Coop

[charlotte13]

Hi everyone we have just got our first chickens and are completely new to it. We have built this coop but have now read a lot of information online that it may not be the right set up. I do find the chickens sleeping in the nesting boxes so though they may need to go down the bottom and the roost moved to the top shelf but are the nesting boxes ok to go on the ground on the bottom? Any help or advice would be appreciated

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings, charlotte14, and ! Great to have you aboard! Yes, the nest boxes are fine down low and should always be lower than the roost. Good luck to you and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[henny1129]

Hello and ! I hope you enjoy BYC just as much as the rest of us do! Definitely good to have the nest boxes down low and the roosting poles higher up. We have found that our chickens like roosting on the highest roost possible in our chicken coop.

 

[charlotte13]

Okay great thanks for the advice I will swap the boxes and the roost around. Does the end of the coop where they sleep need to be enclosed or is it ok open?

 

[henny1129]

How cold does it get in Australia? If it stays pretty warm, it's probably fine, but if it gets cold you will want to cover the back. But, you might want to cover the back either way to pretect from predators.

 

[charlotte13]

Doesn't get to cold here at all. The back of the coop/sleeping area is enclosed it's just the front area that leads into the run that Is open. The whole coop is fully enclosed with wire and safe from predators

 

[drumstick diva]

I like to err on the side of caution and knowing that just about everything is poisonous in Australia, I would have the flock closed in the coop at night.

BTW you might like to check out the thread "Australia, six states and one funny little island." BYC has a large Aussie community - the more the merrier.

 

[charlotte13]

Yep the chickens are always in their coop at night just wanted to see if the end they sleep in is ok to be open on one side but still enclosed in the coop as a whole. I will check out the group thanks

 

[Teila]

Howdy neighbour

Welcome!

Yep, I would definitely swap the nest box and roost levels over. The nest boxes will be fine on the ground. I would leave the floor in so that when they are sleeping and pooping on the roost it does not drop into the nest boxes and/or their food and water. Also, with the floor, it will be easier to clean.

They should be fine on the roost with it ‘open’. If you close that small area it might get too hot in there, especially with the cgi and depending where you are in Aus, our current overnight temperatures.

Are you going to be free ranging them at all?

As Diva has mentioned, do pop in to the Aussie thread and say G’Day, you will be welcomed.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends

 

[charlotte13]

Fantastic thanks so much for the info I did think it would get to hot to completely enclose the top area as we are on the Sunshine Coast qld and is pretty warm at the moment. I will move around the boxes and roost today and keep the floor as it's easy to clean out. We are loving having the chickens as part of our family the kids are out with them all day we let them free range for a few hours every day around our large enclosed yard.