chicken mistakes (coop building questions)

[columbiacritter]

Remeber the floor of you coop is an access poitn to predators. A freind had a very secure runa nd she locked her birds it neh coop at night. Then a cooon dug indown and under her coop comign right up through the dirt floor and killed her entire flock.

My coop has hardware cloth on the floor and going part way up the walls.

 

[MikelJohn]

Don't sweat it! It's not that hard! And beware of the addiction!!!

 

[DDRanch]

Great ideas from folks.

I would have to say whatever size your coop and pen end up to be, make sure you do not get too many chickens for the size. Overcrowding causes many many problems that you can avoid.

Build a small coop/pen/area for quarantining any new birds you add.

Do a thorough and responsible job when you Predator Proof your coop and run. Take the extra time, effort and money to run wire under your run, or line with cement, and cover the top as well. The heartbreaking stories on this site when predators (dogs,raccoons, weasels, foxes, even bears) break in and kill everybody is something you do not need to experience. Depending on what predators you have in your area will dictate the type and strength and size of wire you need. I think this is one of the most important things you will do.

Oh, and welcome. So happy you are here.

 

[jjconcepts]

i would like to let everyon know how much i appreciate the well thought out, appropriate respones we recieved. we are not bloggers , but more browsers and really feel welcome into your hearts as I can tell all of you are very fond of your flocks and hobby. I am impressed.
We decided to go with plan B which is an enclosed porch off the house generally useed for storage that will be adjusted to house our new kids.
Most of all, we visited a member of byc who invited us to see her coop and knew immedietly that we will be good loving hosts.
again, thank you to everyone, I know we avoided many a mistake - you saved some hens, some heartache and the info you are sharing will definatle improve the lives of a few hens.

thanx
-joe-

 

[dancingbear]

Hi Joe, welcome aboard!

I really am happy to see somebody doing homework before they get the chickens. If more people did what you're doing, they'd have a much easier rime of it when they do get them.

A few of the things we did that worked out well:
We ran power to the coop so we could use electric defrosters for the water, have a light inside when needed. The line is buried inside a conduit. We have an outlet to plug things in, we made sure we put in a 3-prong outlet, so we can use extension cords and power tools when re-modeling or adding on, or doing repairs. There's also a regular light socket, with a regular household light bulb. I seldom use the light, but the times I've needed it, I was sure glad to have it. I use the outlets a lot.

We also ran a waterline at the same time. My DH put in a non-freezing outdoor faucet. This has been a real time and back saver, if we didn't have that, I'd be hauling daily buckets of water own the hill to the coop. Or running a really looong hose down from near the house. Not so bad in summer, but in the winter, a real PITA.

We finally added a small covered alcove on the outside of the coop, to keep the feed barrels, bales of straw, etc. so they are protected from the rain, but not inside the coop being perched on and pooped on. I keep a few egg cartons inside a feed barrel, too, so I don't have to always remember to grab one on the way down.

We have three enclosed, covered runs, the tops are chicken wire, but they also have areas with metal roofing so there's at least some dry ground even in nasty weather. One of the areas also has a small shelter of it's own, an old dog house. There's a small door with a ramp from the coop into the run on 2 of them, the other just has a hole about 3 feet above the ground, they jump out of or fly up into.

You were asking about something to switch on your anti-freezing devices. I recently found out there's a neat little gizmo called a Thermocube, they cost around $15. TSC carries them, you might be able to get them at Lowe's or Walmart. They look like a two outlet cubic rectangle, you plug them into your outlet in the area you will need to keep warm, and plug your heater, heat light, water defroster or whatever into the cube. It automatically come on at 35F, and shuts back off when it reached 45F.

We have a couple of immersible water defrosters that we put right in the water pans, which, in the winter, we use those flexible black rubbery tubs like they sell for feeding horses. If they do freeze, it won't hurt them. Bust out the ice and refill, they're good to go. I bought a cheap toilet brush that I keep down at the coop for scrubbing out water containers. It's especially nice to be able to clean a water pan and keep your hands dry, in freezing weather. I keep an old dish towel hanging inside the feed alcove, so if I do get my hands wet, I have something to dry them on besides my coat or my clothes. It's nice to have a spot in your feed area to hang pair of scissors or a box knife for cutting open feed bags, or cutting twine on straw or hay bales, and a hammer, and a handful of nails, for impromptu repairs that will come up now and then.

Things we did wrong:
Not enough separate spaces that can be closed or opened as needed. We really need more small "maternity ward" areas, that could double for quarantine or jail or whatever. You can't just put all the moms together with all the chicks, they tend to get nasty about that. It's very nice to have isolation areas for broody hens and new moms/babies.

