So... chickens...

Hey all!

Looking for some info on chickens! My hubby has finally caved and decided we can have some chickens.. we're going with 4 "Lohmann" red layers. I have them on order from the local feed store, they will be Point of Lay pullets.

I've kept layers before, but they just kind of wandered the farm I had them and I didn't keep them cooped up. Here, we are in a residential area, with neighbors stupid dogs running loose, so they will need to have a coop with a run to keep them safe.

How big do I need to make this coop for 4 of these laying hens? Any tips or tricks when it comes to building a proper coop? Raising the birds? I just plan to go with layer crumbs for feed, may decide to ferment the feed like I did in the past.

Would LOVE to see your setups as well for inspiration! Hubby has until July 25th to construct this coop and run for the ladies so we need to get cracking! :lol:

When I was in a place like that (neighbors, neighbor's dogs, cars flying up the road, etc) I built a chicken house and yard out of pallets. Super cheap, and totally did the job, photos attached. The house was 4x8, with a hinged door on either end (one for checking nest areas, the other for where the feeder and waterer were hung). The yard was 10x4 with a gate on one side so I could go in and shut them in the house at night. Housed 4 Rhode Island Red hens and 1 rooster with room to spare. Used thick branches from trees in the yard to make roosts. I did go back and add braces across the top the keep the cover wire from sagging, but I can't find any pictures of that. I think I spent all of $50 (most of that was for the chicken wire and plastic roof material) on the whole get up, though it did take some work to rip the pallets for house and remount the boards so they were flush to provide more shelter.

Although I used board sections to divide 4 "nest" areas, I found that most birds will share a nest...they never used more than 2 of them, and they don't need to be fancy. The biggest concern was not so much keeping the birds in, but keeping predators out. Raccoons will even reach through chicken wire and grab chickens by the neck, which is why I shut mine in the house at night.

The only downside to keeping them in a fixed area is that they will pretty quickly strip the ground. If you have enough space, you could modify something like this to be mobile so you can move it around and keep them on fresh grass. I also used crumbles in the feeder, and tossed grains on the ground each day.

If you live subdivision ..... and the town doesn't have rules about chickens (I'd check... I found out the hard way)
Id build a pallet house and run!
the one tarheel showed was wonderful!!

Ive tossed fresh cut grass into the run for extra foraging
If you get them trained to a feed can, you could occasionally free range (with supervision)

good luck with your chooks.. I sure miss mine...

We aren't in a subdivision and we are outside town limits so we should be good, it's just that the neighbors are closer than I like, and there are a few dogs who's owners refuse to keep them controlled. I have my own dog who patrols the property and for the most part he keeps the others off, but.. have to be careful regardless.

Is there anything I need to know about keeping chickens other than collecting eggs daily and making sure they always have feed and fresh water? I've kept them before and used to ferment the feed but I don't think I want to commit to that level or time and effort again.

I can't wait!

one of the best suggestions i've heard for keeping chickens occupied in a static coop is to rake up a bunch of leaves from a nearby forest or from under a tree or something and cover the bottom of the coop. rummaging through the leaves for bugs will make them super happy and you'll get really nice eggs from the extra protein. over time the leaves will turn into compost too so even though they'll destroy the ground they're on it'll at least be useful

having a movable coop/run would be ideal, but it kinda depends on how much room you have. a tractor would mow your lawn to oblivion pretty quickly unless you have like, an acre.

i plan on using something like this:


which is easily movable, but it requires some kind of fencing around the chickens while they're not in it since it's pretty much JUST a coop for them to sleep in. usually people use electric fences and move them when they need to, but if you have problem dogs it may not be an option. i would talk to your neighbours and ask them to keep their dogs in or call animal control. if they won't handle it, i personally would solve the problem with some buckshot.

DaytonHillRabbits":2iptf90p said:

Is there anything I need to know about keeping chickens other than collecting eggs daily and making sure they always have feed and fresh water? I've kept them before and used to ferment the feed but I don't think I want to commit to that level or time and effort again.

I can't wait!

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I'm trying to think of little things that surprised me when I got into chickens, but if you've had chickens before you may already know them...

If you don't hang your waterer and feeder off the ground, they will make a mess/waste a ton of both. Crumbled feed tends to create less waste than pellet feeds.

Egg-eating is typically behavioral, not nutritional, and if you can identify the culprit she should be culled, as others in the flock can actually start to mimic her behavior. This can be a debated topic, and a lot of people think that it indicates a calcium deficiency. I've worked with multiple vets that raise poultry and all agreed that it is in fact behavioral.

That said, it is worth it to pay more for a good quality layer feed, and feed can be as simple (layena type products) or as complicated (fodder, custom grain mixes, fermented feed that you mentioned) as you choose to make it. Supplementing fresh foods when you can is always good. If you're doing the best you can by your animals given your personal budget and time constraints, then you're doing good.

When hens become broody you just gotta kick them off the nest, unless you have a rooster and actually want to relocate them and let them try to hatch some eggs. Also, if you have a rooster, he will probably have a "favorite" hen and she will probably lose a lot of feathers on her lower back from all his, um, special attention.

When a pullet first starts laying, her eggs will probably be smaller than normal and may have soft spots...not a problem, will change as she ages a little more.

I hope I didn't just repeat a bunch of info you already know...

