Hi. I placed an order/reservation for 8 day old Delaware straight run chicks in early summer. I'm so excited! So question about housing, which depends on how the birds grow, and Delawares seem to have a special growth curve.
The housing plan is enough for half a dozen layers plus two batches of summer chicks, to build this spring. My favorite idea is a steel carport for the roof and structure, wrapped in hardware cloth, with a digging barrier, dirt floor and then put some smaller shelters inside it. A twelve foot roof would be ideal for this climate, lots of shade, escape for hot air and ammonia. And that would give me room for a broody baby nest area, and a chicken isolation corner. The foxes, Steuben and Maybelline, are voting for chicks on pasture. I might get them out weekly, which is why I want a large run with lots of air meanwhile. I could use a tractor for the summer chicks if it got too crowded or poopy, or cull. I'm thinking mostly deep litter, but will have to fine tune rain control.
So the layers need nest boxes and roosts; the summer meat chicks will not be laying, unless they graduate to the layer group. But do the summer meat chicks need roosts? On the one hand, they might hurt their little feet. But that might be more about the Cornish types. I was thinking about roost bars in a corner, with a little extra enclosure. Then a poop board underneath that slants directly into a compost pile, and a water barrel above so I can hose it all in. It seems like getting them to roost might help a little with poop control, even if it was from playing in daytime instead of night sleeping.
Is that crazy? will they roost enough during their short lives to help with poop control? Would a 2x4 be the right size? Or a low 1x2 and a higher 2x4? At what age do Delawares roost?