We didn't do a very good job of designing it to be easy to clean. The floor is wood, but it's pieced together from various bits, so it's a very rough, uneven surface. If you'll have a wood floor, you may want to consider painting it with oil-based enamel paint, or anything else that would provide a tough, smooth, water-proof surface. Maybe marine deck paint or some such. It would make it a lot easier to clean.

We have the same bunch of predators around here, but haven't really have a lot of trouble from them, except now and then. I'm surprised how little trouble they've been. But, other folks not far from me, can't seem to let their birds out at all without the local critters stopping in for a snack. I guess mainly it's because the coyotes and the raccoons, which IMO are some of the worst, (coons, I mean) are nocturnal, and the chickens are closed up at night. Daytimes they're running around, unless DH and I will both be gone all day, then they stay penned. There have been a couple of foxes, both of whom met an untimely demise. The first year we were here we had an awful time with raccoons, until we got a new coop built, and got them out of the make-shift coop we'd made in the barn. We've been here over 10 years, and except for that first year, the raccoons haven't been a problem with the chickens. Then 2 stretches of fox trouble. The second fox didn't fare well, we'd acquired a new dog who turned out to be quite the fierce little protector of the flock. She rescued chickens literally out of the foxes mouth, and got a hold of the fox's back foot and tore him up. Possums haven't been a problem, they like to eat feed and eggs, but haven't ever attacked any of our birds. Cleo the Dog removes them from the coop now and then.

I guess what I'm saying is you might try a little free-ranging and see how it goes, maybe just a short time in the evenings, if you can keep an eye on them. You may or may not have trouble in your location. Do you have a well-behaved dog to help guard? Or, you may want to look at movable pens/tractors, so your girls can forage, but still be protected.

Have you given thought to whether you want to hatch your own eggs, or have hens that brood vs. hens that won't brood? If not, you might want to think about that, and make sure you get a breed that will be inclined to brood/not brood, as would best fit your goals. Too many people get a breed completely wrong for what they want, then try to change the nature of the birds. It doesn't work very well.

Here's a handy chart, you might find it helpful.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Good luck to you! I think you'll enjoy keeping chickens!

 

[hensonly]

Just saw your post - what everyone says is, in this case, accurate! Wow!

I would like to add just a bit - my chicken house has a 4 foot overhang, which effectively roofs half the length of the run. I love this because it gives the girls a dry place to be outside in rainy or snowy weather. This is good because my run is not high enough for me to stand up in, which means that when we get 18 inches of snow,I can't shovel a spot for the girls to walk unless I'm bent over - try shoveling snow with your elbows on your knees and you'll see what fun it is. That overhang is wonderful, and I used a tarp on the rest of the run roof this winter. The sun still gets in, the coop is oriented so the house blocks the prevailing north winds from the run, and everyone is more or less happy.

DO, DO, DO have an inside sill at every doorway. I also suggest a spring on the inside of any door so the hens can't get out if the wind blows or if you go in the coop with your hands full and can't pull it shut behind you.

I also have a free-standing dog exercise pen arranged in a half-circle outside my henhouse door so if someone does sneak out while I'm coming in, she is at least contained somewhat, though any of my girls could easily fly over it, it's saved me chasing hens on one or two occasions.

When the new house is built, I'll be installing in interior entryway, so the birds don't have access to the outside door. This is where my feed, grit, bedding will be stored.

As for flooring in the house, I use bricks over a layer of sand. The deep litter goes on top of the bricks. It's been great, easy to shovel out because the bricks provide a relatively smooth surface, and the small gaps between the bricks allow good drainage. I also put an area of bricks under my waterer. Of course, the hens decided to dustbathe right next to it, kicked dirt into the waterer, and the bricks fell into the hole the birds made! I filled in the hole and put the bricks back a couple of times, and they finally started dustbathing elsewhere. Whew!

Good luck with your new pets - this is my first year of chickens, too, and they're a blast.

 

[BirdBrain]

We are getting ready to build a coop for my folks and these are all great tips to consider. This should be a sticky!!

 

[vyvial]

Quote:
I feel the same way about this list, I do think that the door should open in not out, so that it will close automatically and not let your chickens out even if you forgot to latch the door.

 

[jjconcepts]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1707244#p1707244

good stuff over here

 

[allisojo]

I'm late getting to this, but I saw your post that you were going to use a porch or something attached to your house. So, I thought I'd add my two cents: keep your chickens where you want them. If they have enough room, they'll learn their boundaries pretty well. If, for example, you let the chickens out of their enclosed porch to roam free, they'll always want to do this, and they'll learn that you let them out when you come to see them. (They're creatures of habit.)

Let me put it this way. I used to let my girls roam free when I was wit them, and then they started to roam free by themselves. I don't have a rooster, and a dog got one of them. If I had not taught them to roam, they'd probably have stayed in their coop and run, as they do now. Just be careful of what you teach them, they'll remember. Good luck and have fun!