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

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

if there is one thing I learned raising chickens and ducks it is they don't have internet access. If they did they would know they can't eat the things they eat. You know the things the internet says will kill them, yet they thrive on, My hens would know that hens are so quiet that in a city, your neighbor won't know you have hens ( that one cracks me up, my hens can be noisier than roosters) . If they had internet access my Sumatra's that live in tree's would know they need to build themselves draft proof coops or they will die. As according to the internet drafts kill chickens. But lucky for us chickens don't get internet access, so they don't know these things and live on happily.

I agree. Some crazy things are on the internet. I'm actually glad I didn't find BYC and other chicken webs until after I'd had chickens for more than 5 years and already knew a little bit for myself.

 

[armorfirelady]

As a newbie I bought one of those doll house coups since me making a coop.......well I am handy but my patience would of run out way before I had anything that resembled a coup. As I read all these posts on a daily basis I have been trying to think how to temporarily enlarge my coop. The seller said it was for 3-5 birds. I have 4 Partridge Rocks. Why they now fit in the small coop quite nicely at night I know as they grow it will be close quarters. I am thinking of putting temporary pieces of plywood in the small run area underneath & attached to the coup to expand it for the winter. It wouldn't be closed in tight of course just about 8 inches in height so that there would be a lot of ventilation. Their food is currently in this small run area and their water will be as well for winter so it makes sense to use this space to make the coop bigger since it won't cost me anything. They have 2-2' foot roosts in the small coop tho & as of now they all cram onto one at night.

Why we have predators I have see no signs of them attempting to get in the run or the coop. I tried to do a lot of research before I purchased my hens & put chicken wire down around the bottom edge of coop & run in an L shape so part is on the ground & then put landscape blocks 2 & 3 high on top of that. I also have 2 dogs with free range of the yard but they are not out all night. But the predators seem to stay away anyways. I guess the bunnies & squirrels who lost family to the dogs passed on the news the yard was not the place to live The only predators I see are dead ones on the street in front of my house. Tho we do have neighborhood outdoor cats they stay on the perimeter also. Bear just went nuts in the house & I went outside and saw a cat way in the back yard.
In fact since i was forced into OT last night I opened the coop door at 4 am when I got home so the girls could go out when they woke up. I really had no fear any predators could sneak in to get them while they slept, and I knew they would be much happier being able to leave the coop than being stuck in the coop till 8 when I got up for school

For their 8 ft run made out of lattice I am thinking of a few bales of stray strewn on the top to help keep some of the snow out and then I can use it for bedding or compost after winter. A few strategically placed bales around the perimeter to block the cold winter winds was also a thought. We can get into the single digits in the winter tho normally its in the teens. Yes we get a lot of snow but i thought the straw on the roof of the run would help alleviate 2 ft drifts in the run.

Do the OTCs seem to agree with this theory? Should I put a roost in the lower area as well? I don't want pampered birds just ones that can survive the winter

Here is the the doll house coop/run I bought so you have a visual of what I want to accomplish.



And thank you in advance tot the OTC's for their honest suggestions

 

[galanie]

Just a heads up: Chicken wire is only meant to keep chickens IN. It won't keep a predator OUT. Maybe a cat or hawk but not an opossum or raccoon or dog.

 

[stonykill]

Just a heads up: Chicken wire is only meant to keep chickens IN. It won't keep a predator OUT. Maybe a cat or hawk but not an opossum or raccoon or dog.

yup. Chicken keeping 101 there.....

 

[loanwizard]

Bruce,

While I am happy that you think I have integrity, I didn't do all that. I heard about the dog, knew that through your travails that it might be a dog that would match you. You are the one that drove for hour upon hour.
It was a pleasure to meet you and the incubator? It will be nice to replace my flock year after year in one hatch rather than multiple yearly hatches. For that I thank you.

I may also now be able to raise chicks to sell.... call myself a breeder

See folks, unlike the news, sometimes you meet others other than serial killers online lol!

