hello, this is my first thread and I had some questions about my shed being the home for my new hens. they are a little over a month old right now (my first flock of 4) and I just moved them outside from the brooder not long ago. My dad built me a coop that has a small run, a place to roost (which is level with the nesting boxes), two nesting boxes, and had wheels so it was easy to move it. My paranoia got the best of me with predators so I decided to move the coop into my stone shed with a wooden roof and a metal ventilation fan at the top. they are not confined to the coop in the shed...all of that space is for them now. I have a small fan plugged in to keep air circulating, I put a red led bulb in the overhead light, and I have a bluetooth digital thermometer to make sure it doesn't get too hot or cold for them.
my questions are: can I leave this red light on all night for them so they feel comfortable and can find their food or water if they need it during the night? should I let them sleep wherever they want to? (I made the mistake of putting them to bed in their nesting boxes the past few nights so I want to try to break that habit tonight). I also have some tools hanging on the walls of the shed still so I was wondering if its safe for them to have that stuff in there or is there a chance they will mess with it and knock stuff down? Any tips or tricks are welcome, im new to all of this and a bit overwhelmed but I love my 4 little ones and am grateful to be on this journey with them now
UPDATE: here are some pics, there are no windows but I was thinking I could add some in the future up in the wooden area of the shed. they are free to range all over my yard and they have an outdoor coop attached to the shed under the trumpet vine so they have lots of shade under there for the real hot days (like today its 104). I will be removing all the tools, thank you! (sorry I think the pics rotated during the upload). thanks for the replies everyone
my questions are: can I leave this red light on all night for them so they feel comfortable and can find their food or water if they need it during the night? should I let them sleep wherever they want to? (I made the mistake of putting them to bed in their nesting boxes the past few nights so I want to try to break that habit tonight). I also have some tools hanging on the walls of the shed still so I was wondering if its safe for them to have that stuff in there or is there a chance they will mess with it and knock stuff down? Any tips or tricks are welcome, im new to all of this and a bit overwhelmed but I love my 4 little ones and am grateful to be on this journey with them now
UPDATE: here are some pics, there are no windows but I was thinking I could add some in the future up in the wooden area of the shed. they are free to range all over my yard and they have an outdoor coop attached to the shed under the trumpet vine so they have lots of shade under there for the real hot days (like today its 104). I will be removing all the tools, thank you! (sorry I think the pics rotated during the upload). thanks for the replies everyone
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