Am I out of line thinking I can do this?

[ChemicalchiCkns]

A Thought: take Care of the Run or they will scratch it to Mud. They will make dusting Holes for them selves in it. Both are hard to use on wheel Chair on.

 

[marlo1968]

A Thought: take Care of the Run or they will scratch it to Mud. They will make dusting Holes for them selves in it. Both are hard to use on wheel Chair on.

To help alleviate this problem, make a sand box like you might for a child. keep it full of sand and hopefully they won't dig holes elsewhere but rather will go where its easiest to dust bathe

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

I cannot make a Guarantee, that Suggestion will work. I have tried it, on a similar Theory, to no Success.

 

[kellieetal]

For the "sand box," is it sand they will dust bathe in or do they need "dirtier" dust, like just plain dry dirt? I know I've seen products for putting on the underside of a deck to catch rain that runs through it and divert it out to a rain gutter, which could then be run to a rain collection barrel. That material on the underside of the deck then (from standing under the deck, looking up) forms a "ceiling." That would provide shade and rain/snow protection but not much light, so part of the run should extend out beyond the deck into the sunny area.

 

[perchie.girl]

For the "sand box," is it sand they will dust bathe in or do they need "dirtier" dust, like just plain dry dirt? I know I've seen products for putting on the underside of a deck to catch rain that runs through it and divert it out to a rain gutter, which could then be run to a rain collection barrel. That material on the underside of the deck then (from standing under the deck, looking up) forms a "ceiling." That would provide shade and rain/snow protection but not much light, so part of the run should extend out beyond the deck into the sunny area.

I would use washed river sand. Mutlple sized particles. That way they can also use it to eat too. And mix some Food grade Diatomaceous Earth with it as well (DE). What the DE does is provide mite protection or act as a deterrent. Being food grade its also edible and passes through the digestive system well. Some say it helps with internal parasites too. Which I believe. Others not so much.

A Sand box wont guarantee they wont dig elswhere but Like some one says they find a place thats easy and will go for it.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

A Thought: take Care of the Run or they will scratch it to Mud. They will make dusting Holes for them selves in it. Both are hard to use on wheel Chair on.

I dont know what part of the US you are located and how much mud is an issue. I have seen and heard of runs being topped off with about six to eight inches of River sand contained with a low board around the base of the run. Water goes right through sand and flows out underneath. It is easy to rake and acts as a natural dessicant for waste.

But for wheel chair access I would put a walk way down the middle of the run made of pavers or wood covered pallets. This way it can be swept clean with a push broom and your wheel chair will have a nice level surface. A pallet is approximately four foot square so it should be enough room to turn the chair around on center.

I can still stand for short periods so I am still building my own coop. Its going to be set up for a couple of different breeds. My plan is to have a central aisle with pavers with an air lock style access so I can be certain no one escapes when I come and go. All the areas where I will be moving about with my Rollaround will be covered with pavers and that will include the grain storage area. All the feeders will be accessible from this central aisle with either access doors or having the tops of the feeders actually in the aisle. the water is already supplied by automatic waterers the kind you use for dogs. Easy to dump and scrub with a toilet brush. Then they fill on their own.

deb

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

I live and keep chiCkens on sandy Land, so mud is a rarer Concern. It mayn't be so, where QTD lives...

 

[perchie.girl]

I live and keep chiCkens on sandy Land, so mud is a rarer Concern. It mayn't be so, where QTD lives...

Oops sorry I lost who was the OP..... but my response is the same.

deb

 

[Mountain Momma]

Hello everyone, my real name is Ron, my screen name is abbreviation of: Quarter Till Dawn - long story, tell you later. Now this is another long story.
Hello and welcome to modern chickener life Ron!
Anyway, this site is more like friends helping friends rather than ‘my way or no way’. I like all the different thoughts of how to do things. I, as most people know, every situation is different. So we all need to pick and choose what works for our particular situation.
This thread is a great idea, thanks for doing it!
Well, I really do have a question. Couple things first to set up the question:

I am handicapped, wheelchair bound, (accident), so I am healthy and strong enough to get around.
Get a bright broom to swish the roosters with.

I am handy with building anything needed, but SSD doesn’t leave me much money to buy stuff to build with. Although I have or can get most everything needed, (I sit all day, I got a big mouth).
Pallets are great!

OKAY, here goes, I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina, (planting zone - 6 or 7), on about an acre with neighbors, no problems, others have chickens around here.