My 2Cents:

Chickens can and will try and eat everything... so kitchen scraps now have a place to go...
They can fly, so remember to fence high or deter with netting.
more than one feed/water is nice for those low on the pecking order...
More greens, brighter egg yolk
(Love the idea with the leaves!)
If you don't have leaves, straw/hay will work too (once they clear out all the grass) just toss in a bale and remove the binder string
no matter how many nest boxes you give them, they will all want to use the same one.
if there is a spot you do not want them roosting, that is their favourite roost spot (think poop in piles were you need to walk)
oyster shells in a separate feeder helps stop egg eating from starting.
Chicken T.V. is sitting watching the chooks free range... one of my favourite activities..... lol

Today my hubby started on my Barn themed chicken coop! So excited!

Thank you for all the info! I super appreciate it all

DaytonHillRabbits":1h16xeay said:

Today my hubby started on my Barn themed chicken coop! So excited!

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Very cute!

But careful, it looks like you already have a predator problem. :lol:

I believe the general rule of thumb is 8-10sq ft per bird in the run and 2-3 sq ft per bird in the coop. I'd avoid use of chicken wire as it is easy to chew through and have at least the first 2 feet from the ground of the run lined with hardware cloth (1/4-1/2") so predators cannot grab the chickens and pull them through. Also line the run with pavers or bury wire fencing around the perimeter to prevent digging into the coop. Don't forget some kind of wire fencing on the top of the run to keep hawks out. Good luck with your new chickens!

Love the dog sitting in the middle of it all...looks like it's going to be very cute!

Hahhaah that old dog is a babysitter for all things lol.. he used to go into the horse barn and snuggle up with the hens on a regular basis.. they'd peck him for getting too close but he'd just ignore them eventually they all became pals lol. I think he knows what the coop is, every time he comes around I ask him "Where's the chickens?" and he gets all puppy happy bouncing around and barking lol.

I'm so excited! It's been slow progress on it but we now have linoleum covering the floor and hubby's out there now working on the nest box and walls etc... pumped!





We managed to score the super quality/thick linoleum for only $5.00 CAN... awesome! Now if the pickup date would only get here faster! Theres a lot left to do but hubby has a full week vacation soon so he will get it done.

We are using chicken wire for the run, will talk to hubby about lining the bottom of it.. I dont THINK we have to worry too much about varmints getting near them as they will be locked in in the evening and that farm dog in the previous picture wanders the properly during the day, we also have 2 cats prowling around, and the neigbhbors annoying small dogs are ratters. But you can't be too safe either <br /><br /> __________ Sat Jul 01, 2017 3:31 pm __________ <br /><br /> Hubby managed to get the roosts and ventilation windows in! He's bracing the run and working on the door and nest box now. It's starting to come together!

Looking good! I would agree that if you're locking them in the house at night with a good latch on the door that will prevent break-ins from most of the wild snoopers. It looks like that 2x4 frame is going to be all around the base of the yard? If so, you could nail your chicken wire to the inside of that and have a decent amount of support. With having them in the house at night, I wouldn't think you'll need to go all out on your reinforcements unless you have neighbor dogs that might try to get at them during the day.

Yours looks much snazzier than the pallet house, by the way

Thanks! Yes the 2x4 will be all around the run.

He got the little ventilation windows done and covered with hardware cloth and got the roosts in and the door to the run framed.. now he's out there working on the nest boxes for one side of the house and the door for the back. I love that he is so handy!

It looks gorgeous already! I'd love a cute little chicken coop like that one day... I might just have to borrow your idea. Keep up the great work!
opcorn:

I'd like to suggest that you look up backyard chickens. It's a free forum for poultry that has a lot of good info. It's primarily chickens, but there are areas for talk of other poultry. It helped me a lot when I got my first chickens and still helped a lot later too

I did join Backyard Chickens after your suggestion, what a great site!

We are getting closer to pickup day which is on Tuesday this week! I am so excited you wouldn't believe it!

Our coop is still not finished but hoping hubby can finish it up today so I can paint it tonight and set it up for the chicks to get here Tuesday.

Here are some pictures of it as it sits today;

DaytonHillRabbits":9ma7376q said:

I did join Backyard Chickens after your suggestion, what a great site!

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I'm glad you like the site. It's really helpful when you don't know what is going on with your chickens. It helped me figure out that the soft, squishy, white sack I found in my coop once was actually just one of my chicken's first eggs. They are also good at advice for predator proofing you coop. Raccoons are the worst. They'll pull wire out, break holes in wire if they find a weak spot, dig under walls and into the coop, find ways in through the roof...they are good at finding ways to make sure of an easy meal by using the coop to make your chickens fish in a barrel so to speak. Dogs can do a lot of damage, but raccoons can make off with a couple of chickens before you can even figure out how they are getting to them. I'm not try to discourage you though if that's what it sounds like. I just kinda went in a bit of a rant. Anyway you will love your chickens, their poo not so much, but if you let them wander around for a bit each day you'll figure out their individual personalities, and get to watch the funny games they play. Our favorite is tossing them an old bread roll and watching "chicken football" as they tackle and run around each other trying to take the roll for themselves. You will also never want to get store bought eggs ever again, your chickens eggs will be so good.

good looking chicken coop!

I am SO pleased with how the coop has turned out! I will hopefully post the final pics of it tonight after hubby finishes the roof and trim... it is so nice!

I wish I'd found hubby years ago lol <br /><br /> __________ Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:16 am __________ <br /><br />

Almost finished now... good thing the chickens get here tomorrow noon. Just have to finish attaching the metal to the roof and add the white trim, and finish with chicken wire on the long sides. Phew.