Adding new birds to an existing flock...

[Rebecca Thomas]

Good to see you're thinking ahead to accommodate the increase in your flock. I'm in Oregon where it is often damp, so my 6x8 walk in coop is designed to eliminate moisture; the moisture that concerns me is from their droppings, so my hubby added a continuous, wrap-around, hip high or so "sand tray" under the 2" or so tree branch roosts. Every morning before work, I can easily & quickly use a kitty litter scoop to scoop up the droppings (including the wettest parts), then dump that into a compost pile. Moisture is a major enemy of chickens & any uncontrolled ammonia build up is bad too. I have very little work to do with this.

The sand tray is under the roosts & catch the majority of the droppings in the coop. It is 2 1/2 ft deep from the wall all around, made with plywood, lined with vinyl (scraps stapled down) for annual or so cleanup, edged with 2x4's-4" tall around to keep the 3" base of dry sand in (with a tiny bit of "stall dry" to freshen) & add sand as needed. This tray gives them more floor space to wander around in & an easy place to jump up to from floor or down to from roosts. The tray is reinforced with 2x4's & a couple of 2x4's have a hook to hang the 2 large hanging feeders for pellets on either side of the coop. There is also sand on the vinyl floor with a little straw on top for softer landing & more chicken fun for scratching up, it stays dry year-round. So 2 levels of floor space! The nest boxes are 2 high, fit under the sand tray & set on the floor with no chicken problems. In addition, at the end of the coop, there is a window above for daylight that can be closed from draft, an extra area for a small waterer, wall dispensers for oyster shell & grit, sand, & the chickens entry door with winter time hanging wide strips of burlap to cut the wind. On the outside there is small slanted roof with horizontal small wood strips for their footing like a ladder no critters can get in from outside if they get into the top & sides 2" chicken wired pole carport (10x20); the chickens have no problem flying up to this slanted roof to get in & then out. Sand trays are the best thing ever, after having 2 other coops prior. The bears, coyotes, birds of prey etc. come around daily/nightly with no problems now to the chickens because we have hot wire around.

My Ameraucanas are funny ones that are my flocks best layers in the hotter months, the Black Australorps are the best layers in the colder months (am adding 3 Speckled Sussex this year & hope that they all get along well in this docile group that keep eggs coming year-round).

That was a lot of detail & typing, I know. Hope you find it interesting. How fun for you to expand on your flock & coop. Best wishes.

Do you mind attaching a picture of the sand tray you're talking about? That sounds like a great idea for my setup because it literally gets slimy around here.

 

[aart]

the sand tray

Poop boards?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-178#post-18966048

 

[Rebecca Thomas]

We are thinking of doing something like this...Attaching a prefab storage shed to our already existing Retriever kennel (run). We would affix the run to the front of the shed so the doors open into the run. There's a door on the run as well and a roof. It has built in shelves and lofts which I thing would be great for roosting and nesting boxes. I would just have to cut windows into it because it only has one small area of ventilation.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Handy-H...t-x-12-ft-Wood-Storage-Shed-18631-8/202205311

 

[Rebecca Thomas]

Poop boards?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-178#post-18966048

Is that really hard to clean? It looks like you would have to do all this raking in small spaces to clean the coop. Right now as I have it I just rake out my coop and then pitchfork in new hay once a week. How often is everyone else having to clean?

 

[chickenmeadow]

Do you mind attaching a picture of the sand tray you're talking about? That sounds like a great idea for my setup because it literally gets slimy around here.

Will do pic of sand tray later when I'm back. Best wishes.

 

[chickenmeadow]

I've been asked by "Rebecca Thomas" to show a pic regarding part of my comment on 2/9/18 at 7:40 pm. Here's a pic of inside my coop with the wonderful "sand trays", also it shows my current broody & her 2 wk chicks out of their protected area for a quick stroll while I stand guard for other mean/jealous hens. Saw this brilliant sand tray idea on a "Growing A Greener World" chicken episode & happy to share it with the helpful & like minded people here on the BYC. I'd recommend these for daily quick & easy dropping/moisture/odor removing, & putting down vinyl everywhere we could makes for good cleanup surface every so often.