 

[Beekissed]

As a newbie I bought one of those doll house coups since me making a coop.......well I am handy but my patience would of run out way before I had anything that resembled a coup. As I read all these posts on a daily basis I have been trying to think how to temporarily enlarge my coop. The seller said it was for 3-5 birds. I have 4 Partridge Rocks. Why they now fit in the small coop quite nicely at night I know as they grow it will be close quarters. I am thinking of putting temporary pieces of plywood in the small run area underneath & attached to the coup to expand it for the winter. It wouldn't be closed in tight of course just about 8 inches in height so that there would be a lot of ventilation. Their food is currently in this small run area and their water will be as well for winter so it makes sense to use this space to make the coop bigger since it won't cost me anything. They have 2-2' foot roosts in the small coop tho & as of now they all cram onto one at night.

Why we have predators I have see no signs of them attempting to get in the run or the coop. I tried to do a lot of research before I purchased my hens & put chicken wire down around the bottom edge of coop & run in an L shape so part is on the ground & then put landscape blocks 2 & 3 high on top of that. I also have 2 dogs with free range of the yard but they are not out all night. But the predators seem to stay away anyways. I guess the bunnies & squirrels who lost family to the dogs passed on the news the yard was not the place to live The only predators I see are dead ones on the street in front of my house. Tho we do have neighborhood outdoor cats they stay on the perimeter also. Bear just went nuts in the house & I went outside and saw a cat way in the back yard.
In fact since i was forced into OT last night I opened the coop door at 4 am when I got home so the girls could go out when they woke up. I really had no fear any predators could sneak in to get them while they slept, and I knew they would be much happier being able to leave the coop than being stuck in the coop till 8 when I got up for school

For their 8 ft run made out of lattice I am thinking of a few bales of stray strewn on the top to help keep some of the snow out and then I can use it for bedding or compost after winter. A few strategically placed bales around the perimeter to block the cold winter winds was also a thought. We can get into the single digits in the winter tho normally its in the teens. Yes we get a lot of snow but i thought the straw on the roof of the run would help alleviate 2 ft drifts in the run.

Do the OTCs seem to agree with this theory? Should I put a roost in the lower area as well? I don't want pampered birds just ones that can survive the winter

Here is the the doll house coop/run I bought so you have a visual of what I want to accomplish.



And thank you in advance tot the OTC's for their honest suggestions

Honestly? If I were you~and I know that's a far stretch~but if I were...I'd scrap this whole thing and start out new. This house isn't meant to hold animals...maybe a rabbit or a single chicken but not a flock, no matter how small, and it wouldn't keep them safe anyway. It was built for looks and not a bit for function. No matter how many additions or blocking you put around it, it will only serve to make it look uglier and won't really improve the functionality of it.

Barring doing that, your only recourse seems to be placing a slanted tin roof over your run area to let rain and snow run off, putting an adequate roost in that area, use the box/run for nesting only, placing some heavy duty plastic over the walls of the latticed run to block the wind and still allow some light into the thing and next spring think of starting out fresh by selling that doll coop to someone else.

That is...if you really want to raise chickens. You've already spent way more than those 4 chickens will ever recoup for you and the money could have been just as well spent on buying a doz. eggs from a local farmer each time you need eggs. If you want those chickens to at least earn their cost, you need to think way differently about how much you spend on housing/fencing and what you really need to keep these chickens.

If cost is just not even a factor at all and this is just an expensive hobby~as many claim on BYC~then why not just break open the bank and buy adequately sized housing in the first place? I know the people that sold you that said it would house 3-5 birds but they quite obviously were using misdirection for the sale. Yes, 3-5 birds can be packed into the space~I guess that is where the term "hold" comes in~but to actually live in that space without problems? Not feasible.

I know the OTs were even reluctant to answer your questions about this setup for this reason~ the setup really cannot be fixed as it stands. My theory is~it can't get much worse than it already is, which isn't great, so I'll go ahead and give you a suggestion or two. You can doctor it up for this winter but it really needs to be disposed of and adequate quarters built instead if you want to really keep chickens healthy and producing.

The reason you haven't had preds yet is because they just haven't established yet that there are chickens there.... and that they are not protected at night. When they learn that pattern, you will lose chickens. Give it time...this winter may tell a different story. I'd leave the dogs outside at night if you want to keep the chickens.

Sorry if that all sounds a bit tough, but you asked for honest suggestions and those are the most honest ones I can contribute.

 

[fowlman01]

Bruce,

While I am happy that you think I have integrity, I didn't do all that. I heard about the dog, knew that through your travails that it might be a dog that would match you. You are the one that drove for hour upon hour.
It was a pleasure to meet you and the incubator? It will be nice to replace my flock year after year in one hatch rather than multiple yearly hatches. For that I thank you.