To make it easier for me, I wanted to put my coop and a covered run under my deck, (covered deck, upstairs), it is about 470 sq..ft. total. That way, the chickens have a non-snow / rain run, although we have minimal snow here. But it is next to a heated basement where I can store supplies, come out the door to feed, clean and collect eggs.
My coop is also under my deck so I have some tips for you.
Is yours a height that you can go all the way in easily?
#1 never give them table scraps inside the coop...causes odor.
#2 cleaning the coop every week is one way to keep the odor down, however, counter intuitively as it sounds, the deep litter method also keeps the odor down. I'm doing it now for going on three months.
#3 ferment your feed and you will spend approx 30% less on feed. I am a new chickener since Easter so take what I say with a grain of salt. Most of my best info is making mistakes and learning from it or something I got from the thread below.
The ferment recipe I am using right now is Bruces' it is working great.....
Rabbit feed at 16% protein alfalfa based 3 parts
Game bird feed at 26% protein grain based 1 part
a few gulps of apple cider vinegar with "mother" and unpastureized, a few spoonfulls of garlic and some sage.
take a 5 gal bucket and drill it full of holes on the bottom
put it in a regular 5 gal bucket. Pour all of your ingredients into the holey bucket.
top it off with water about 2-3 inches over the top of your ingredients.
Let sit for 3-9 days.
Feed it to the chickens. As you depleat it add more feedand water . Never change the bottom juice as it is your fermentation base.
#4 Ive been trying to read a BYC thread
called Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us! And that is the best info on normal chicken raising that I have found. It is also a lively site.
#5 invite a neighbor's dog over when your coop is done and put a hot dog in the coop. See if he can get the hot dog. If he can then fix your coop and repeat until he can no longer break in. I learned this is the easiest way to figure out predator proofing. My Golden got into the coop in 2 seconds. DH and I were drinking wine and congratulating ourselves on what a nice coop we had built ourselves and we looked over and our Golden was inside the coop, with the baby chickens, eating their food. He effortlessly broke the chickin wire. Here is a hint, chicken wire is useless. Go to the next step and do 1 inch welded wire but chicken wire holds chickens in, keeps nothing out. Same with holes under the fence. Put the dog in the run and call him. If he can get out and come to you then you know where to fix the fence.
We didnt bury any fencing but we have it blocked with rocks and 6x6 rail roadties. At the time of this writing foxes have gotten in 2x. Both times the roosters kicked them out.

Also makes it easier to feed and water, if need be, I have hot & cold running water right there. Plus a window I could use to set up feeders & waterers right there as well as easy to run power for lights and/or coop heaters.
Sounds awesome if it is easyfor you. I put a garbage can under the gutter spout and use rain water to water my chickens. I'm in Colorado and water is very expensive here. A lot of people do not put feed and water in the coop. I do and it can bea little aggravating with a bunch of curious chickens getting in the way. But if you have a hose that would work nicely and you would not have to motor around with water buckets etc.

Because the way the deck post are, I wanted to build a 70 sq. ft. (10’ X 7’), coop with nesting boxes outside on the wall to allow more floor space, several roost with drawer type poop-box (s) under. Then later use that ¼ inch hardware cloth under the coop for baby chicks hiding place, (later).
I cant picture this.

Then the other end take about a 10’ X 10’ section to cull out the roosters until I can butcher and/or sell. With a much smaller coop for roosting if I get to many, just to keep them warm.

Then a fenced 20’ X 30’ outside run, unprotected except for fencing, during good days. Then when I’m here, let them out all together in the evenings to hunt bugs and stuff.

Gonna get Rhode Island Reds, straight run from a hatchery and hope for close to a 50 / 50, in early spring. Find the best Roo and all the hens and keep in the main area, cull the rest of the roosters in the little area until ready to butcher.

Hoping for a dozen hens. With all my studying, the general food cost compared to selling most eggs should offset most feed cost, then sell off a few whole live culled Roo’s, butcher and freeze the rest. I’m hoping I will be close to a break even situation, (less the initial cost of pen & coop, etc).

Then, with good cleaning, is that too close to the house for smells. Noise doesn’t matter to me, I kinda like it, (cept it may make me sleep in). I have access to plenty of hay and wood shavings, and will have a compost to take the old stuff.
Sounds great to me. Originally I was a little frieked out having the coop with one wall the outside wall of the house but now its totally fine. The deep litter method is great, I dont have moisture in the coop which cuts down odor too. Watch out for carrying bits of litter into the house, you will have to figure that out, we all have boots in a box by the door and those stay there after we come in. Keep feed in metal garbage cans and try not to spill it so you dont have rodent issues. Chickens kill and eat rodents though too so you will have assistants on that. Keep a lid with air holes on your fermented feed if you go that route. It is way easier to take care of them when they are so close. When their outside water freezes I just pour boiling water from the tea kettle into it from above on the top deck.
Make sure you have plenty of ventilation. Think about it like this, trees are healthier for chickens than many coops. Windows, crossbreezes, that is what you want. Lots of fesh air even in winter.

