Reviews by BDutch

Great article and pictures.
The second part ‘Prevention of external parasites’ is a need to know for everyone with chickens.

I’d prefer prevention over treating and until now I never needed to use Permethrin or any other poison to keep away /destroy lice or mite.
For me its no go to keep songbirds out of the chicken domain so I need to check often, especially in summer.
I do use DE in their sand bath, mixed with sand under the bedding in the nest-boxes, and use it as a paint (with water) to prevent a red mite infestation. The two times I discovered a few lice I could act quickly (cleaning and applying DE afterwards) to get in control again.

Thanks Perris for this very informative and almost 'scientific' article. I not only read it but also learned from it. : about language, flora, about food and health for humans, pigeons, wild birds, chicks and chickens.

It was a pleasure to read that there is no scientific evidence that commercial feed is better than carefully composed feed from pure ingredients.
And a pleasure to read how and why you prepare your own feed. The only thing I've missed is information about organic food that doesn't contain GMO soy and corn. I believe that the organic mixed grain that they sell in the Netherlands has a good composition that could also appeal to you. It is said that it should be sufficient to feed the chickens if they can free range whole day (except in winter). These organic grains are more expensive than the feed you buy. It’s certainly very different and healthier than the scratch they sell in the US you describe.

Furthermore its my personal choice not to let my bantams free range all day (risks) and I don’t feed my chickens extra meat or fish. They need it no more than humans imho as long as the feed is properly balanced. I do give my chickens organic layer/chick feed as the main part of their diet, because in my situation that is an easy and safe choice. The only animal supplements the chickens eat they find themselves + I give them some dried mealworms a couple of times a week.

Good info!

But this is a bit strange:

The eggs you get from two chickens will range from 10 to 14 per week. Is it possible for a chicken to lay 10 eggs a day?

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Maybe industrial laying hybrids do so. There are Rhode Island Reds who are heritage breed and Reds that are production breed.

Most heritage breeds lay 60 - 180 eggs a year. And don’t lay during winter with little daylight.

On average, how many eggs do your chickens lay a day?

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My 6 bantams (most older than 5) laid about 16 small eggs last week. In winter I had no eggs at all for about 2 months. The younger ones (2-4yo) lay about 1egg every other day and started to lay in January. The oldies started laying very recently.

Great description of a prefab coop (flat pack easy assembling) and what to expect, the limitations and quality.

I think that this coop could be okay if you follow up Shadrachs tips.
What I did with my prefab:
add a new/larger roof, make some improvements for ventilation, higher roosts, active mite control ( ‘paint’ the hazardous inside with diatomaceous earth 2x each season ) , paint the outside with a (natural) preservative .
My coop (other flat pack model) lasts over a decade now.

It’s a good overview with things to consider if you are interested to know what many people do and don’t . ️️️️️ for that. But these are not rules that count for everyone. Your chickens can be very different than average. The reasons why you have chickens can be very different too. Circumstances, like risks for predator attacks can very different too. Some tips just don’t make a lot of sense for every chicken/byc member.
P.S. : How different we all are:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/byc-official-polls-existing-new-brainstorming.1383537/

Good article with need to know information for all chicken keepers. Newbies and even more experienced ones.

Wonderful build. Love the reuse of materials.

Be proud that you made this beautiful coop without being a skilled carpenter! Great to tell about the learning process.

I don’t know about the ducks but you’re chickens must be very happy in it.

Good ideas but Imo its not complete. This refers to chicks in a brooder? I have the feeling this doesn’t apply to all situations.
My chicks are with a broody. From about a week old they try to find their own food in the run. If possible I like to let them sort of free range with their mama in the greens. Always supervised in a pop up run until they are about 10-12 weeks old.
They eat all the insects they can find, but also grasses and herbs. I provide dove grit to digest the grasses and herbs.

I agree with Boppo. Better remove it. The writer hasn’t been around for many years.

Just a picture, no details or information to build it.

No information

Great and cheap solution for a broody with some chicks, a few chicks untill you can integrate them, quarantining, a sick bay or whenever you need a separate coop/mini run for some chickens.

Wow, another excellent article from our BYC manager. Having free ranging chickens for a couple of hours in our garden each day, Good insights and advice.

Free ranging is a suburban garden is possible if you let the chickens decide what flowers you can grow. Some they don’t eat at all. Many flowers only need protection until the are strong enough. I use a piece of hwc for temporarily protection.

Very helpful in hot climate’s or high temperatures in regions where this is not common. Thanks for this great article.

Nice and well build coop!
I do miss the recipe (material list and how and with what machinery its made).

I don’t mind there isn’t a good and detailed description of the actual work, because you build it mainly from second hand materials. Love that. And this is described very well as an inspiration for other.

Some years passed.
I do hope you had you’re chickens free range.
One -. I think the hwc/wire is not fine enough to keep small predators like rats and weasels out.

Extremely beautiful. Love the shape. The mulifunctionality and the sedum roof.

Great work to reuse an old shed. Its really great and obvious you did lots of research building this beauty.
Only wonder how the ventilation is on the highest point (under the roof) and why you start heating as soon as its freezing (under 0 celcius)? Chickens can handle lots of cold if they are accustomed.
And do you use a bedding now in the nest boxes?.

Very helpful. Especially saying that breeds, individuals and flock dynamics do make a difference. Mentioning future plans, like adding chicks (quarantine or natural breeding) too. You might even want 2 setups for that.
On a forum in the Netherlands they advice slightly different rules of thumb.

• If you have little space, its best to have only one friendly breed.
• First 2 chickens need a minimum of 7m2 run space. The third another 2m2 more. The fourth, fifth etc. 1m2 more.
• For happy chicken and a low maintenance run you double the minimum run space.
• Bantams need half the space.