Well its been fun and interesting this first year. The wife and I were both raised on the farm so we are not strangers to keeping and caring for animals or the basic care needed for production livestock as we have a cow calf herd, some goats and a few hogs to feed out and butcher.
The original idea for the coop has worked well for our purposes. We have a two room unit with a covered and enclosed run. I think the covered run is very important in our area where temperatures in the summer can get to 105 degrees. Using the 2 x 4 inch gap 16 ft cattle panels to line the lower sections of the run worked really well in our hybrid system where cattle will have access to the chicken yard at times during the year. Welded wire filled all other areas that were open and we have had no problems with predators breaching the fences. We were able to re-purpose an old building which had the two rooms and tin covering Our predator concerns are racoons, bobcats, coyotes, dogs, feral cats and hawks.
Our winters get to below zero with up to 40 mph winds so significant wind chill is possible. We chose large flake pine shavings for bedding and that has been a good choice in the coop where they roost. The large shavings are very absorbent and we have no ammonia problems with clean out 2 to 3 times a year. The coop has windows with screens and a large door. The main door stays open in the summer but is closed to a narrow gap that will allow birds to enter and exit in the winter but reduce draft. The hens did just fine this past year. They are allowed to free range during the day and are called back to the coop around 6 each evening. I save some wheat each year after I plant for pasture and just keep a big trash can full in the covered run. When I call them and bang the coffee can on the trash can they come flying to the coop for their treat!
We are keeping 10 to 15 hens and have golden comets , barred rock , Easter eggers, and marens hens. The comets lay well the first fall but really fall off in production as they finish their molt and hit the second summer. Barred rocks are steady. The marens dont impress me with egg size or laying frequency but one of them is quite the setting hen so we let her raise a hatch and she did a very nice job. If you want to go off grid a good setter can be valuable to do all the hard work and avoid the incubator/brooder routine. Besides it sure is fun to watch the mother with her chicks that first 4 weeks.
We will sell the 6 comet hens this fall and replace with 10 speckled sussex and buff orpington pullets. We ordered from a hatchery and have a friend who had the facilities and agreed to raise them for us to point of lay. The comets are laying machines but there isn't much left to salvage when they get older. The sussex and orpington hens will weigh about 7 pounds or more and leave something for the pot when their laying days are over. The sussex and orpingtons seem to lay well in the winter also. We will see how much time it takes them to recover from the molt next spring and decide if they are our go-to breed. We will also keep a few easter eggers around. They do a nice job of laying colored medium large eggs and they are very sweet tempered.
Our well water is hard and in the heat I have to keep using some clorox in the waterers to keep the algae growth down. We use plastic water jugs and I prefer the 5 gallon size. Just dump the waterer out and use a hose to spray all surfaces, then plug the outlet and use 1/4 cup clorox in a gallon or so of water inside the waterer. Swish it around and use hand or brush to dislodge the green stuff and get it killed. Rinse and refill the waterer. I put in about two teaspoons of vinegar with the water once in a while also. These measures help keep the water a little cleaner for the hens. Same thing can happen in the fall and winter just not as quickly in the lower temperatures. I had some 30 x 40 cement tiles so I put the waterers on them up on a circle of bricks. This makes the water about the correct height and keeps them from kicking as much dirt into the water trough between cleanings.
I like the feeders hanging and we like pelleted layer feed over the crumbles. The pellets are a lot easier for the hens to reclaim if some of the feed gets spilled. Our feed has added calcium so we have not had issues with egg shells being thin but I keep some oyster shell available anyway.
Hens love to take dirt baths and since we let ours outside they take care of that readily. I do have a tub inside for them to use if they have to stay in the run for long periods of time. I mixed sand and diatomacious earth about 50/50 and it does the job.
The only real change I am making is to petition off part of the indoor run to use as a pen for raising butcher chickens. I just used some wire cattle panels and covered with chicken wire. We can easily raise 25 broilers in the second room and this smaller run for our freezer.
So far I am happy with this project. We are keeping 3 families in eggs and having a few laughs along the way. If you have a little space and an old shed you can get into the chicken business pretty quick!! Since breakfast is my favorite meal any time of the day, this farm boy is glad we made the effort !!!!
