Compete newbie--dumb question??

[WisconsinGardenChick]

Quote:
Exactly my experience - and what I thought might be the case from what I read. So we sited the coop and pen according. A deciduous tree shades it in summer; now with the leaves gone, they get lots of sunshine. They like to sit in the sun when it's out.

As a aside re natural and artificial light: We kept our chick brooder in a sunny window in the downstairs laundry room last spring. They had artificial light on day and night, but when sun was shining in their brooder, they'd seek out the sunbeam. I think they need sun for health just like we do. But in warm weather they need lots of shade to cool off.

 

[elmo]

Is your deck high enough off the ground so that you can easily go under there yourself? If it isn't, you have to think about crawling around under there when you need to clean out the coop.

 

[urban dreamer]

The only dumb queston is a question not asked. They need sunlight but also shade incase they get hot. You're gonna learn alot on here! I live in a suburban area and have four chickens. Love'n every minute of it!

 

[RawMuscleGirl]

You guys are great! Thank you!

My deck is easily 8 or 9 feet high on the end with the gate, so access is no problem. I can walk upright all the way until I get near the far end, and it's 50 feet long. I have beautiful climbing roses of all colors completely enveloping it, so it's a pretty place.

I have never had any kind of rodent problem, but that may be because of 'my' hawks! I do have beautiful hawks that live here and are so used to me that I can walk almost up to them. So I know I would have to be very vigilant with my chickens. And I have gorgeous red foxes, who have adorable babies every spring that frolic around in my yard. I love 'my' foxes and hawks, but I already know I will have to address that problem. That's why I want the extra protection for the coop.

The reason I want to raise my own chickens is to control the feed, and thus the nutritional content of the eggs. I am not at all worried about contamination--that whole thing is WAY overblown! I am concerned with even so-called 'organic' chickens being fed way too heavily on soy products, not to mention the horrible things they put in the feed for the commercial operations! I was just reading about how much arsenic is fed to chickens and how much remains in their flesh and is passed on in the eggs. Scary!

It also sounds like chickens are really great pets! I would love to have some--but no roosters! Plus the organic eggs in the store are 5 bucks a dozen! Crazy! My mom has her own chickens, and I get her eggs whenever I can, but we live too far away to get them regularly. She and my dad are retired and run a large cattle farm, and they are home to care for the chickens all the time, so her situation is very different from mine. I learned so much more on this site than anything she could tell me, and I even told her some things she didn't know! ( Now just tell me how to get her roosters NOT to crow at 3AM!!! When we were over for Thanksgiving, my husband said he was going to have 'rooster' for Thanksgiving dinner if they didn't shut up! They can't tell time. )

I have read so much on this site this weekend that I gave myself a headache from staring at the screen too long! I love it!

Thanks so much!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Be sure to use hardware cloth, not chicken wire when building your coop. Predators can get through chicken wire easily.

My coop has a solid wood, flip up style window. I'm planning on adding a skylight, because I find that my chickens are sleeping in, and I have to go open the window to wake them up. If they don't have enough daylight, they don't lay as well. Some people get around this by putting a light in their coop in winter since the days are shorter. I choose to let them have a break from laying, and lay when it's natural for them, rather than forcing it.

Chickens don't smell, but their poop does.

It might not smell the greatest on a warm spring day when you want the windows open.

For hawk deterrent, you can use scare tape or old CD's. Hawks don't like reflective surfaces. We lost a chicken to a hawk, and after that we put up the scare tape, we haven't lost any more.

Plan your coop bigger than you think you need. Chickens are addictive, and you'll find yourself wanting more. I'm currently in negotiations with the husband for another coop. Do I need more than 15 chickens (how many my current coop will hold)? Nope, but I do WANT more. Besides, I told hubby chicken food is cheaper than fertilizer for the garden.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Uh oh, lots of hawks (daytime predators) and foxes (also not-infrequently daytime predators, esp. during early summer when they have a family to feed)... can I *seriously* suggest building a run with a secure top on it, and planning on keeping the chickens principally in there rather than loose? Then you can still let them out in your yard when you are right there with them, although that is still not total insurance.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[hujabuga2]

They don't really "need" it. But, if you put a light in their coop at night people say they have more time to eat and they will lay more eggs.