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

[Tammy N]

Hi when i lived in alaska we had chickens the best thing we did was bought a small Metal shed for wintering the flock and adding 2x4 for embracing the snow heat lamps x2 and we also had food and water fed daily as we did have some ice on both. until we got smart and put them closer to the light . for covering we used some hay but worried about the heat lamps this was in the 70's
the 8ft by 8 ft building worked great and my rabbits in there helped too. Good luck Tammy

 

[galanie]

For me...I wasn't fearing cold...I was more concerned that the building would be too tight and needs EXTRA VENTILATION (which would allow more cold in) for winter.

I'd LOVE to have a "Woods Style" house with a totally (or almost totally) open side but I don't think my hen house is oriented the correct direction to accomplish that.  I could perhaps take a good size hunk out of the East end of the South side....  I've contemplated lots of such possibilities...

A good circular saw and you can have plenty of ventilation. Just trim out the openings and cover with hardware cloth that is firmly attached. What I do is just that, and if it's too windy in winter I cover said holes with plywood attached with screws or one even has a fancy plexiglass cover because I just happened to have enough of a sheet of it on hand.

 

[loanwizard]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/705952/help-i-have-a-shrink-wrapped-chick-in-my-bra

Don't think I am being mean or picking on BYC other type of chicken tenders, but I had to share this.... Yes I trie to help her out, but had a little fun with her first.

 

[normanack]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/705952/help-i-have-a-shrink-wrapped-chick-in-my-bra

Don't think I am being mean or picking on BYC other type of chicken tenders, but I had to share this.... Yes I trie to help her out, but had a little fun with her first.

Lordy, loanwizard, I love your way with words. Thanks for the chortle!

 

[galefrances]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/705952/help-i-have-a-shrink-wrapped-chick-in-my-bra

Don't think I am being mean or picking on BYC other type of chicken tenders, but I had to share this.... Yes I trie to help her out, but had a little fun with her first.

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!

 

[Kansas Prairie]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/705952/help-i-have-a-shrink-wrapped-chick-in-my-bra

Don't think I am being mean or picking on BYC other type of chicken tenders, but I had to share this.... Yes I trie to help her out, but had a little fun with her first.

LOL LOL

Thanks for sharing!

 

[galefrances]

Do you have a photo of the interior with the chickens in residence? (Just curious to see

) It's very similar to the shed we used and I always like to see other folks' hen houses..

Well, I went and took a few pictures today. I'm really awful at getting the right shots. But here are a few. The first is a center shot. The roost area has a poop box below filled with PDZ. We have the underneath area for storage and I was thinking brooder too if I needed. We put a large windowsill in for them to sit and look out the window. They seem to like that. The waterer sits on bricks so they don't make a mess in there anymore and I have a funnel on top so they can't roost and poop in there. To the left are the nesting boxes which are closed off for now. The pop door is under the nest boxes. There are 4 boxes for 12 birds. I can add more under the window if it becomes necessary.
The second picture shows the automatic feeder my husband built.

The third pic is the top of the nesting boxes. With the top open I have access to storage for small items. When it's closed, it provides an angle so the birds can't roost on top and make a mess. The blue material you see is to give some privacy to the nest boxes once they're opened.
This is the run area 10x20. They have roosts at different heights and the box at the far end is a salad bar. I plan on planting some winter greens for them. They have a waterer hanging at the other end where the pop door is.

I did some research before we modified, but now that I've actually worked with the design, I can see where I could have improved certain areas. But for now, it works reasonably well.

 

[galefrances]

But the run is not their living area...it is called a run for a reason. If it weren't for temporary walking/being, it would just be called a coop. The actual coop structure is the small box on stilts. In cold weather, high winds, deep snows, the birds normally keep to the coop. From the looks of the space, it isn't even big enough for one standard hen to walk around comfortably.

By a way of comparison, imagine your family has to live in your bathroom for 4-5 mo. out of the year. They can go out into the other rooms for a couple of hours a day, but they must sleep, eat and drink in the bathroom space. Imagine the stress and anxiety you would soon experience. It used to be called cabin fever, when humans would be confined to their one or two room cabins during cold weather.

In the end, when taking on the responsibility of caring for other creatures, one has to look at what they have provided and ask themselves, "Is this the best that I can provide on my income/circumstance?".

I really like this analogy. Really puts it all in perspective.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well, I went and took a few pictures today. I'm really awful at getting the right shots. But here are a few. The first is a center shot. The roost area has a poop box below filled with PDZ. We have the underneath area for storage and I was thinking brooder too if I needed. We put a large windowsill in for them to sit and look out the window. They seem to like that. The waterer sits on bricks so they don't make a mess in there anymore and I have a funnel on top so they can't roost and poop in there. To the left are the nesting boxes which are closed off for now. The pop door is under the nest boxes. There are 4 boxes for 12 birds. I can add more under the window if it becomes necessary.
The second picture shows the automatic feeder my husband built.

The third pic is the top of the nesting boxes. With the top open I have access to storage for small items. When it's closed, it provides an angle so the birds can't roost on top and make a mess. The blue material you see is to give some privacy to the nest boxes once they're opened.
This is the run area 10x20. They have roosts at different heights and the box at the far end is a salad bar. I plan on planting some winter greens for them. They have a waterer hanging at the other end where the pop door is.

I did some research before we modified, but now that I've actually worked with the design, I can see where I could have improved certain areas. But for now, it works reasonably well.

Thanks for the photos!

 

[donrae]

Is 12 square feet for three hens too small? Their run is 50 square feet and they may free range on lawn two hours daily, although its their preference to poop on my patio because that's where the ants congregate.

Do your hens have access to the run 24/7? It looks like it from the pic, just wanting to be sure.

I think you have enough room for that small a number of hens, IF they can always access the run. My birds scorn the coop most of the time, it's for sleeping, some eating and some laying. I have no barrier between the coop and run, so they come and go as they please, some even roost in the run. Your area looks fairly sheltered, and it doesn't sound like you have tons of snow drifts to deal with.

Sorry, can't really help with the wind barrier that was your first question, we have trees making a nice wind break. I DID have a roo and two hens who roosted in those trees for a year or two, even during wind storms that knocked trees down in town. Birds were fine.