Am I on the right path?

[aart]

But the OP is the one against chemical pesticides.

Yep, sorry @Eggcentric One, I mis-read that.

I know how to alleviate that issue without pesticide, fortunately.

 

[Cryss]

Further, for the breeds chosen are my numbers in line with 10 Hens/ 1 Rooster?

That's the standard minimum recommendation. Good on you!

I have planned to have a Roo for each breed in a 10/1 ratio and do expect an occasional loss. (I would like to know what everyone thinks about my ratio given their experiences with the breeds).

Good ratio for all breeds.

If you plan on "maintaining the genetics that made these breeds" breeds need to be kept separate...with maybe another enclosure for cross breedi

Yup. That was my take away when seeing your plan for purity in breeding. Seriously give this some consideration.

I had planned to Breed them by placing breed specific ( my best? ) hens with the Rooster in the Hen/Chick or alternatively the Breeding Area ( when empty ) WHEN I felt resources needed replenishing or as my others aged. I am unsure as to how often for the latter. The hens would be separated for two weeks before the Roo is placed with them for a few days. Then I plan to let the ladies sit it out and return the Rooster to the main coop area. Am I accurate in this method or should I be going in another direction? Purity of breed means nothing in the eggs I am eating.

Hmmmm. I see what you are thinking. Once your hens have been introduced to the rooster in the separated area what are your plans for incubation? You may not have a broody handy and need to use an incubator. If you try to wait till you have a broody to separate the hens for 2 (4!) weeks the broody will be done being broody. A broody without fertile eggs should not be allowed to remain broody and needs to be broken of her broodiness or she could starve to death. Your plan can work but I'd invest in incubators for breed integrity.

Might be hard to 'time' a broody, so think about an incubator.
If you don't want to 'intervene' as described, then keep breeds separate all the time, then you'll be ready if one goes broody.

That's exactly what I meant in that previous answer.

Thanks for the info. I had not even considered wasps in the coop. I know how to alleviate that issue without pesticide, fortunately.

For those that don't know and have a problem with wasps.......

Paint the underside of eaves, coop ceilings and any location they may build a nest a SKY BLUE. You will never find a wasp nest on that color because they won't build on what appears to have no place to secure their nest to. My Ex- Father In Law was an Entomologist with the government for 40 years and gave me that tidbit decades ago when I was at war with them over the eaves of my front porch.

THANK YOU! I have definitely learned something from you! Since I am in the middle of building a walk in coop and getting close to starting to paint the inside I will definitely use this information. Heck, I just might paint the whole interior sky blue!

It is refreshing to see someone who is so eager to do this correctly right from the beginning. When you start out you just don't know what you don't know! I started very poorly till I found this site. It's been a godsend helping me make things right.
Really looking forward to seeing pictures as you build and, of course, of your feathered babies!

Did I say welcome?
WELCOME!!

 

[aart]

Further, for the breeds chosen are my numbers in line with 10 Hens/ 1 Rooster?

That's the standard minimum recommendation. Good on you!

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

 

[Eggcentric One]

http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/

Here's another link to grazing frames if you are interested!

Thanks for the link. I will give it a look see.

 

[Cryss]

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

True, which is why I said MINIMUM standard. More (hens, not roosters) is always better. A good excuse for needing more hens.

 

[Eggcentric One]

I hope the cool tubes work, will be very interested to see the build of those and the resultant temps this summer and/or next. It might be pretty hard to add windows and ventilation in to filled block walls after the fact. But still my brain keeps going back to ventilation and that it's hard to keep a coop well ventilated and also sequester it from the outside air. I'd add windows all around(top hinged are great to keep rain out and more open area) when open so you have the option later on.....plus extra light is always good. Large roof overhangs all around would be good in your area for shade and to protect ventilation.


The epoxy coated floor sparks some speculation. Do you plan on 'hosing' down the floor to 'clean'....or....? Makes me want to say, water is not good for coops, feeds organisms, tho from one of your other posts I presume you are a fan of chemical eradication(wasps) so maybe that's not an issue...tho moist, ammonia and/or chemical laden air is not good for birds sensitive lung systems. But if you plan to use copious amounts of liquid, you might want to add sloping and drains to the floor. Will you use any bedding on floor?

If you have no plans to keep the breeds separate, you might want to rework your floor plan to remove those labels. The size of the building is fantastic and the separate feed/storage area, and broody/chick area will be nice to have....as will be the split run areas. I designed a 4x6 section in my coop, with separate people and pop doors, to be created with a temporary wall. It's worked out great, I just wish I had been able to make it bigger as it's hard to move around in there.

The slide out poop trays are huge, ~8 x 7.5', will be hard to handle and I don't think you quite have room to pull them all the way out, but not sure how you actually plan to manage them. There are lots of way to build and manage poop boards.
Here's LOTS of ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...t-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures.621363/

Cement filled concrete blocks ( CBS ) are frequently used to build traditional residences in the south, particularly Florida. Until the invent of the ICF ( Insulated Concrete Forms ) they were the safest and most durable building solution in hurricane prone areas. When hurrican Andrew hit south Florida ( I was living there at the time ) the ONLY structures to survive in Homestead were CBS with an every other pour. In addition, the other great thing about CBS is that it is thermogenic, meaning it absorbs heat during the day and releases it slowly at night, to a great degree. Utilizing door and window bucks you have doors and windows as you would in any stick built structure.

