My Chicken farm underway!

Well, it done. Food in, water in, 3 chickens as of now, headed this evening to get some more for total of 12
Reconstructing with used chicken wire, is a PITA! But it all worked out, with a little variation of the original set up.

Chicken house.jpg
 
Does Kelly still hate it?
 
Looks good, if you get any dead ones inside with no heads you got coons! Just be ready with close woods for predators. I've got a friend who unintentionally fattened up a coon for several months before killing him in a trap. He weighed 26.3 lbs.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
Looks good, if you get any dead ones inside with no heads you got coons! Just be ready with close woods for predators. I've got a friend who unintentionally fattened up a coon for several months before killing him in a trap. He weighed 26.3 lbs.
Click to expand...

Been here since 85, seen one opossum and very few snakes. No raccoons or fox. Do have a red-tail hawk(chicken hawk), that lives across the road, but, he is blocked out.
 
So I know this is an old thread... but figured here was a good place vs a new thread. We are looking to get some chickens and I have some questions, as I am likely overthinking this whole deal.

I have read whats above....

- I am going to build a chicken house and then the coop around it. Is it better to have something that is mobile or can be moved around, or build a fenced area that stays constant but is a little bigger?
- If its a permanent area, should you put posts in the ground with the fencing stapled to that, similar to what you would for other pets, or build a fence with posts and horizontal boards top and bottom that sits ontop the ground? Is there any reason to have the fence extend below the ground surface?

- I am guessing that the coop needs to have a covering over it, unless you are ok with them flying out?

- I read above that chicken wire will rot. What fencing is the preferred method?

- If I fence a larger area, will I need to be able to get in a mow, or will the chickens keep the grass beat down?

- If i start with peeps, how old do they need to get before putting them outside in the coop alone?

- I read somewhere about opening and closing the door to the house each night/morning. Is that necessary?

- Do I need to put a light in there all the time or at all? Is it mainly for heat?

- Should I plan to have a nesting box for each hen?

- I read somewhere that some breed chickens were better at laying, some better at raising/sitting? What about eating when they get older, are some better than others?


I know there is alot of questions here, but figured there were enough folks around vs completely random internet ppl.
 
If you don't have a roof on the run (you do on the coop though unless you want it to get rained on), you also risk a predator coming inside like a hawk. They can't fly too high so I doubt the chickens would ever get out though without a roof.

My chickens destroyed all the grass, there is no need to mow around where they are.

You don't need a nesting box for each, I think its 1 per 2-3 birds, however, I have 3, because I built mine overkill as hell.

Light in the coop is not needed, some people use them in the winter to trick the birds into laying more (less sunlight and the cold makes them produce less eggs). If it is really cold (which doesn't really happen around here) you might need a heat lamp, but I do not have one at all in mine.

Mine is not bolted into the ground, but on 2x4s that lay across and it bolts into that. Technically I can move it, but its heavy as shit since I over built mine

Here is mine before I painted it, and before they destroyed all the grass. I can get a pic later today of how it is now if you want.

upload_2018-3-15_12-27-17.png
 
We have 24 chicks now and 6 hens. Had as many as 35 hens, but neighbor’s dog, opossum and hawks trimmed down our flock. Our coop is 8x8 with a covered and fenced run that opens into a 75x75 run. All our birds now free range, so we have some casualties as a result. But they love being out. We leave the run door open all the time now. Predators haven’t figured out how to get in the coop from the run yet, so we aren’t worried.

Chicks need to be fully feathered before they can be without a heat lamp, but that happens pretty quickly. They will start laying around 18-20 weeks. There’s a lot of good laying birds that are also nice to look at (Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Sussex...). We don’t eat ours. My understanding is they are very tough and only good for a crock pot, as broilers are generally 8-10 weeks old and much more tender.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
So I know this is an old thread... but figured here was a good place vs a new thread. We are looking to get some chickens and I have some questions, as I am likely overthinking this whole deal.

I have read whats above....

