Don't laugh :P My chickens are very happy and it will get better

[StephieSky]

Well, to start with I was planning on getting a dog when I ended up getting chickens instead ... So I'm kind of winging it
I have already bought everything I would need for a dang dog! The kennel, the house, the dishes, leashes, harness, life vest ... lol So I'm trying to keep the cost of the hens down to a dull ache until I recover a little bit. Plus Gracie has already been to the vet for a 98$ ingrown toenail. No comments about the price per lb for that vet visit please These are PET chickens. And I'm already very attached to them. Who else is going to spend hours digging bugs out of my garden with me and think its the most fun ever??? lol

So, here's the coop I'm working on:

I didn't know. I had no idea how many nests two chickens would need. Gracie uses the one on the ground. Eliza is like Goldilocks. She tries them all and sleeps in the middle one at night with Gracie. I don't mind that they sleep in the nest if it keeps them cozy and makes them feel safe. With just two its easy to keep the pen clean. I know, 2 hens, 3 nests and then I had to make another nest after I figured out Gracies legs were tender from the ingrown toenail. lol She won't lay in the raised nests but she sleeps in them ... Very confusing for me! I guess I'll get the hang of this over time.


Its raccoon proof. I have clear Sun panels that go all around the outside that do not block the natural sunlight but do block the wind, rain and unwanted chicken eaters. Its left over panels from the greenhouse so they'll get the full spectrum of light.

I do have a chicken feeder now instead of the kennel dishes. I just need to get it hung up but I sterilized it with vinegar and I want it to be clean and dry before I use it. Its a really heavy amber glass feeder I bought at an antique/junk store. So pretty It holds 3 cups of crumble which should be plenty for 2 hens considering they won't even be in the kennel most of the time. Just while they're waiting for me to get my butt out of bed and right before the sun sets.




I also bought copper tiles for the roof of the next box but haven't nailed them in yet. And I won't until I'm sure I'm not going to have to take this all apart and start over again.








They also spend time in this house under my dwarf cherry. I was thinking of putting a roost in it too.

This is all inside the first section of fencing that surrounds the south and west side of my house. I don't want them in the back lot unless I'm with them because I have a lot of wildlife that visits from the wetlands next door. Especially a lot of wild ducks, geese, predatory birds, raccoons and nutria. The nutria are horrible! Like giant vicious rats. They aren't afraid of anything and they don't even run when I throw rocks at them sometimes.

Is it okay to use the clear panels all around the kennel?
I can move the little house into the kennel or build another one even, specifically for the kennel if they need a dark house at night. I'm still working on ideas and so I wanted to get some help and opinions before I do it all wrong.

By the way, I have 2 chickens and thats all I'm planning on having.

The chickens came from a person who kept them in a large gravel pen with a lot of other chickens and only a plywood lean to for shelter. They didn't seem unhappy until I saw them happy. Huge difference! They're pretty happy following me around here and much less apathetic. They absolutely love being free to wander inside the yard fencing. Just a little less certain when we go out the back gate to where I don't have fencing. They stalk me lol Determined to be the first to get the bugs I dig up but also determined to be the first back through the gate when we're done playing in the dirt.

I can buy plywood and replace the sun panels if I need to. I'd like to keep the kennel somewhat ornamental/pet looking more than industrial chicken as this is my private patio and I can attend to it every a.m. and p.m.
The little house is off the back patio where I bbq and entertain guests but they seem to like this area because its sunny with lots of shade in the beds.

I am planning on keeping the hens in the garage during the worst of the winter. I have space ( and yes I bought a wire crate lol for a dang dog! Its for large breed dogs so it should work ) in the garage that I'm going to use nights when its below freezing. I think that might be best.

Suggestions? Or does this look like it will be okay? Anything I must do that I'm totally missing? Obvious things I'm doing that won't work?

I really appreciate any and all advice and help

 

[Judy]

One nest is plenty for two chickens. Maybe you can put a roost in the back and a nest in the front. In the summer they will appreciate the breeze of that open dog house, but in the winter they do better with no draft on them. One thing chickens require that dogs don't is ventilation. You can't close them up in something like a dog house without cutting holes near the top to let humid air and ammonia out. They put out a lot of ammonia and humidity in their poop and breath. They won't need the garage in the winter; they will want to be out except in thick snow. They tolerate cold much better than heat and need shade and breeze in the summer. They won't get frostbitten below freezing if the coop is well ventilated, but they will if it isn't.

 

[StephieSky]

Thanks
The dog house is only so they have someplace to go if the gate between the side patio and the back yard isn't open. It always, always is but ... you never know! I'll put a cover over the front and use the jigsaw to make a smaller entry. The roof on the dog house has a vented peak. I'll get a better picture of it tomorrow

The kennel is not vented. I'll raise the peak and vent and screen it. I'm thinking I need to put in a solid surface floor in the kennel. I have a stack of 3/4" thick by 6' high fence boards sitting on the outside of the fence in a pile. Either that or sand. The herbal straw smells great but its not drying out like I want it to after I hose down the patio.

If they're cold weather resistant then what I might do is just build a small 2 chicken house that's insulated and can be placed inside their kennel in the fall? Something they can go in and out of at will. I'm not sure 1 nest box will work. Gracie lays all the eggs but Liza makes all the noise while Gracie is laying her egg then goes and sits on Gracies egg. Gracie leaves and eventually Liza gets bored and goes off to find Gracie. Contrarily, if Gracie goes to lay her egg and Liza is already in a nest box Gracie has a cow! She'll growl and fuss until Liza leaves the kennel. At night Liza goes in the kennel just as the sun is setting on the horizon and about 5 minutes before Gracie. She hops in that center nest and snuggles down. Gracie then goes in and sits in the same nest with Liza! No fussing!
I don't understand chickens at all. But they don't peck on each other so I guess.