Crate to Coop Conversion -- Part 2

[donrae]

Well, I was going to come back here and give you more pointers and further explain my first post, but I've completely lost interest in communicating with you.

I'll just spend my time in the "Managing your Flock" section, helping folks deal with the fallout of housing too many chickens in too small, too enclosed spaces. Seems there's never a shortage of folks with issues like feather picking, egg eating, pecking issues, external parasites, frostbite combs, things like that.

Really, I admire what you're trying to do, and I think making coops would be a great use of the materials you have such an abundance of. But, your attitude shows you really don't want constructive input. I have a 15 year old son who loves to argue, so I get all the debate I need at home.

 

[supercoops]

OK Hen, you can do it for $63 per bird. Your revenue did not "re-coop" your last expenditure (pun intended).

 

[supercoops]

Well, I was going to come back here and give you more pointers and further explain my first post, but I've completely lost interest in communicating with you.

I'll just spend my time in the "Managing your Flock" section, helping folks deal with the fallout of housing too many chickens in too small, too enclosed spaces. Seems there's never a shortage of folks with issues like feather picking, egg eating, pecking issues, external parasites, frostbite combs, things like that.

Really, I admire what you're trying to do, and I think making coops would be a great use of the materials you have such an abundance of. But, your attitude shows you really don't want constructive input. I have a 15 year old son who loves to argue, so I get all the debate I need at home.

ok.I thought my tone was rather cordial myself, and I have 23 birds that have been healthy since the day I bought them except I lost one to an accident.

Also, you responded to my opening post without giving it much attention because I'm having to repeat it for you. Like you have to repeat things to your son. Hence, your input wasn't very helpful. Maybe he's learning from you. Just a thought.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am good with it since I did say they are pets to me and that means I spend some money on them.
LOL in the morning at 4 am I am cutting up fruit. ( I get them the good stuff all organic and such)

63 a bird sounds pretty good to me since I thought it was a lot more than that.

Dh will be happy to know they are not breaking the bank.

It is all good. Everyone wants something different anyways.
I wanted gardening helpers and something to get the bugs before they get me.

 

[tridentk9]

Well, I could repurpose some of my dog crates and have a bigger footprint. I have two 7 week old chicks in a dog crate right now and am thinking it's too small. By the time I put a small waterer and small food dish, they only have room to sleep. No room for a nestbox. If they were adults, no way. I'm not sure how your having bantams will alter the perception of space though. LF Cochins have big butts, big hair and take up room. They get hot and want space around them.

Since this dog crate is over 10 years old- I think that pretty much makes it free. I guess I could use dog crates as housing inside a secure run. I have enough of them around the place Easy to clean, just pop the top and bottom apart. Ventilation, locking door.

 

[supercoops]

I am good with it since I did say they are pets to me and that means I spend some money on them.
LOL in the morning at 4 am I am cutting up fruit. ( I get them the good stuff all organic and such)

63 a bird sounds pretty good to me since I thought it was a lot more than that.

Dh will be happy to know they are not breaking the bank.

It is all good. Everyone wants something different anyways.
I wanted gardening helpers and something to get the bugs before they get me.

21 hens,

Maybe you should consider a small amount of heat for your birds in the winter. It will drastically change the humidity. Consider this. Air at 33 degrees F and 100% relative humidity is 68% humid at 43 F, and 48% humid at 53 F. 48% humidity feels pretty dry. Hence,moisture will not be a problem if you can add about 20 degrees to the roosting area.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/water-vapor-air-d_854.html

 

[21hens-incharge]

