coop and run. After a lot of fiddling about we managed to get the coop into the load-space with the front two seats pushed forward as far as they would go and the run strapped onto the roof rails. We must have looked like a right set of hillbillies pootling down the A1 and M62 with the steering wheel under my chin and a chicken run on the roof!

£50 (plus the fuel of course).

I am hoping to get 2 Sussex and 2 Rhode Island or similar. Anyone got Point of Lay hens for sale in West Yorkshire?

 

[Marigold]

Hi Richard, that sounds like a really funny introduction to chicken keeping, I'd have loved to see your progress down the motorway! Welcome to the Forum. You were lucky to get a nice new coop, it sounds a bargain.
However, if the run is only 5 ft and you plan to get 4 pullets, it would be best to wait until you've got the run finished, as they will need a minimum of 2 square metres of run space each. If you overcrowd them they may fight, or the stress of being so closely confined may lead to vices such as feather pecking or other aggressive behaviour. Coops with runs attached are always over optimistic about how many hens you can actually keep in there, and they will need the space especially during the settling- in period when they are sorting out who is going to be boss and where all the others will come down below her in the pecking order. If the coop has at least 4 ft of perch space and two nestboxes it should be big enough for them. You could give it an extra coat or two of preservative whilst making the run, so it dries off properly before the birds go in.
Good luck with it all and let us know how you get on.

 

[foxy]

Couldn't agree more with Marigold! Patience and planning are 2 very important virtues associated with chicken-keeping! Being very patient..that first egg will seem to take forever....and always plan for a lot more chickens than you have! A word of warning it is a very addictive hobby!

Welcome to the forum Richard! 99

 

[Riders Of Rohan]

Many thanks for the replies.
We will wait for the new run, it will have at least 10 sq metres. The coop has 5 ft of perches and 3 nest boxes.
Should stop tempers fraying (mine and theirs).

 

[Marigold]

That's great, it will give you a bit of leeway for possible expansion in the future, and a good start for the new pullets when you get them. There a quite a few threads on here about building runs etc if you're interested.
Did Tolkein keep chickens? I think the nearest thing in The Lord of the Rings were the eagles that rescued Frodo and Sam from Mordor. just like big chickens really.

 

[Riders Of Rohan]

I used to work for a bus company that used to be called "Yorkshire Rider" and I now have a "Rohan" shop as a franchisee.

I use it on other forums: other interests include football and Dalmatians, so for simplicity I use the same handle on all (cos I can never remember these things).

 

[Marigold]

Rohan stuff is brilliant, I live in their jeans. I would find it too tempting to be surrounded by it all day long!

 

[ncotb]

Hello 99

Hows the construction going?

 

[Riders Of Rohan]

The coop I got for £50 I have made some minor alterations to (which I hope will be considered improvements)
1. The perches were screwed in position and one was above the pop hole entrance. So I have moved them back and found some joist holders in Wickes at 54p each so I now have removable but very solid perches.
2. While in Wickes I noticed a vent cover so I decided to increase the ventilation and fitted that.
3. The door now has a handle
4. In the rain I noticed the pop hole wood swelled and the made the operation difficult. So replaced the wood with plastic beading.
5. Today in between rain showers creosoted the coop inside and underneath.
So total cost so far of the coop £59.08 ( I already had the creosote (inherited), handle, beading etc). So I am a Jolly pleased with myself Yorkshire man!!
The run less progress. I am more reliant on my eldest for this as my wood working skills are dodgy. He wasn't interested on Saturday in the sunshine, and rain stopped play on Sunday. So far we have a very solid frame approx 2m high x 5m long for one side, which I have coated with Ronseal timber seal. And that's about it.
Targeting early October, will I get any eggs before Christmas?

 

[foxy]

It sounds like you are a natural stockman RoR, very sensible alterations to your henhouse.

Depending on the age of your chickens you may indeed have eggs this time of year. Young birds in their first laying season tend to lay through their first winter, not a great deal but enough. WIth hybrids that have come into lay this year that is almost (almost and don't quote me later!!) a certainty