Best wishes to all.

 

[christwodog]

Is that really hard to clean? It looks like you would have to do all this raking in small spaces to clean the coop. Right now as I have it I just rake out my coop and then pitchfork in new hay once a week. How often is everyone else having to clean?

I use hay also and rake it out every weekend and replace with fresh hay. It works great for me, I'm in South FL so it can get pretty rainy here. Sometimes during the work week, it gets yucky and packed down if we're getting alot of rain so I just toss in some clean, dry hay directly on top of the gross stuff. This is just a temporary "fix" until the weekend when I can rake it all out. My coop itself is like a run, hardware cloth panels for the sides, only one solid wall across the back where the nest boxes and perches are. We did it that way because of the extremely hot summers, even under shade trees, it gets crazy hot. I wanted plenty of ventilation! We have a metal roof with good overhang to add extra protection from blowing rain. I just got a 12x12 fenced enclosure that we are going to add to the coop as a run, for when we are at work, at least they can have some more space. If I'm home, they are free ranging. But for me, the hay works the best for keeping the coop clean and not stinky. I also toss in some fresh rosemary and oregano on top of the hay for natural air freshener. Good luck!

 

[chickenmeadow]

With my sand trays under the roosts, the droppings are cleaned out daily in the morn. The trays cover my floors under the roosts, so there are so very few droppings on the floors & don't need to clean that up constantly, it's all dry straw, over sand, over vinyl flooring that they enjoy turning. Nothing really to step in, get wet, or smell bad with ammonia. A great deal for me, especially since I work 5 days a week & do quick chores before & after, with longer weekends for their more important chores. Best wishes

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

Yeah my plan is to get chicks and keep them in a brooder setup until they are 8 weeks old and then move them to the coop. So it gives me two months to get the new coop built. Last spring I kept them in my mudroom in a brooder and just extended the brooder when they needed more room. I live in Bayou La Batre, AL, so moisture is a HUGE problem here. I have learned a lot about that in the past year. I have been using dry hay once a week to keep everything dry and fresh but I think having a floor to ceiling walk in will certainly help.

About the free ranging....

I have a chain link fence and even if I clip their flight feathers I don't trust they won't hop over, so I am waiting to put up a privacy fence before I let them out. And then I have to put up the dog because she's a 100 lb catbull that would likely kill them. So those are my reservations there. I realize it doesn't take the place of a good size coop, but I thought they would be happier during the daytime if they were out a few hours to peck around. My goal would be to do it while I'm outside working so I could keep an eye on them.

I'll check on the coop plans! I have so many ideas but don't want to break the bank so cost effective plans are much appreciated. Its easy to let the chickens eat you out of house and home!

I have RIR, Plymouth barred rocks, and Australorps and they are all great layers, very intelligent and perfect for free ranging. PBR are actually at the bottom of my hens pecking order smaller of a bird, but they lay a lot for their size.

