Hens are ready for their permanent house and we are behind schedule.

[3baymares]

We are in the process of building a covered house and run for our new hens.
I have wimped out and decided to ask our builder to do the framing and the roofs then I will
do the detail work which will take a good amount of time as well.

Our six chicks are 8 weeks old and still in the basement pen (which is daylight). I have recently noticed that there are feathers in with the poop for
me to clean up. Their present living area is 4 ft. by 6 ft.. Since the house/run is going to most likely take another 2-3
weeks to complete.... should I make their basement pen larger to lessen their stress or do they have enough space and
these fallen feathers are normal. No one has any bald spots and no one is being picked on that I am noticing.

 

[PapaChaz]

LOL Now I know what to do with the old office chairs in the laundry room.

Mine are 16 weeks old and I am expecting eggs soon so I will keep a look out for them lol.

I guess that's appropriate for when they wanna 'get down to business' huh..............

 

[21hens-incharge]

The lighting is handy for us humans. The chickens don't need the extra heat in GA. If your water would freeze than the electric is nice for a heated water dish as well.

That being said.... Mine is wired in and if needed I can heat mine. We get stints of -20 for a couple weeks in the winter. Found that I really did not need the heat and they would avoid the warmer area of the coop. Not that it was all that warm at a whopping 0 with the radiant oil heater running full blast.

IF you do choose to add heat PLEASE use extreme caution about the heat lamps. So many people loose the coop and chickens each year due to heat lamps that fail or fall.

You have put a lot of work into that coop and those hens. I would be saddened to hear you lost it all.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Looking GREAT!!! Cable TV? Wet bar? Spa too? LOL! I love your coop. Seriously, electric is handy. Fans and lights. You can extend laying season by using lights on timers if you choose to. http://animals.mom.me/use-light-laying-hens-1301.html
Also with your fancy chicken community housing tract, you'll surely need these!

 

[3baymares]

The permanent house is an 8' x 6' house with a 8' x 22' L shaped covered run. Thanks for the help Chicks Galore3 !
As you can see we are a ways from the permanent house being complete. Luckily the builder can have it up in a day. He
just needs to have time to come out.

 

[3baymares]

We now have the roof on and bought the wire. We are waiting on the PT wood / siding to dry some more before staining the whole thing brown (as the support pole are already).

 

[Mutt Farm]

That's quite funny! I'm laughing with you if you can laugh. I purchased my first babies in Feb. My hubby (newly retired and very handy) had fair warning and was on board to build my dream habitat. Well, it's July. In May, I had to get creative. Their "coop" is a barn stall, the "run" is a paddock with chicken wire. Not what I dreamed of, but working, sort of...
Here's my "run" as of today.

Here is my custom almost made nest box

Chickens are 5 mos. I'm going to buy an office chair!
Thank you for your posts! Which came first: the chicken or the coop?

 

[PapaChaz]

great thread, love the coop and run!

they'll acclimate pretty quickly actually. Chickens are a lot smarter than we give them credit for, for the most part anyway. I wouldn't worry about the one(s) laying in the office chair, once they get in there, a couple plastic eggs or golf balls in the nest box will get them pointed in the right direction! This batch of chickens we have are now aged 17 weeks through 20 weeks. No egg layers yet, but we should be close.

keep us updated, love the way your place looks, and I know they will as well


also 3baymares, I'll invite you to the Yo Georgians thread, several of us all from GA who post regularly. We actually had a meet and greet the first weekend in May at one members house, had a blast! you'll enjoy it I'm sure. We have some very knowledgable folks close around!


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/121387/yo-georgians/31400#post_15548982

 

[JanetS]

So many people are offended by things said on this website anymore it's been great to be a part of this thread. I've really enjoyed it.

I won't be able to look at an office chair again without laughing.



Mutt farm - I love the ventilation holes on your nesting boxes.

 

[3baymares]

Very nice painting job husband of Mutt Farm! I spent my time today hanging the second door and painting the final coat on the hen house. We have humid hot weather here. I am going to have to put a fan in the new place to cool the hens. The basement is cool and low humidity.