Around here, range chicken eggs sell for $3.50 to $6 a dozen, but I priced regular food, not organic. So the lower end. Live chickens sell for $14 to $25. Again, I’ll assume the lower end. That’s live to butcher, these are RIR, not a fancy breed.

Am I out of line, am I reading too much into this and will be in for a total shock? Barring the initial cost, is this feasible? I think so. I dont try to break even with mine. Im still experimenting, but I have friends that bring scraps for my birdsand I give them eggs.

Good luck Ron! Id love to see pictures. RIR are supposedly good layers. Most of all, have fun!
Lisa
aka Mountian Momma

Thanks, sorry this was so long, but I want to do this right.

 

[Mountain Momma]

It sounds like you have done a lot of research I agree! and are off the a great start. I definitely think you can do it. One thing that I have learned keeping chickens though is that they are not the hardiest of creatures. They live outside, are prone to various aliments and have LOTS of predators. I think at some point you will lose some. I agree! I do not want to discourage you - I just want to be honest about my experience. It is sad but it doesn't mean its your fault. If you learn soemthing and a chicken died consider it the cost of education and not a failure. At the end of the day that chicken may have given you such valuable info that all other chickens in your care will be better off. Thats okay. Its a chicken

Your chickens will have the most fun and a richer diet if you let them free range but you open yourself up to more loss. I take that risk but it is something you have to decide personally. I would make sure they aren't under the deck all day and they get plenty of light. I agree, however I do not free range. Mine are in an enclosure that used to be a dog run. Lots of space and sunshine. Nothing green.

I would make sure to stock up on the preventatives - the natural ones aren't too expensive. I would recommend reading about DE (food grade diatomaceous earth) for mites, pumpkin for worms, plain yogurt for healthy crop bacteria and apple cider vinegar for overall health. I agree. wood ash works too for keeping mites away. The chickens, if htey are like mine, will not use the nice sandbox you make them. They will create their own spas all over their run. When they do put some ash in the holes and that should be good enough. There is some controversy over DE. I use it but not often, it also kills the good bugs in deep litter which is my winter method. You can farm mealworms or grow fodder indoors if you are interested for super healthy snacks. Both are cheap and easy (feel free to PM for info on either). None of these things are treatments if the birds have a serious problem because they aren't strong enough but they should help these problems from occurring. Apple Cider Vinegar in the water, a couple gulps per 5 gallons will help keep the water clean and your birds healthy. Ceyenne pepper is also good for them, garlic and before I used the deep method (winter will be very cold here and deep litter helps heat the coop) I fed mine a big bowl of scratch with olive oil, garlic, sage and rosemary. For days after I did that their poop would not smell. I would also ge a cat carrier or dog kennel to seperate chickens that are pecked on or broody and you want chicks or whatever. That is a major item that I have used already several times. You could also clip about 2 inches off their wings when they get wings. This keeps them from getting into trouble and flying over the fence. It also makes them lessdefended. Again, what feels right to you. I need mine to stay in the fence or a fox will get them every time.
I personally don't take my chickens to the vet. Vets with chicken experience are a little hard to find and I decided in advance of getting them that I was not going to pay hundreds of dollars in vet bills on very inexpensive birds that I was likely going to eat in the future. Some people do take them to the vet. Either decision is a fine one. I would call around and see what your options are and decide what you might do. There are a lot of treatments you can do on your own. I do a lot of reading and take care of everything myself. I have had loses but I have also had some very exciting successes. Some feed stores sell poultry antibiotics. A friend of mine used that with success on a chicken recently. For me, if a bath or two and rest away from the others for a week or so doesnt work then she needs to go to the soup pot because you dont want to breed those weeknesses into your general flock. Better they die quick and you can move on the replacing with healthier stock. No vet here either. Again, its a chicken. With Apple cider vinegar, plenty of ventilation and sunshine you should be fine in the health arena. One thing, I do keep a bowl of oyster shells around for them. They use 30% of the calcium in their body to make an egg. If you want strong eggs that dont break in the nest and healthy chickens spend alittle on the oyster shells.

Just some things to think about I guess.

The one thing I would consider with keeping the birds so close to your house is flies and mice really like chicken feed/poo, so be ready to deal with that.
I've got fly paper on the ceiling of the coop nailed in to catch flies, but chickens catch flies too so while they are around its not a big problem. We have mice and squirrels and chipmonks. They try to steal food in the run all the time. So do the jays and others. The chickens chase them away fairly well or catch them and eat them. A bucket of water in the maint area will drown some rodents, but so far with metal containers I've had no problem here either. I use ammonia around the house in baggies though to keep mice out. (behind the fridge, stove etc.)
Good luck Ron. Both sites that have been recommended are great. Chickens are easy and fun.
Lisa