Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[fowlman01]

Walt, thanks for sharing that classic style photo. Wow, what nostalgia that brings back.

I painted all the trim white, so it looks better now. This structure has served me very well. I show my birds and this is where I do most of the conditioning for the shows. This time of year I have breeding pens in there. All of my other inclosures are vented at the top. It is remarkable how cool they stay.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

I posted this over in another section and haven't gotten any responses, so I'd like to post it here. I have found a lot of valuable information in this thread and would like advice on raising chickens in my area from the Old Timers. Yes, my coop is on stilts and will be painted...but what can I say, my husband is a builder and I paint signs and such as a hobby

. Anyhow, I wish I'd found this thread when we first began our research! Thanks in advance!
Ok, we are building our coop and I have a few questions on ventilation... We live in Southeastern NC and have hot & humid summers. As you can see from the pics below, our metal roof will be raised about 3 1/2" to provide ventilation from the top; we are going to put a door within a door on the front and back openings with hardware cloth so they can be propped open; we are going to cover the top opening in the front with wire and cut an opening in the side above the chicken door. Do y'all think that's adequate or do we need to cut holes on either side of the doors for vents? Suggestions appreciated

Also, our chicks are 1 1/2 weeks old, I thought I'd be okay with the whole chickens in the house thing, but I'm really not

...I can deal with it for a few more weeks I guess... So, my question is, in my climate ( 70's & 80's during the day and 50's & 60's at night, and getting warmer) when would it be appropriate to put them in the coop?
Thanks!

Sounds like adequate ventilation to me!

You can put those chicks out right now....those kind of temps are fine for chicks and they shouldn't need a heat lamp at all. Just put some thick bedding in their coop and let them snuggle together for any chills.


Quote: Wow! I wish everyone else was so easily swayed!

I'm both flattered and shocked...but I'll take it. Everyone needs a little love in this life, can't ever have too much!

 

[Leahs Mom]

2 Questions:

Ventilation again
We are just finishing (phase 1) of our "garden shed" converted to hen house and I'm looking for ventilation advice. It was in the 70's today and I was out of town. I left the window open but had the doors closed and it was WAY TOO HOT inside when I returned home. Here's the particulars and a couple photos:








-The shed is 8 ft. x 12 ft.; 8 ft side has a 2 ft overhang.
-There are tiny gable vents.
-We have covered the window with 1/2" hardware cloth.
-Cut a roof vent (see photo).
-Interior dividing wall is frame with 1/2" hardware cloth attached (see photo above looking inside from exterior door.

Question 1: When the exterior doors were left shut but the window open, it was too hot inside. Where would you add ventilation to make this work when the doors are shut? (I'm guessing under the overhang??) Also - how big would you advise?

Question 2: The hardware cloth used is the typical 1/2" that you can purchase from TSC, Menards, etc. I believe it is 19 gauge. It was nailed on with the "U" shaped staple-type things for nailing down wire (properly called "galvanized poultry staple"). IS THIS HARDWARE CLOTH ADEQUATE FOR PREDATOR PREVENTION IF I WOULD LEAVE THE EXTERIOR DOORS OPEN? (What about night time?) If not, please advise if there is a heavier guage we should use and where where to find it.


Thanks again! Sue AKA ~Leah's Mom~

 

[Zanna]

I painted all the trim white, so it looks better now. This structure has served me very well. I show my birds and this is where I do most of the conditioning for the shows. This time of year I have breeding pens in there. All of my other inclosures are vented at the top. It is remarkable how cool they stay.

Walt

Considering showing some birds this fall..........How do you condition birds for show and what exactly does that mean? I know how to condition a dressage horse or a jumper

 

[fowlman01]

Considering showing some birds this fall..........How do you condition birds for show and what exactly does that mean? I know how to condition a dressage horse or a jumper

Letter perfect ....right? (dressage)

You put the birds in a place that has no wire or other places feathers can be broken or nicked. The walls of these pens are all smooth plywood. You change the litter frequently so that none of the feathers are ever stained. Use a waterer that does not allow the birds tail or crest to get wet. It is basically a place that keeps my white birds white. Once the feathers are stained you have to wait until the next molt. I also use the highest roosts the birds can handle and in some breeds the food is up high so that they have to exercise. It is a place to keep your birds pristine....if possible.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

2 Questions:

Ventilation again
We are just finishing (phase 1) of our "garden shed" converted to hen house and I'm looking for ventilation advice. It was in the 70's today and I was out of town. I left the window open but had the doors closed and it was WAY TOO HOT inside when I returned home. Here's the particulars and a couple photos:








-The shed is 8 ft. x 12 ft.; 8 ft side has a 2 ft overhang.
-There are tiny gable vents.
-We have covered the window with 1/2" hardware cloth.
-Cut a roof vent (see photo).
-Interior dividing wall is frame with 1/2" hardware cloth attached (see photo above looking inside from exterior door.