- I am going to build a chicken house and then the coop around it. Is it better to have something that is mobile or can be moved around, or build a fenced area that stays constant but is a little bigger? I like my permanent. I think it gives them more space and you're not having to constantly move the tractor around.
- If its a permanent area, should you put posts in the ground with the fencing stapled to that, similar to what you would for other pets, or build a fence with posts and horizontal boards top and bottom that sits ontop the ground? Is there any reason to have the fence extend below the ground surface? Boards top, middle and bottom IMO. It helps when you're stretching the wire. You'll want to go below grade because if you have predators they can burrow under your fence. Just make note to staple your fence above the ground. I made that mistake and the wire I used rusted and I ended up going back and redoing it.

- I am guessing that the coop needs to have a covering over it, unless you are ok with them flying out? Clip their wings. Most know but if you don't, that just means take a pair of scissors and cut the ends of the feathers on one wing. You'll have to periodically go back and do it again since feathers get replaced. I thought 4-5' would be good but 8' was the better choice for me. You can put a cover on it to give them shade in the summer/fall and keep hawks out

- I read above that chicken wire will rot. What fencing is the preferred method? I've never replaced my chicken wire. The stuff I put below ground rusted in two but everything above ground is golden.

- If I fence a larger area, will I need to be able to get in a mow, or will the chickens keep the grass beat down? Chicken noob... :rolleyes: They eat and scratch everything down to dirt. I've been recently throwing hay in there for them to kick around in. They also like grass clippings.

- If i start with peeps, how old do they need to get before putting them outside in the coop alone? I don't deal with chicks but I'd say 8-12 weeks and leave them in the coop with the door closed for a little while.

- I read somewhere about opening and closing the door to the house each night/morning. Is that necessary? Not necessary. It's mainly for protection from predators

- Do I need to put a light in there all the time or at all? Is it mainly for heat? You can manipulate their "day". By turning a light on in the coop it basically tricks them into thinking there's more sunlight or length to the day thus mo' eggs

- Should I plan to have a nesting box for each hen? I have three and they all use the same one for the most part, depending on the number of birds. My friend has 15 birds and they use two nest boxes even though he built a bunch.

- I read somewhere that some breed chickens were better at laying, some better at raising/sitting? What about eating when they get older, are some better than others? Most birds have a rating. It does depend on the breed. The rating system is based on the number of days per years it will lay. Golden Comets are some of the best layers. Some of the polish varieties suck a butt. As they get older, egg production will slow down. After about two years, it's time to start looking for some new ladies IMO.

I know there is alot of questions here, but figured there were enough folks around vs completely random internet ppl.
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Hope that helps.
 
Thanks guys. I am a noob at chickens for sure :flipoff2:.

I believe I was misusing the term coop. I have seen the numbers for ~3-5sqft enclosed/covered and ~10sqft open, so plan to give them atleast that. I will likely start with just a few, but will likely add more soon, if all goes well.

For covering the run, I was mainly thinking mesh/fencing to keep birds in and predators out. Where I am thinking of putting them, there will be shade and cover if they need it.

I have thought about free range, but between my dog and the neighbors and the other wildlife I have seen around, I dont see them lasting long.

My main question about the grass was if there was alot bigger area for each chicken. Say if there was 40-50sqft per chicken vs 10? I could always seperate it into multiple runs to keep the mud to a minimum, similar to what we have done with cows and horses in the past?

I believe @Dylan W. mentioned eating them in another thread, as to why I asked.
 
We used to keep Rhode Island Reds and Dominique Chickens(Commonly called Dominickers) when I was a kid. Neighborhood dogs wiped them out a few times.

Dad shot one that kept going under his window to crow in the morning, it was a young one - awful sounding crow. Like it was hitting puberty and being strangled at the same time. I was told to close the door or else he'd get rid of it.... I didn't close the door.

Learned about death when I woke up to that shotgun blast...

Anyways, I always thought it would be neat to breed them together and call them 'Red Neckers'.

Edit - Ew, what an old thread.
 
@paradisePWoffrd It doesn't matter how big of an area you give them, they're going to have it down to bare dirt. They're birds...they eat and crap. Their crap kills EVERYTHING along with them walking all over it and eating anything that's left.

I have found that the leftovers from grinding stumps work pretty well as cover and kinda helps with getting some grass to grow back in the less trafficked areas. It makes it smell better too!

