- Thread starter
- #11
Fluffyhenkeeper
In the Brooder
- Apr 3, 2022
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That is an excellent way to put it about the Gatorade, I actually don’t like it myself haha. I do provide both fresh and occasionally the probiotic water.Welcome to BYC. If you add your general location to your profile we can give you better-targeted advice. Climate matters.
Nothing stands out to me, but let's review the basics.
The Usual Guidelines
For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:
6 hens
- 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
- 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
- 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
- 1/4 of a nest box,
- And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.
You've apparently modified some prefab coops, right? How much ventilation did you add? Prefabs are notoriously under-ventilated. The goal is for the temperature and humidity inside to be the same as outside.
- 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
- 6 feet of roost
- 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
- 6 square feet of ventilation.
- 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/
When you give electrolytes be sure to give them in a separate waterer so that they always have the choice to drink clean, fresh, PURE water if they want to. Imagine having nothing to drink but Gatorade in a flavor you don't like.
I'd lay off all preventative medications. They tend to build resistance so that when you really NEED them they're not effective.
It's possible that you just happened to get weak stock.
I actually built the chicken coop from scratch after a bunch of research online. There are 4 windows that open on each side of the coop and two large vents up top. So I have a lot of ways to keep the coop cool or warm. My only regret is not making it a little bigger as I would like to collect more hens