coop questions, day in the life of a chicken

[patandchickens]

where do they poop? do they have a particular spot they are going to go to all the time, or do they just go where ever, whenever the mood strikes them?

About half of their daily poop quota is done while sitting on the roost, so if you have a droppings board or suchlike under the roost, you can intercept a lot of it. I prefer to scrape the board off every morning and remove poo from coop, but some people let it accumulate for a few days or weeks before cleaning. (Daily removal is better for air quality, and only takes like 10 seconds literally).

Pat​

 

[OrangeCrushCJ7]

Thanks everybody for your input. I am ordering them from the local farmer's coop. They need to be ordered by the middle of May for a mid June pick up. So I have some time to do my homework before I actually have the chicks.

 

[highcountrychickens]

I can't improve upon what has already been said, other than to be sure to use that Farmers Co op as a resource for advice and information! Don't forget to have FUN... and just so you know... when all is said and done, they will be the most expensive "free eggs" imaginable, but completely worth it for the experience. There's nothing like finding your first egg after all of this... it's pretty special.

 

[codybird]

Nice post Ridgerunner.

I get new, good info every time I read Patandchickens, thanks.

 

[cowman910]

If you have a large run then most likely the hens will only go inside the coop to lay eggs and sleep. so as long as your run have a large enough space you can use the 1.5sf rule. your hens probably wont lay outside if your nesting boxes are clean and attractive. Also if you want to get them in their coop as fast as possible then you can figure that the first week their born they need to be at 100 degrees and you subtract 5 degrees each week then compare that to your outside temp and thats when they can stay outside.

 

[B.CochinCrazy]

I have had problems with frost bite

so, I prefer pea or rose combchickens!

We have Brahmas, EE & Ameraucanas they have had no problems!

4x8 is a good size for 6!
I know in western PA my chickens are closed in for at least 3 month in winter!

Joanne

 

[OrangeCrushCJ7]

So they stay in the coop the whole 3 months?

B.CochinCrazy :

I have had problems with frost bite

so, I prefer pea or rose combchickens!

We have Brahmas, EE & Ameraucanas they have had no problems!

4x8 is a good size for 6!
I know in western PA my chickens are closed in for at least 3 month in winter!

Joanne​

 

[Stonerowfarm]

I'm in Western Mass and this year our hens were only let out when the snow was low enough to open the door and the tempuratures weren't killer low. Even with that we had one get a touch of frost bite on her comb. We converted a large room in the barn into a coop, so with 13 black sex links it was roomy enough. There were days on end when they never left the coop. So, in figuring out how much room to give you might want to err on the side of extra space per chicken so they don't get pecky with each other when confined. Also, it's helpful to figure out things to keep them occupied when they are confined. We would buy cauliflower and hang it in the barn so they could peck at it and not each other.

Because this year was so cold we also put a light in to try to give a little bit of supplemental heat if they needed it. The only day that was really worrisome was about 20 below zero at 8:00 in the morning and we had to run the heater for the goats and supplemental heat for the chickens.

Being in the middle of the state, perhaps your tempuratures are a bit more moderate, but you might want to keep in mind that there may be days when your girls won't be able to go out too much.

 

[OrangeCrushCJ7]

We had some severe cold too. In the grand scheme of things we aren't too far away. Once you get a few miles inland, the temps are pretty similar. This winter was exceptionally cold. Before I found this site, I just assumed I would build a little doghouse type shack with a light bulb for the extreme cold. I always thought, before electricity, chickens lived fine in the cold. I never knew how nice some people built their chickens

 

[Heather J]

As for the sixty-day rule, I generally move mine outside at 2-3 weeks and stretch an extension cord to the coop for a heat lamp--I love chicks, but they stink and take way more work to keep clean inside than in the coop. When I moved my first batch outside I went from 45-60 minutes a day for feeding and cleanup to about 15.

I feed inside the coop, so I don't have to worry about rain/snow, but usually the water goes outside (unless they're chicks at this time of year--they stay inside all the time, but that will be changing soon!) It's just easier not to worry about water everywhere. That means the birds have to be let out as soon as I get up in the morning, though so they have access to water--which is the first place they go.