Quote Originally Posted by Jerry View Post
Matt, free range eggs are the best. You won't believe the difference in them and what you buy at the store. One word of warning though. From what I remember of Franklin from my visit several years ago, even the town is pretty rural, and you are likely to have raccoons around. Once they find your chickens, they'll take everyone they can catch. So, make sure they are all inside a secure chicken house of some type every night Even the best fence is no deterrent to a coon. It will also need a floor of some kind or a foundation which goes several inches into the ground. because the coons can dig. over the past 4 years, I've lost at least a dozen of mine to predators, mostly coons. A possum will take some also. Daytime losses will most likely be dogs. Good luck with your brood, and enjoy the great eggs you will be getting, although I wouldn't expect many before Spring.
Thanks for the warning, Jerry. We do have raccoons around here, though I haven't seen many possums. The only wildlife I have directly witnessed or seen evidence of in my yard (besides the birds, of course) are squirells, rabbits and groundhogs. But I know there are coons around because I've seen them run over along the roadside.

We are going to have to rethink our coop design anyway because we were originally planning for three or four hens total, but through various circumstances have found ourselves with ten. Right now our coop is adequate size for them, but in a matter of weeks as they grow I know we are going to need more housing!