As for Cooltubes, they will provide fresh in air intake, as they enter the structure from a low level, and expel hot air through the raised roof ridge vent. It will create a natural convection, when the coop is sealed, that offer little ( if any ) draft.
On my plan there is a virtual wall of solar south facing windows, that will also an abundance of ventilation when needed ( 4 each at a 4' width x 3' height with hardware cloth ). In addition to a sliding glass door that will also have the screen portion replaced with a more secure hardware cloth version.

The epoxy floor will provide for ease of deep cleaning and sanitizing. I plan to use the deep litter method, but like my home, I will offer it a deep clean twice a year. Obviously the chickens will be banned from the coop for the few hours needed to do a top to bottom clean.

I am offended to have you pay so little attention to what I have commented on and then utilize it as a judgement against me. It is fine, I am an adult and will get over it. HOWEVER, allow me to clarify your obvious misunderstanding/recall..... I HAVE POSTED TO ALL, in a thread to someone who was combating wasps in their coop with chemicals.....
My ex Father In Law was an Entomologist with the government for over 40 years. Decades ago I was having an issue with nesting in the eaves and ceiling of my porch. He gave me the non chemical solution. I passed it on in that thread and will do so again for all...........

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COOP WASPS....YOU DON"T HAVE TO USE POISONS...

You can easy rid yourself of them by painting the underside of a potential nest location with SKY BLUE ( MUST BE SKY BLUE ) and they will not build there. They believe it to be the sky and assume that there is nothing there to support the nest, as air won't do it.
THERE YOU HAVE IT... Those were my words.

As I have stated previously, I do not intend to dictate where on the roosts they choose to claim. I only stated breed 1) So I would recall what a year of indecision and research ultimately determined was best for my long term aspirations and 2) When I posted my plan, others would know the breeds I planned to keep and offer their advise according to their experience with them.

The pans I had planned to utilize were not that large. I am not a flock keeper yet and there is much in this world I don't know, but I am not mentally disadvantaged. These pans are approx 1 and 1/2 inch deep by 16" wide and 40" long. Easy to pull, empty and clean on a regular basis. However, you are the second person to offer me that link for poop pans and I appreciate that and thank you.

I do appreciate you taking the time to review my plan and offering food for thought. I am trying to be as detailed in explanation of the structure as I can, so that you get a clear idea of what I am planning and can stop me from making errors that will make life more difficult for me or my charges or that will result in possible harm to their well being and/or lives. I am desperately attempting to prepare for being a responsible and attentive live stock keeper. I don't know it all. Heck, outside of this forum and a few books, I barely know anything on this topic. Everything I have planned thus far has been decided upon AFTER continuous reading of THIS forum for two years.

Again, thank you.

 

[Eggcentric One]

Yep, sorry @Eggcentric One, I mis-read that.

Thank you, no problem. I am working hard and investing my entire savings into returning to a natural environment, so I took it personal. I apologize to any and all I may have offended.

 

[Eggcentric One]

That's the standard minimum recommendation. Good on you!


Good ratio for all breeds.


Yup. That was my take away when seeing your plan for purity in breeding. Seriously give this some consideration.


Hmmmm. I see what you are thinking. Once your hens have been introduced to the rooster in the separated area what are your plans for incubation? You may not have a broody handy and need to use an incubator. If you try to wait till you have a broody to separate the hens for 2 (4!) weeks the broody will be done being broody. A broody without fertile eggs should not be allowed to remain broody and needs to be broken of her broodiness or she could starve to death. Your plan can work but I'd invest in incubators for breed integrity.


That's exactly what I meant in that previous answer.


THANK YOU! I have definitely learned something from you! Since I am in the middle of building a walk in coop and getting close to starting to paint the inside I will definitely use this information. Heck, I just might paint the whole interior sky blue!

It is refreshing to see someone who is so eager to do this correctly right from the beginning. When you start out you just don't know what you don't know! I started very poorly till I found this site. It's been a godsend helping me make things right.
Really looking forward to seeing pictures as you build and, of course, of your feathered babies!

Did I say welcome?
WELCOME!!

Thank you for taking the time to review my plans and comments. I was going to try and let the ladies do what ladies do, as I understand it, all the breeds I have chosen are considered great setters. If it fails, well we try and try again? HAHA.
I will also be painting the ceiling/ open rafters and perches SKY BLUE. I had not even considered wasp in the coop. Maybe I was thinking the chickens would eat them.. haha. But the sky is the great equalizer in this battle. haha
I thank you for your input and will definitely post pictures , maybe during, but definitely upon completion.

 

[Eggcentric One]

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

Thank you. What would you recommend based on the breeds I have decided upon?
(Light Sussex/Bielefelders/Basque)
Ideally I would like 2 Roos per flock, as a back up ( we need to replenish meat ) and in the event something happens to one. However, 20 hens and 2 Roosters per breed is currently way above my comfort for now and I have been unable to choose below three breeds. HAHA.
BTW, about my earlier post. I come off, at times, as blunt and abrasive, but I do not hold on to it. I say it and let it go. I do appreciate the attentiveness you have shown me since my arrival and your knowledge and experience are invaluable. I am learning and have a long way to go, but I don't want you to think I am using you for information. I sincerely very seldom hold a grudge. I hope it is the same at your end and we move on, no harm no fowl ( pun intended ).

 

[Eggcentric One]

True, which is why I said MINIMUM standard. More (hens, not roosters) is always better. A good excuse for needing more hens.

Oh goodness, let me get my feet wet before you throw me in the deep end.. haha
You do realize you are talking to a poultry toddler right? haha