The original idea for the coop has worked well for our purposes. We have a two room unit with a covered and enclosed run. I think the covered run is very important in our area where temperatures in the summer can get to 105 degrees. Using the 2 x 4 inch gap 16 ft cattle panels to line the lower sections of the run worked really well in our hybrid system where cattle will have access to the chicken yard at times during the year. Welded wire filled all other areas that were open and we have had no problems with predators breaching the fences. We were able to re-purpose an old building which had the two rooms and tin covering Our predator concerns are racoons, bobcats, coyotes, dogs, feral cats and hawks.
Our winters get to below zero with up to 40 mph winds so significant wind chill is possible. We chose large flake pine shavings for bedding and that has been a good choice in the coop where they roost. The large shavings are very absorbent and we have no ammonia problems with clean out 2 to 3 times a year. The coop has windows with screens and a large door. The main door stays open in the summer but is closed to a narrow gap that will allow birds to enter and exit in the winter but reduce draft. The hens did just fine this past year. They are allowed to free range during the day and are called back to the coop around 6 each evening. I save some wheat each year after I plant for pasture and just keep a big trash can full in the covered run. When I call them and bang the coffee can on the trash can they come flying to the coop for their treat!
We are keeping 10 to 15 hens and have golden comets , barred rock , Easter eggers, and marens hens. The comets lay well the first fall but really fall off in production as they finish their molt and hit the second summer. Barred rocks are steady. The marens dont impress me with egg size or laying frequency but one of them is quite the setting hen so we let her raise a hatch and she did a very nice job. If you want to go off grid a good setter can be valuable to do all the hard work and avoid the incubator/brooder routine. Besides it sure is fun to watch the mother with her chicks that first 4 weeks.
We will sell the 6 comet hens this fall and replace with 10 speckled sussex and buff orpington pullets. We ordered from a hatchery and have a friend who had the facilities and agreed to raise them for us to point of lay. The comets are laying machines but there isn't much left to salvage when they get older. The sussex and orpington hens will weigh about 7 pounds or more and leave something for the pot when their laying days are over. The sussex and orpingtons seem to lay well in the winter also. We will see how much time it takes them to recover from the molt next spring and decide if they are our go-to breed. We will also keep a few easter eggers around. They do a nice job of laying colored medium large eggs and they are very sweet tempered.
Our well water is hard and in the heat I have to keep using some clorox in the waterers to keep the algae growth down. We use plastic water jugs and I prefer the 5 gallon size. Just dump the waterer out and use a hose to spray all surfaces, then plug the outlet and use 1/4 cup clorox in a gallon or so of water inside the waterer. Swish it around and use hand or brush to dislodge the green stuff and get it killed. Rinse and refill the waterer. I put in about two teaspoons of vinegar with the water once in a while also. These measures help keep the water a little cleaner for the hens. Same thing can happen in the fall and winter just not as quickly in the lower temperatures. I had some 30 x 40 cement tiles so I put the waterers on them up on a circle of bricks. This makes the water about the correct height and keeps them from kicking as much dirt into the water trough between cleanings.
I like the feeders hanging and we like pelleted layer feed over the crumbles. The pellets are a lot easier for the hens to reclaim if some of the feed gets spilled. Our feed has added calcium so we have not had issues with egg shells being thin but I keep some oyster shell available anyway.
Hens love to take dirt baths and since we let ours outside they take care of that readily. I do have a tub inside for them to use if they have to stay in the run for long periods of time. I mixed sand and diatomacious earth about 50/50 and it does the job.
The only real change I am making is to petition off part of the indoor run to use as a pen for raising butcher chickens. I just used some wire cattle panels and covered with chicken wire. We can easily raise 25 broilers in the second room and this smaller run for our freezer.
So far I am happy with this project. We are keeping 3 families in eggs and having a few laughs along the way. If you have a little space and an old shed you can get into the chicken business pretty quick!! Since breakfast is my favorite meal any time of the day, this farm boy is glad we made the effort !!!!
