8 week OE (FBCM over Blue Ameracauna) Cockerel or Pullet?

[KYChick13]

Cockerel

Oh boy... ok, thank you all! I will update when he gets bigger. Hopefully I can keep him in my small coop and run, tho I only have three pullets. I guess I probably need to get more hens? Or plan to separate him from the girls periodically?

 

[Painted Calls]

Welcome to BYC! How big is your coop and run? You may need to expand for the benefit of your girls anyway. You could try keeping him and see how he does. Some boys don't need a huge flock of hens. Others do. It's really just an individual basis sort of thing you find out through trial and error.

Definitely do not take out periodically and then put back in. Every time a bird is removed from the flock and then reintroduced, they have to reestablish the pecking order all over again.

 

[KYChick13]

Welcome to BYC! How big is your coop and run? You may need to expand for the benefit of your girls anyway. You could try keeping him and see how he does. Some boys don't need a huge flock of hens. Others do. It's really just an individual basis sort of thing you find out through trial and error.

Definitely do not take out periodically and then put back in. Every time a bird is removed from the flock and then reintroduced, they have to reestablish the pecking order all over again.

Thanks for the welcome and helpful guidance! Run is 100 sq. Ft, gazebo / coop is 45ish sq. Ft. They don't sleep in the itty bitty Amazon coop inside the gazebo, they just pile up on the roof and roost there. I plan to put up a long 2x4 that spans the full length of the gazebo since they seem to prefer sleeping in the open air. Will cover all sides of the coop gazebo with clear tarp in winter (it doesn't get too cold here, except for a few snow / ice storms per winter) and maybe insulate with some hay bales. You think there is enough room for more hens? I don't want to create conflict by squeezing too many in there.

 

[Painted Calls]

Thanks for the welcome and helpful guidance! Run is 100 sq. Ft, gazebo / coop is 45ish sq. Ft. They don't sleep in the itty bitty Amazon coop inside the gazebo, they just pile up on the roof and roost there. I plan to put up a long 2x4 that spans the full length of the gazebo since they seem to prefer sleeping in the open air. Will cover all sides of the coop gazebo with clear tarp in winter (it doesn't get too cold here, except for a few snow / ice storms per winter) and maybe insulate with some hay bales. You think there is enough room for more hens? I don't want to create conflict by squeezing too many in there.

You're most welcome!

Honestly that prefab coop is really only suitable for maybe 2 birds. I do think (excluding the actual coop), that you have just enough space for the number of birds you have now. @3KillerBs is great with crunching the specs on space. Hopefully she'll stop by and give her input on that!

If you like your boy, I'd keep him and try it out. Just keep in mind that he may turn out to be a bit too randy for 3 hens. If that happens, you'll need to rehome him or seriously expand in order to add more ladies.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for the welcome and helpful guidance! Run is 100 sq. Ft, gazebo / coop is 45ish sq. Ft. They don't sleep in the itty bitty Amazon coop inside the gazebo, they just pile up on the roof and roost there. I plan to put up a long 2x4 that spans the full length of the gazebo since they seem to prefer sleeping in the open air. Will cover all sides of the coop gazebo with clear tarp in winter (it doesn't get too cold here, except for a few snow / ice storms per winter) and maybe insulate with some hay bales. You think there is enough room for more hens? I don't want to create conflict by squeezing too many in there.

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Turning your gazebo-run into a coop could be quite viable in a milder climate.

Here are the general guidelines for space requirements. (They are *guidelines*, not hard and fast rules, but usually considered minimums).

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 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.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

How big is the gazebo? And the additional run?

 

[CatLoverLu]

Cockerel

agreed

 

[KYChick13]

You're most welcome!

Honestly that prefab coop is really only suitable for maybe 2 birds. I do think (excluding the actual coop), that you have just enough space for the number of birds you have now. @3KillerBs is great with crunching the specs on space. Hopefully she'll stop by and give her input on that!

If you like your boy, I'd keep him and try it out. Just keep in mind that he may turn out to be a bit too randy for 3 hens. If that happens, you'll need to rehome him or seriously expand in order to add more

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Turning your gazebo-run into a coop could be quite viable in a milder climate.

Here are the general guidelines for space requirements. (They are *guidelines*, not hard and fast rules, but usually considered minimums).

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 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.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

How big is the gazebo? And the additional run?

The gazebo is an octagon with 3 ft length sides so it is about 43 sq. Ft. The half covered rectangular run is 10 by 10 so 100 sq. Ft. So total space of about 140 sq. Ft. The tiny coop inside gazebo has two large nest boxes. Is it ok to let them roost on a 2×4 across the top of the prefab coop in the Winter if I cover all the sides ( but leave a narrow vent space at the top of the sides) to keep out the draft and precipitation? I am in zone 6b, Pewee Valley, KY.

 

[3KillerBs]

The gazebo is an octagon with 3 ft length sides so it is about 43 sq. Ft. The half covered rectangular run is 10 by 10 so 100 sq. Ft. So total space of about 140 sq. Ft. The tiny coop inside gazebo has two large nest boxes. Is it ok to let them roost on a 2×4 across the top of the prefab coop in the Winter if I cover all the sides ( but leave a narrow vent space at the top of the sides) to keep out the draft and precipitation? I am in zone 6b, Pewee Valley, KY.

If you put your location into your profile it will always be handy to help people give better-targeted advice.

You are probably just a bit too far north for a fully Open Air coop in the winter, but tarping the sides with ventilation at the tops of the walls should make a perfectly fine coop whether you leave the little coop in there or not. Put a roost in whatever place seems good to you and it should work very well.

Here's my article on coop ventilation to help you figure out how much venting to allow: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

If you consider the gazebo a coop -- with the windward sides tarped in the summer and the whole thing tarped in winter (solid, not clear in the summer to provide shade), a 43 square foot coop could, in theory, hold 10 chickens and the run likewise could hold 10. So you do have space to add a few more birds if you find that you want to. I've added mine in stages starting with 5 and intend to cull some of the older layers at the end of the summer to keep production up.

To get an idea of a tarp-sided coop, this is my Camp Cockerel -- a medium-security holding facility for cull cockerels: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/camp-cockerel.77789/

And this is my brooder, which has done it's job down to 20F (with dual heating for the chicks): https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[KYChick13]

If you put your location into your profile it will always be handy to help people give better-targeted advice.

You are probably just a bit too far north for a fully Open Air coop in the winter, but tarping the sides with ventilation at the tops of the walls should make a perfectly fine coop whether you leave the little coop in there or not. Put a roost in whatever place seems good to you and it should work very well.

Here's my article on coop ventilation to help you figure out how much venting to allow: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

If you consider the gazebo a coop -- with the windward sides tarped in the summer and the whole thing tarped in winter (solid, not clear in the summer to provide shade), a 43 square foot coop could, in theory, hold 10 chickens and the run likewise could hold 10. So you do have space to add a few more birds if you find that you want to. I've added mine in stages starting with 5 and intend to cull some of the older layers at the end of the summer to keep production up.

To get an idea of a tarp-sided coop, this is my Camp Cockerel -- a medium-security holding facility for cull cockerels: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/camp-cockerel.77789/

And this is my brooder, which has done it's job down to 20F (with dual heating for the chicks): https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

Such helpful info, thank you so much!! I will go read all the links. And thanks for the encouragement to add a few more hens

 

[3KillerBs]

Such helpful info, thank you so much!! I will go read all the links. And thanks for the encouragement to add a few more hens

You're welcome.

I learned from others and have tried to pass on what they taught me.