best advice you have

[hannahenriquez]

The most valuable advice I got from BYC was poop boards to make it easier to keep the coop clean.

poop boards??? do tell. im up for anything that makes the coop easier to clean.

thank you all for your advice. there is so much to read about but just like having a child, you can often over research and end up not really knowing the real important stuff.

 

[rIrs roost]

poop boards??? do tell. im up for anything that makes the coop easier to clean.

thank you all for your advice. there is so much to read about but just like having a child, you can often over research and end up not really knowing the real important stuff. 

Poop boards is a board that you put under the roost so while they're sleeping, they'll poop on the board instead of the floor or whatever is under them. Its a lot easier pulling out a board and scraping it off then having to clean under the roost a lot.

 

[byclover2]

One of the buyers at Tractor Supply got chicks last year and wrote this article -- Lessons from a First Time Poultry Parent. Some good tips http://www.tractorsupply.com/know-h...cken_lessons-from-a-first-time-poultry-parent

 

[dalpop]

After owning backyard urban chickens since 2010, one of the things that's been the most helpful for me is having a way to call them to me. Mine like to roam into the neighbors' yards and more than once have gotten scared out into the alley or farther than just next door, and it has been a lifesaver to train them to come when they hear me call "chook chook chook". Now, there's always a treat attached to that call so that they want to keep coming back, and I don't ever call them without giving them a treat. Just last week a cat scared my Ameracauna hen into flying over the neighbor's fence into the alley, but she quickly came to me when I called for her.

 

[jessipanda]

Another idea for coop poop cleanup, I have a permanent board under the roost in our small coop that I line with old feed bags. When they get full enough, I just fold them up and empty the contents into the compost pile. I can use the same bags a few times before having the replace them. I know others that use cardboard, but doesn't seem to work as well.

I'll second being able to call them in. Where I live, there's lots of hawks, coyotes, and foxes. If I can't get all my hens in, they're sure to be someones lunch/dinner. Luckily my girls love me and come running every time they see me

 

[ducks4you]

Humidity can make your birds sick. They need to have a dry place every night. Exposure to weather during the day is healthy and chickens can enjoy the snow.
Chickens REALLY DO have a pecking order. If you introduce birds (correctly, no big fighting), and the flock kicks them out of the coop during bad weather, while the rest of the flock is inside the coop, your need to close them in together. Exposure to extreme cold and wind can kill them.
They need loads of fresh air without a draft, which is a learning experience your first winter.
Baby chicks brood best in the summer. Not enough heat will kill them.
Baby chicks can go lame if they slip in their first few weeks. I use old (sometimes holey) bath towels on top of shavings (on top of 3 inches of garden dirt) in my livestock water tank brooder (repurposed because it leaks), and change them every other day for 3-4 weeks and it has kept every batch of chicks from going lame because the towels have friction for them. I bleach those towels and store in my barn in plastic bags.
Chickens LOOOOOVVVVEEEEE to roost as high as possible at night, so make the roof of their coop inaccessible.
You can train your birds to roost inside the coop at night. Some LIKE to stay outside during warm weather, so you pick them up, put them inside and close the door for about a week straight to retrain. Owls are watching your flock. Don't let them.
Chickens need more water per ounce/pound than any other common livestock. I use a heated dog water bowl in the winter to keep them hydrated.
Keep the water clean. When somebody tells you that their birds drink from a puddle, they mean outside, away from where you keep them. Don't let that puddle be the only water that is available be in a dirty run mixed with their poo. THAT isn't healthy. I use tall plastic paint buckets for my livestock water. I pour the bird's dirty water into an empty bucket, and then refill fresh water. If you do this daily, you probably won't have to scrub it.
Chickens looovvee to take dirt baths.
If you keep your chicken's home and run clean, feed right and supply fresh water they will be happy and healthy.
Don't name them if you intend to eat them.
I have kept chickens since 2006.