Nope not going to keep a heat source running. If they are used to heat they will suffer greatly during a power outage. I have a thermometer in each coop that displays humidity and temp. My coops have never gotten above the outside humidity and run at least 15 degrees warmer than the outside temp. Three years and no frost bite so far. I do have sealed oil heaters that if we get a really bad cold snap I could put them in. Have not needed them yet. The chickens keep a bit of distance between them even in the coldest temps we have had. No huddling in the corner or anything like that.
We are in a very dry climate so our humidity runs low year round. The main coop has a 9 foot ceiling with 9 hens in it and 64 square foot of floor space. There are 3 roosts at 4 foot long and they spread out on them even in the winter.
The smallest coop has a 5 foot ceiling and a 36 inch x 45 inch floor it houses 3 bantam cochins for the summer. This fall I am building the new house for them all.
Humidity and drafts are not an issue in my coops so far.
Chickens are pretty well adapted to the cold if you get the right breeds. Heat is a bigger problem for the breeds I have.
Hence the shade trees and shade tarps.

 

[supercoops]

Well, I could repurpose some of my dog crates and have a bigger footprint. I have two 7 week old chicks in a dog crate right now and am thinking it's too small. By the time I put a small waterer and small food dish, they only have room to sleep. No room for a nestbox. If they were adults, no way. I'm not sure how your having bantams will alter the perception of space though. LF Cochins have big butts, big hair and take up room. They get hot and want space around them.

Since this dog crate is over 10 years old- I think that pretty much makes it free. I guess I could use dog crates as housing inside a secure run. I have enough of them around the place

Easy to clean, just pop the top and bottom apart. Ventilation, locking door.

Baby chicks like to huddle in large groups. I had 18 chicks that huddled in a space not much larger than a shoe box when it was cold last Spring. One died in an accident when a barrel fell over and now 17 adult birds return to their original coop every night in July when they could sleep elsewhere. I have pictures. They are out there right now -- in their "overcrowded" coop. They could sleep on top of it or underneath it or they could sleep on roosting poles in the pen -- but no -- they go inside the coop every night.

The poultry science departments at NC State and University of Maryland recommend no less than 2 square feet of roosting area per chicken. Maybe the crates look small in the pictures, but they are 8 square feet in area. I assume there is a run that the owner provides on his/her property. The nest boxes at Tractor Supply are less than one square foot by the way.

In the winter time, the humidity problems can be fixed with the addition of heat, and there seems to be little awareness of this fact.

 

[Nwchickma]

When it comes to housing chickens there are a few things to remember.


Your customer is not the chickens. Your customer is probably a female human. Fickle I know.

Funny, and so true!
Supercoops, your chickens may be happy and healthy, totally not disputing that! But when I was building my coop I wasn't thinking about price per chicken, I wanted it to be a chicken condo where everybody had plenty of room to hang out on cold rainy/snowy days (we get a ton in Chicago) if they didn't or couldn't go in the run or free range.
I'm sure chickens could live happily in one of your coops but it would be too small for my peace of mind. I'd feel guilty that they couldn't wander around any. Just my opinion as a fickle female though!

 

[supercoops]

Nope not going to keep a heat source running. If they are used to heat they will suffer greatly during a power outage. I have a thermometer in each coop that displays humidity and temp. My coops have never gotten above the outside humidity and run at least 15 degrees warmer than the outside temp. Three years and no frost bite so far. I do have sealed oil heaters that if we get a really bad cold snap I could put them in. Have not needed them yet. The chickens keep a bit of distance between them even in the coldest temps we have had. No huddling in the corner or anything like that.
We are in a very dry climate so our humidity runs low year round. The main coop has a 9 foot ceiling with 9 hens in it and 64 square foot of floor space. There are 3 roosts at 4 foot long and they spread out on them even in the winter.
The smallest coop has a 5 foot ceiling and a 36 inch x 45 inch floor it houses 3 bantam cochins for the summer. This fall I am building the new house for them all.
Humidity and drafts are not an issue in my coops so far.
Chickens are pretty well adapted to the cold if you get the right breeds. Heat is a bigger problem for the breeds I have.
Hence the shade trees and shade tarps.

I'll provide just enough heat to raise the temp a little. Heat solves issues with dampness, frostbite, etc. Also, what do you do when the water freezes?