Question 1: When the exterior doors were left shut but the window open, it was too hot inside. Where would you add ventilation to make this work when the doors are shut? (I'm guessing under the overhang??) Also - how big would you advise? The bigger the better! You can never have TOO many windows in your coop...after all, windows can be closed to shut out drafts or opened to let in air, plus they make for some wonderful, natural lighting.

Question 2: The hardware cloth used is the typical 1/2" that you can purchase from TSC, Menards, etc. I believe it is 19 gauge. It was nailed on with the "U" shaped staple-type things for nailing down wire (properly called "galvanized poultry staple"). IS THIS HARDWARE CLOTH ADEQUATE FOR PREDATOR PREVENTION IF I WOULD LEAVE THE EXTERIOR DOORS OPEN? (What about night time?) If not, please advise if there is a heavier guage we should use and where where to find it.

Some here would say "no" but if nailed down properly, it should withstand predators. Try it and see how it goes and make adjustments along the way.


Thanks again! Sue AKA ~Leah's Mom~

 

[Zanna]

Letter perfect ....right? (dressage)

You put the birds in a place that has no wire or other places feathers can be broken or nicked. The walls of these pens are all smooth plywood. You change the litter frequently so that none of the feathers are ever stained. Use a waterer that does not allow the birds tail or crest to get wet. It is basically a place that keeps my white birds white. Once the feathers are stained you have to wait until the next molt. I also use the highest roosts the birds can handle and in some breeds the food is up high so that they have to exercise. It is a place to keep your birds pristine....if possible.

Walt

Letter Perfect was the name of one of my show horses!!! Wow, you are good I had a judge ask me at the end of a test one time if when we made it to Grand Prix I would change his name to Word Perfect.

Thank you! My project birds are Delawares so white, yes, kind of what I figured..........

 

[OhanaChicks]

Thanks! Hopefully my Mothers Day gift will be a finished coop

 

[Ridgerunner]

[COLOR=008000]2 Questions:[/COLOR]

Question 1: When the exterior doors were left shut but the window open, it was too hot inside. Where would you add ventilation to make this work when the doors are shut? (I'm guessing under the overhang??) Also - how big would you advise?

The roof vent will help, but definitely get as much as you can stand. Under the overhang is a great place since that will help keep rain from blowing in. With good ventilation, a bit of rain blowing in is not a big deal, but you want to keep it as dry as you reasonably can. How big? That’s hard. I hate giving hard and fast numbers because each situation is different and somebody is going to nitpick whatever I say. You can always find exceptions to anything. 4” in probably enough, 6” is better, more is not needed.

Hot air rises. If you have a hole high up like that roof vent and under that overhang, the hot air has a place to go out. But you need a hole down low for cooler air to come in. Windows are great for that, plus you can close them off in winter. I put a panel down at ground level where air can come in as low as possible, probably 6” wide for about 8 feet. I can block that off in winter.

Question 2: The hardware cloth used is the typical 1/2" that you can purchase from TSC, Menards, etc. I believe it is 19 gauge. It was nailed on with the "U" shaped staple-type things for nailing down wire (properly called "galvanized poultry staple"). IS THIS HARDWARE CLOTH ADEQUATE FOR PREDATOR PREVENTION IF I WOULD LEAVE THE EXTERIOR DOORS OPEN? (What about night time?) If not, please advise if there is a heavier guage we should use and where where to find it.

There is always something that can get in, but not all of us live near bears, wolves, and mountain lions. I know other things can do damage too. Raccoons, coyotes, big dogs, mink, and other predators can be really good at finding any weakness in construction or materials. You will never be 100% safe. Life does not come with guarantees.

I think the 19 gauge hardware cloth is very reasonable to use. You can always get something better, but I think it is probably good enough. If it is attached properly, it will stop practically anything you are likely to see.

About those ¾” poultry staples. How good they are depends a lot on what they are driven into and how well they are anchored. If they are well seated in good thick wood, they are probably in there good enough. If you drive them in thin wood or wood that splits when you drove them in, they will not hold very well.

What I do to attach the hardware cloth is to rip strips of wood maybe 1/2” or more thick, drill pilot holes through that so the wood does not split, then use screws to attach that strip over the ends of the hardware cloth. Tighten it tight but don’t split the wood and put those screws through opening in the hardware cloth. It will not go anywhere unless something like a bear goes after it. With the ends of the hardware cloth covered like that, I snag my clothing and skin a lot less often.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thank you, Ridgerunner.