When I built the first run, I entirely neglected to think about being able to stand up inside of it. It sucks. The second one I'm working on now is 6ft tall, which is much nicer.
 
- I am going to build a chicken house and then the coop around it. Is it better to have something that is mobile or can be moved around, or build a fenced area that stays constant but is a little bigger?
Mostly preference. If you want to move it around, look up "chicken tractor" Depending on how many chickens you have will dictate how often you will need to move it.
- If its a permanent area, should you put posts in the ground with the fencing stapled to that, similar to what you would for other pets, or build a fence with posts and horizontal boards top and bottom that sits ontop the ground? Is there any reason to have the fence extend below the ground surface?
My posts were in the ground, but the planks that the wire was attached to was sitting above the ground. Chicken wire won't last long in the ground, but if you foresee anything digging in, you can find some old chain link fencing and lay it down between the posts and build on top of it. Dogs, possums, fox, can and will dig under it.

- I am guessing that the coop needs to have a covering over it, unless you are ok with them flying out?
YEs they can fly out of it, a lot depends on the type of chickens you have. Varmints can climb, so yes, I would cover the top too. My main concern was red tail hawks(Chicken Hawks) trying to get in. They tried, but were denied.

- I read above that chicken wire will rot. What fencing is the preferred method?
Chicken wire will rot, if allowed to be sub-terrain. Clean out your pen a few times a year, no issue.

- If I fence a larger area, will I need to be able to get in a mow, or will the chickens keep the grass beat down?
The Chickens won't beat it down, they will eat it away. Along with any bug in there too. IF a very large area, you might have to mow, weedeat, or get more chickens.

- If i start with peeps, how old do they need to get before putting them outside in the coop alone?
Pullet sized, in other words, big enough to not be able to stick their heads through the wire. Also big enough to be able to get in and out of the Chicken house alone.

- I read somewhere about opening and closing the door to the house each night/morning. Is that necessary?
No. Only time I cosed mine was when it was gonna get down below 20* or so. That's also when I ran a heat light to keep them warm. Some say you don't need to do this, but I had some that got frost bite the first year I had them.

- Do I need to put a light in there all the time or at all? Is it mainly for heat?
During the winter, I kept a light on, on a timer. Chickens need ~~14 hours of light a day to keep the egg producktion even. I also kept a heat lamp in there for the very cold days/nights

- Should I plan to have a nesting box for each hen?
No. I had as many as 24 at one time. It was rare that more then three boxes were used. You can get them to use more boxes by putting fake eggs in there. I used golf balls.

- I read somewhere that some breed chickens were better at laying, some better at raising/sitting? What about eating when they get older, are some better than others?
My Americana's were the better producers. My Black Astrolopes were the better sitters, as in, I had to lift them out of the way to gather the eggs, they would lay on all the other eggs, and, cover them too.As far as the best layers, the Astrolopes were the world record producers. Mine were older when I got them.

If you decide you want to get fertile eggs and raise them, I have an older incubator that uses a light bulb. You are welcome to it. I am out of the chicken business as of a couple weeks ago. I sold it, to buy a log splitter.
 
Thanks for the info.

For the covering, Is there a netting that works best, or just use chicken wire?

Do you typically feed/water in the run vs coop?

Crazy question...
I've got some large tinted glass panels that I can't find a home for and thought about using them for the coop. Is there any downside to this? If they were on the roof I could see it getting really hot during the summer, but don't see much downside to using them as window?
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Thanks for the info.

For the covering, Is there a netting that works best, or just use chicken wire?

Do you typically feed/water in the run vs coop?

Crazy question...
I've got some large tinted glass panels that I can't find a home for and thought about using them for the coop. Is there any downside to this? If they were on the roof I could see it getting really hot during the summer, but don't see much downside to using them as window?
Click to expand...
No idea about the windows but I've had chickens for 5+ yrs and I don't see how they could pose an issue.

Search for avian netting. My parents had a big red tail that got a real taste for yard bird so they had to cover their whole pen. I believe I found it on amazon for them. I'm a proponent of fencing off a decent sized chunk of ground for them to roam. Only a few sqft per bird isn't much more than come racially grown "free range" birds get. My pen is around 20 x 20 for 10 birds.
 
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