a couple of coop questions from a noob

[theDregs]

Well, I have determined that chicken raising is indeed against the ordinances in my area, so I will be keeping my chickens on the downlow. I am not too worried about it, though. I only have one neighbor who can even see my yard and I am pretty sure the lone hen that wanders our neighborhood- the one that showed up on the day she moved in- belongs to her.

That being said, I am going to be as unobtrusive as possible and build the coop/run onto the bottom floor of my 2 story deck. We never go out on it anyway, we hardly use the basement it connects to. So I have some questions.

1) Do I need a feeder and waterer in the coop, or the run, or both? Nest box..in the coop or the run?

2) I read that bottle type rabbit watterers aren't good because they won't let many chickens drink at once, are they OK if you only have 4 chickens or so?

4) I live near Atlanta Georgia. It is pretty hot here. It only gets below freezing for maybe a week a year. I was thinking of making the floor of my coop out of hardware cloth for ventilation and clean up ease. Would this be a bad idea?

5) My deck has 1/4" gaps between the boards. I am not too worried about the wood..it is old and ugly. Should I just put shavings or whatever right on the wood, and don't worry about chickens scratching feed between the boards, or would it be better to lay down a layer of plastic sheet (which might damage the wood more, come to think of it)?

6) My upper deck is pretty far up, about 10' from the bottom. Can I just screen up 6 or 8 feet, or should I full enclose it? (I do have possums and hawks, possibly 'coons).

That is all I can think of right now, thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

1) Do I need a feeder and waterer in the coop, or the run, or both? Nest box..in the coop or the run?

Your choice. I have feed and water in both. Some people like the feed and water in the run because it gets the chickens out of the coop so they poop outside. That leaves less poop to manage in the coop. Some like to feed inside the coop as they wind up feeding the wild birds less. Most nest boxes are in the coop. In your climate, as long as yours are kept dry, it should not matter.

2) I read that bottle type rabbit watterers aren't good because they won't let many chickens drink at once, are they OK if you only have 4 chickens or so?

I do not know. Not familiar with them.

4) I live near Atlanta Georgia. It is pretty hot here. It only gets below freezing for maybe a week a year. I was thinking of making the floor of my coop out of hardware cloth for ventilation and clean up ease. Would this be a bad idea?

Some people do this. Many people do not like wire for the floor of a coop as it can be hard on their feet. It will make it easier to clean the coop, but you'll have to clean it anyway. Due to the consistency of the poop, it will not all fall through the wire.

From a temperature standpoint, your chickens can handle the temperatures fine. What can cause you problems is draft. They need to be kept out of drafts as that can chill them and cause frostbite. I think you will be happier with a solid floor. Cover it with linoleum so it will be easy to clean.

5) My deck has 1/4" gaps between the boards. I am not too worried about the wood..it is old and ugly. Should I just put shavings or whatever right on the wood, and don't worry about chickens scratching feed between the boards, or would it be better to lay down a layer of plastic sheet (which might damage the wood more, come to think of it)?

Again. I'd put a solid floor with linoleum instead of leaving the floor boards there. Food dropping through will attract mice and rats. Try to not leave empty spaces under it that can provide homes to rats and mice. They will be attracted to the food.

6) My upper deck is pretty far up, about 10' from the bottom. Can I just screen up 6 or 8 feet, or should I full enclose it? (I do have possums and hawks, possibly 'coons).

You have raccoons, no possibly about it. As your local animal control if you don't believe me. Since it would be so easy, i would enclose it all. The framework is already there. Just add wire.

 

[theDregs]

Thanks! You answered every question (except the non important waterer

) exactly as I needed. I appreciate it.

I think I'll do the linoleum floor and then add a little hatch on the back floor of the coop so I can hose droppings out and open for ventilation during hot times. I'll probably add closable ventilation on either side as well.

I was worrined about not putting food in the coop because I was planning on shutting them in at night, but if I full enclose, it won't be a problem. Hmm. Unless I need to close them in due to cold. I'll have to figure that one out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You seem to understand the importance of ventilation. Have you read Pat's page on that.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

They do wake up hungry and thirsty.

I'm not sure what sized coop you ae building, but you may not have to shut them in for the cold if you do your ventilation right and have room in your coop. The key is to keep them out of a draft. They can handle your cold weather very well. If you can put your roost in an area where a draft is not created they'll be OK. On your pop door, you can put a flap they can be trained to go through, like a piece of cloth, to cut down on drafts. Just don't put the pop door on the side of prevailing winds.

Another option is for you to get up with the sun and let them out.

Or you can have closures that you can put on some of your ventilation openings on those cold windy nights to cut down on drafts. I have a wire-covered opening at ground level on a wind-protected side for those hot, humid summer months that I block in the winter. You might have yours above the roosts that you block on those cold nights but leave open during the warm weather.

 

[Judy]

You won't need to close them in due to cold. In this climate, they will most likely go out every day of the year. Even if you had a good snowfall, they can have the choice of being in or out.

Be sure there are ample large areas open for ventilation. They will have a lot more trouble with heat than cold.

Chickens can learn to use rabbit waterers. However, sometimes the ball will stick and let all the water out, and they don't usually hold a lot, so you might want a second waterer as a backup. You can make one for free and they are not expensive to buy for only a few chickens.

Pat's ventilation page is an excellent resource, but remember, she is in Canada. Here are some hot weather coops to look at, for ideas about the amount of air flow you will want:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=163417

 

[theDregs]

I do get up with the sun, every day. So that isn't a problem. I was more worried about putting them inside at night because of predators. I guess it isn't too big an issue, because I am enclosing a run. I doubt my skills are up to ratproofing.

Actually, I am not too worried about rats. I have a ton of squirrels and chipmunks, they eat any dropped seed (from my birdfeeder) approximately 2.7 seconds after it hits the ground. If they do show up, I can always let my mean old cat sleep in the run for awhile. He LOVES to maim stuff.

A bit more worried about racoons and opposums. I think i can effectively shut them out with wire, though.

I'll check out that ventilation page now, thanks!

 

[cmom]

I keep feeders and waterers in my coops. I also have one of each in their run but because I have 40 birds. For 4 birds no problem. I keep them in the coops so if we get a hard rain and wind they will have dry feed. Even though my run is covered, with the wind and pouring rain at times the feed has gotten wet and it doesn't come out of the feeder very well when wet.