What I did for my chicks to introduce them to my older flock (hens ranging from 4-10years old) was put the babies in the barn coop. All my birds free range there are no doors closing them in and they come and go as they please. I kept my chicks in the house until they were about 5 or 6 weeks old. The weather greatly varies where I live. My coop for the barn is only used for babies and young birds. I put the babies in the coop (giant rectangle made of wood and chicken wire all around including wire floor with a wooden lid to keep predators out) during the day hours and brought them in to the house at night at first. I did this for 3 days and they started to get real fussy with each other so that was them telling me they were ready to stay outside and were getting bored and too cramped. I had a lamp out there for colder nights, but they did great. You want to make sure your young birds are at least half the size of your older birds or they will pick on them and can kill them if they are smaller. I left my babies in the barn box for about 1.5 months because the hens were so small (while my chick rooster was ridiculously larger). All the chickens saw each other and sometimes my young roo and an old hen would fight with the chicken wire keeping them safe. The old hens would go up the wire and watch the babies for 10-20 minutes. Eventually they all calmed down and no one cared about anyone. I then would let the young birds out during the day to let them get used to the barn and surroundings and so they could learn to be birds. I would advise first letting the young out with the old when the old birds are distracted by eating and good treats. Make sure there is enough so they don't fight. There was not 1 quarrel between the old and young. At night I would go back down and put the young birds back in the barn coop so they would be safe because they did not roost right away. I live in an area with coyotes, fox, raccoon, and all other things that are up late looking for a chicken tender dinner. My young birds (I have 3) now all roost 35' up in the barn rafters 1 hour before dark. I have no worries. They are all Australorps and they to me are one of the most intelligent breeds I have had.

About free ranging... This is in my years experience with chickens and I just am trying to put you at ease with some good points and worries you brought up.

I don't know if you have any roosters or can have any- I have 2, but I rarely have a hen go missing. Its usually the rooster who passes doing his duty to keep the ladies safe. I will sit out with them on a nice summer or fall day, but mostly my birds are alone for the day with the protection of the roosters. Also I doubt your chickens will hop a fence. Mine have never run away. I feed them good food/treats and the barn is "home" why would they leave.. The barn is the safe zone and they all make there way back to it well before dark. I highly doubt also they going to wonder far until they get used to what is all around them. I don't have a fence up around the entire property (only in the front with the driveway and it is a small 24" chicken wire fence) and they so not go over it. They will stick to shaded areas or tree lines to avoid hawks and will also stay mostly grouped together. I do have 1 or 2 hens that are obviously independent gals and once in a while will go off either with each other or alone without the group or roosters.

The more you let them out the quicker they will learn also. They have the instinct to know they WILL get eaten if they don't roost, come in before dark, stick to the tree line, etc. I worried about some of these things too at first. Some summer days I have no idea on the property where they exactly are.. then I go around a corner and they are peacefully and quietly pecking at the bugs and the ground. Also a cool thing you can teach your birds is to come when called. My birds hear me whistle a certain tune and if they are in hearing range they come running all at once. If you can't whistle yourself some people use a whistle or other noise. Its helpful when they are in tall grass or under a tree and you cant see them and just want to know about where they are before you go to work.

Also if you don't have a rooster, you can take your dog out by the barn to potty while your birds free range. This will keep away most predators that find their way to your barn. I have 3 dogs and do this with my dogs. My dogs (even though all hunting dogs) do not go after my birds though so you may want leash your dog since you think she may be aggressive with your birds. Your birds will be SO much happier when free ranging and you should also notice that your egg yolks will get darker like a burnt orange. My hens lay very dark yolks and its from free ranging. I also have almost no spiders, ticks, etc near my house from the birds ranging. They eat cracked corn, fruits, veggies, when they are around the barn, but mostly they free range. Also I noted that because my birds free range and I have other animals to tend to in the AM... that my chickens will all leave in the AM to find breakfast before I am in the barn. They know I will be in the barn about a certain time will go back to the barn to wait for me and their treats/breakfast from me. Then they will go back out to free range.

Hope something in this helped! Good Luck

 

[Rebecca Thomas]

I've been asked by "Rebecca Thomas" to show a pic regarding part of my comment on 2/9/18 at 7:40 pm. Here's a pic of inside my coop with the wonderful "sand trays", also it shows my current broody & her 2 wk chicks out of their protected area for a quick stroll while I stand guard for other mean/jealous hens. Saw this brilliant sand tray idea on a "Growing A Greener World" chicken episode & happy to share it with the helpful & like minded people here on the BYC. I'd recommend these for quick & easy dropping/moisture/odor removing, & putting down vinyl everywhere we could makes for good cleanup surface every so often.

View attachment 1261299 Best wishes to all.

Thank you!!