I may also now be able to raise chicks to sell.... call myself a breeder

See folks, unlike the news, sometimes you meet others other than serial killers online lol!

That was a good thing for you to do.......but you could still be a serial killer........ahahaha

Walt

 

[stonykill]

Honestly? If I were you~and I know that's a far stretch~but if I were...I'd scrap this whole thing and start out new. This house isn't meant to hold animals...maybe a rabbit or a single chicken but not a flock, no matter how small, and it wouldn't keep them safe anyway. It was built for looks and not a bit for function. No matter how many additions or blocking you put around it, it will only serve to make it look uglier and won't really improve the functionality of it.

Barring doing that, your only recourse seems to be placing a slanted tin roof over your run area to let rain and snow run off, putting an adequate roost in that area, use the box/run for nesting only, placing some heavy duty plastic over the walls of the latticed run to block the wind and still allow some light into the thing and next spring think of starting out fresh by selling that doll coop to someone else.

x2. The BEST thing to do is let them live there short term and build a new coop. I honestly cringe when someone says they bought 1 of those coops. They are of horrible quality. Not built to last. Built to sell cheap enough and ship cheap enough and to turn a quick buck. Most likely designed by people who have never even seen a chicken in person. Sorry, but it is true.

 

[bobbi-j]

As a newbie I bought one of those doll house coups since me making a coop.......well I am handy but my patience would of run out way before I had anything that resembled a coup. As I read all these posts on a daily basis I have been trying to think how to temporarily enlarge my coop. The seller said it was for 3-5 birds. I have 4 Partridge Rocks. Why they now fit in the small coop quite nicely at night I know as they grow it will be close quarters. I am thinking of putting temporary pieces of plywood in the small run area underneath & attached to the coup to expand it for the winter. It wouldn't be closed in tight of course just about 8 inches in height so that there would be a lot of ventilation. Their food is currently in this small run area and their water will be as well for winter so it makes sense to use this space to make the coop bigger since it won't cost me anything. They have 2-2' foot roosts in the small coop tho & as of now they all cram onto one at night.

Why we have predators I have see no signs of them attempting to get in the run or the coop. I tried to do a lot of research before I purchased my hens & put chicken wire down around the bottom edge of coop & run in an L shape so part is on the ground & then put landscape blocks 2 & 3 high on top of that. I also have 2 dogs with free range of the yard but they are not out all night. But the predators seem to stay away anyways. I guess the bunnies & squirrels who lost family to the dogs passed on the news the yard was not the place to live The only predators I see are dead ones on the street in front of my house. Tho we do have neighborhood outdoor cats they stay on the perimeter also. Bear just went nuts in the house & I went outside and saw a cat way in the back yard.
In fact since i was forced into OT last night I opened the coop door at 4 am when I got home so the girls could go out when they woke up. I really had no fear any predators could sneak in to get them while they slept, and I knew they would be much happier being able to leave the coop than being stuck in the coop till 8 when I got up for school

For their 8 ft run made out of lattice I am thinking of a few bales of stray strewn on the top to help keep some of the snow out and then I can use it for bedding or compost after winter. A few strategically placed bales around the perimeter to block the cold winter winds was also a thought. We can get into the single digits in the winter tho normally its in the teens. Yes we get a lot of snow but i thought the straw on the roof of the run would help alleviate 2 ft drifts in the run.

Do the OTCs seem to agree with this theory? Should I put a roost in the lower area as well? I don't want pampered birds just ones that can survive the winter

Here is the the doll house coop/run I bought so you have a visual of what I want to accomplish.



And thank you in advance tot the OTC's for their honest suggestions

I'm wondering if the roof of the run is strong enough to hold bales of straw or hay. Straw is lighter, but if you get 2' of snow on top of that, it's alot of weight. Lattice (at least what I can get around here) is not that sturdy.

 

[fowlman01]

I'm wondering if the roof of the run is strong enough to hold bales of straw or hay. Straw is lighter, but if you get 2' of snow on top of that, it's alot of weight. Lattice (at least what I can get around here) is not that sturdy.

I get bales of straw here that weigh 75 lbs.

Walt