 

[8CityChicks]

My comments are for 8 adult birds:

Don't underestimate the time they will require - everyday - not just when you feel like it.

Don't underestimate the creativeness of predators

Don't build a house/coop/run you can't stand upright in to clean. So glad I didn't buy one of the " pretty but impractical" ones most often advertised. I built a 5x8, 6.5 feet tall one for up to 10 birds - which is about perfect for reasonable space & bird needs, and for supplies storage & 4 nest boxes.

Poop collection / removal is a daily chore if you have neighbors. A catch bin with pine shavings is ideal & easiiy cleaned. I do mine daily then spray the bin & area with clorox to keep the house & birds clean & non-smelly, but do it in time for ventilation before the birds come in to roost.

Leaving starter / growing mash out for several days results in it spoiling in my hot, humid location so I change feed & water daily, putting out only what they will eat or drink in a day.

Introduce new birds in pairs, and at night on the roost, so the old ones wan't bully & hurt the new one. My run has enough room that confinement does not result in injury to a newcomer.

 

[Scottankarens]

Best advice I'd give. Do a large amount of research as to what bread of bird will suit your needs/desires best. There can be significant differences between various varieties that may come as unpleasant surprises: For example: Some birds can handle the heat from a southern summer, some can't. Some can handle the cold of a northern winter, others can't. Some get along with others very well, so don't. Some are very broody, others are not. Some lay very well, others do not. the list goes on....

 

[MCCAIGALLEN]

Learn about Marek's disease. Get your chicks vaccinated if you can. The Merck Veterinary Manual says that almost every flock is presumed to be infected (see below).

If I remember correctly, vaccinations have to be done in the egg or on day one after they hatch. If Marek's shows up, do not despair. You can raise crossbreeds that will, in a couple of years, be resistant. I did it. You have to have the will to humanely put down a sick bird, or have your avian vet do it. My birds are a mix of chickens that were originally bred on just about every continent and country. I wanted them to have every gene I could get them. Fortunately I received a mix of 43 purebreds of many sorts from a rescue I took in and let everyone breed together. The third year of this, I had only one sick bird. Essentially, I bred my own landrace.

Sir Crows a Lot - I did CPR on a hen just a couple months ago. It can work. It didn't on my poor Elizabeth, but she was very old.

I use that wiggly plastic roofing for poop boards. Works great and I can cut it with heavy shears if I need to., plus, it's light weight. Don't use fiberglass panels. They break.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html

Every flock, except for those maintained under strict pathogen-free conditions, is presumed to be infected.

 

[realsis]

Learn about Marek's disease. Get your chicks vaccinated if you can. The Merck Veterinary Manual says that almost every flock is presumed to be infected (see below).

If I remember correctly, vaccinations have to be done in the egg or on day one after they hatch.   If Marek's shows up, do not despair. You can raise crossbreeds that will, in a couple of years, be resistant. I did it. You have to have the will to humanely put down a sick bird, or have your avian vet do it. My birds are a mix of chickens that were originally bred on just about every continent and country.  I wanted them to have every gene I could get them. Fortunately I received a mix of 43 purebreds of many sorts from a rescue I took in and let everyone breed together. The third year of this, I had only one sick bird. Essentially, I bred my own landrace.

Sir Crows a Lot - I did CPR on a hen just a couple months ago. It can work. It didn't on my poor Elizabeth, but she was very old.

I use that wiggly plastic roofing for poop boards. Works great and I can cut it with heavy shears if I need to., plus, it's light weight. Don't use fiberglass panels. They break.

[COLOR=0000FF]http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html         [/COLOR]

               Every flock, except for those maintained under strict pathogen-free conditions, is presumed to be infected.

I've always heard this and read it as well .Mareks can even travel in the wind. Your advice is solid. I do my best to always vaccinate. it's not 100% but it gives the birds a betterchance than not being vaccinated.and the vaccine although is a live virus derived from Turkey IT'S NOT THE MAREKS VIRUS THEY VACCINATE With.